Course guide of Contemporary Sociological Theory (2141131)

Curso 2023/2024
Approval date: 23/06/2023

Grado (bachelor's degree)

Bachelor'S Degree in Sociology

Branch

Social and Legal Sciences

Module

Teoría y Fundamentos Sociológicos

Subject

Teoría Sociológica Contemporánea

Year of study

3

Semester

1

ECTS Credits

6

Course type

Compulsory course

Teaching staff

Theory

  • Cecilia Hita Alonso. Grupo: A
  • Alejandro Romero Reche. Grupo: B

Practice

  • Cecilia Hita Alonso Grupos: 1 y 2
  • Alejandro Romero Reche Grupos: 3 y 4

Timetable for tutorials

Cecilia Hita Alonso

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  • First semester
    • Monday de 13:00 a 19:00 (Desp.6 Dpto. Sociología)
  • Second semester
    • Wednesday de 13:00 a 16:00 (Desp.6 Dpto. Sociología)
    • Thursday de 13:00 a 18:00 (Desp.6 Dpto.Sociología)

Alejandro Romero Reche

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  • First semester
    • Monday de 16:00 a 18:00 (Desp..4 Ático Dpto. Sociología)
    • Tuesday
      • 11:00 a 14:00 (Desp.4 Ático Dpto. Sociología)
      • 18:00 a 19:00 (Desp.4 Ático Dpto. Sociología)
  • Second semester
    • Tuesday
      • 13:00 a 14:00 (Desp.4 Ático Dpto. Sociología)
      • 15:30 a 20:30 (Desp.4 Ático Dpto. Sociología)

Prerequisites of recommendations

It is advisable, but not compulsory, to have completed at least a course on Classical and Modern Sociological Theory.

Brief description of content (According to official validation report)

  • New sociological notions for the analysis of social reality.
  • Sociology in the 20th Century. The 70s: rifts and pluralism.
  • Microsociology and macrosociology: theoretical integration of the macro and micro levels.
  • Other relevant theories.
  • Recent theoretical developments.
  • Tools and sources for the gathering of sociologically significant information.

General and specific competences

General competences

  • CG01. Ability to analyse and summarise 
  • CG03. Computer skills related to the field of study 
  • CG08. Ability to work in a team
  • CG10. Ability to cater for diversity and multiculturalism 
  • CG12. Ethical commitment 
  • CG13. Commitment to gender equality
  • CG14. Commitment to respect for human rights and non-discrimination
  • CG15. Ability to learn autonomously 
  • CG22. Ability to recognise the global and local character of social phenomena 
  • CG24. Ability to recognise the complexity of social phenomena 

Specific competences

  • CE01. Understand the main concepts and generalisations regarding human society and its processes 
  • CE02. Learning of history, theory and its main schools to the present day 
  • CE11. Know the evolution of contemporary societies and their social and political movements 
  • CE14. Skills in the search for secondary information from different sources (official institutions, libraries, internet, etc.) 
  • CE20. Ability to recognise the complexity of social phenomena 
  • CE27. Ability to define, locate and contact the population targeted for social integration 
  • CE28. Ability to identify and measure social vulnerability factors and conflict processes 
  • CE34. Ability to relate knowledge of sociology to that of other related disciplines 
  • CE35. Critical attitude towards social doctrines and practices 
  • CE37. Attitude of commitment to social and cultural problems 

Objectives (Expressed as expected learning outcomes)

Students enrolled in the course should be able to:

  • Understand the key tenets of contemporary sociological theory.
  • Construe social reality through sociological theory.
  • Acknowledge the social complexity of contemporary society.
  • Develop teamwork skills.

Detailed syllabus

Theory

  • 1. The Modernity / Post-Modernity Debate.
  • 2. Globalization, Risk and Relfexivity.
  • 3. The theoretical integration of action and structure: Pierre Bourdieu, Anthony Giddens, Jürgen Habermas.
  • 4. Social action: Alain Touraine.
  • 5. Manuel Castells: the Informational Society.
  • 6. Ulrich Beck: Risk Society.
  • 7. Niklas Luhmann: the realm of social systems. Theory as a scandal.
  • 8. Gianni Vattimo and Richard Rorty: the philosophy of Post-Modernity.
  • 9. Zygmunt Bauman: the transformation of Modernity.
  • 10. Saskia Sassen: cities and social transformation.
  • 11. Byung-Chul Han: the Burnout and Transparency Society.

Practice

Weekly seminars will be conducted by the students on the main topics and authors addressed in the course:

  • 1. The Modernity / Post-Modernity Debate.
  • 2. Globalization, Risk and Relfexivity.
  • 3. The theoretical integration of action and structure: Bourdieu, Giddens, Habermas.
  • 4. Social action: Touraine.
  • 5. M. Castells: the Informational Society.
  • 6. U. Beck: Risk Society.
  • 7. N. Luhmann: the realm of social systems. Theory as a scandal.
  • 8. G. Vattimo and R. Rorty: the philosophy of Post-Modernity.
  • 9. Z. Bauman: the transformation of Modernity.
  • 10. S. Sassen: cities and social transformation.
  • 11. Byung-Chul Han: the Burnout and Transparency Society.

Bibliography

Basic reading list

  • P. Baert and F. Carreira da Silva. Social Theory in the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Polity Press.
  • C. Calhoun et al. (eds.) Contemporary Sociological Theory. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • A. Elliott. Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction. Routledge.
  • H. Joas and W. Knöbl. Social Theory. Twenty Introductory Lectures. Cambridge University Press.
  • S. Lindgreen. Data Theory. Interpretative Sociology and Computational Methods. Polity Press.
  • O. Schwarz. Sociological Theory for Digital Society. Polity Press.
  • S. Susen. Sociology in the Twenty-First Century. Key Trends, Debates and Challenges. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • The Polity Reader in Social Theory. Polity Press.

Complementary reading

All the original works by the authors featured in the syllabus.

Recommended links

  • Social Theory Applied: https://socialtheoryapplied.com/
  • Main Sociological Perspectives: https://www.thoughtco.com/sociology-research-and-statistics-s2-3026650
  • Oxford Bibliography of Social Theory: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199756384/obo-9780199756384-0054.xml
  • Frankfurt Institute for Social Research: https://www.ifs.uni-frankfurt.de/institute.html

Teaching methods

  • MD01. Master class/lecture 
  • MD02. Discussion and debate sessions 
  • MD03. Problem solving and practical case studies 
  • MD07. Seminars 
  • MD09. Source and document analysis 
  • MD10. Group projects 
  • MD11. Individual work 

Assessment methods (Instruments, criteria and percentages)

Ordinary assessment session

  • Final written exam (50% of the final score).
  • Preparation, presentation and coordination of a reading seminar on one of the authors or works discussed in the course, including a proposal for the empirical application of a specific theory (40% of the final score). In order to participate in this activity, you must sign up, during the course's first month, for the coordination of a specific seminar, and attend all the scheduled seminars.
  • Discussion of a book suggested by the lecturer, and subsquent interview with its author (10% of the final score).

Extraordinary assessment session

Final written exam including applied work on a short reading in sociological theory.

Single final assessment

If you cannot attend the course sessions, you are entitled to a final written exam, which you should apply for (https://sede.ugr.es/) during the first two weeks of the course or the first two weeks after registering. The exam will include five questions about A. Elliott's Contemporary Social Theory.

Additional information

  • POLISOCIOLAB. Practical teaching in this course may entail the use of PoliSocioLab (Laboratories at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology), including the Quantitative Studies Laboratory (SPSS, R, Visual QSL, Bellview Cati, Python), the Qualitative Studies and Multimedia Analysis Laboratory (NVivo, QDA miner liter) and the Radio Laboratory. Depending on how the requeriments from other courses can be coordinated, use of the laboratories may proceed during the official teaching hours allocated to this course or outside such schedule as supplementary teaching.
  • PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE. In this course we study and discuss the main works in contemporary sociological theory in order to apply them in the professional practice of social research, but this also fosters the development of skills that are equally useful for other occupations in communication, politics, consulting, journalism and social intervention.
  • ANTI-HARASSMENT PROTOCOL. The University of Granada has implemented a Protocol to prevent and address harassment episodes of any kind. Please find it in this link: https://www.ugr.es/sites/default/files/2017-09/NCG1125.pdf