Sociology I

The course offers students tools for developing an understanding of society and its development as well as of their own identity as members of society and of possibilities for social changes. Sociological explanations and descriptions generally address global conditions and processes, specific societies and cultures, various social sectors, and the levels of organisations, groups, and individual relations. This course emphasises in particular concepts and theories related to the individual in the social structure. The students' experiences can thus form a starting-point for sociological insights. The general concepts are exemplified through specialised study of a limited problem area. Instruction is in the form of lectures and application exercises in groups or individually. The course comprises three modules: Module 1: People and Society - Introduction to Sociology (15 ECTS cr) The sociological way of thinking is introduced along with key sociology and social psychology theories and perspectives in order to understand social interaction, organisation, and power structures. Starting out from the students' experiences, we study how people shape society and how society shapes people locally, nationally, and globally. Through practical exercises, students learn to reflect upon the importance of different social factors such as gender, age, class, and ethnicity for the living conditions of the individual and our ability or inability to grasp the society we live in as a whole. The practical exercises also provide tools for analysing contemporary phenomena such as surveillance, consumption, sustainable development, social movements, crime, and social media. The practical exercises include individual preparation for classes, observation, group projects, and written hand-in assignments. Module 2: Investigating Society (7.5 ECTS cr) The module offers a basic introduction to the theory of science, the stages of the research process, and the methodological problems involved in sociological research. The students work with problem formulation, data collection, sample principles and principles for analysing quantitative and qualitative data, as well as simple questionnaire and interview studies. Module 3: Sociological Specialisation (7.5 ECTS cr) The module centres on social processes and sociological analysis. Students study a relatively limited sociological problem and are introduced to selected theoretical and empirical aspects of sociology.