Sociology of Political Attitudes

The course lies within the field of political sociology. More specifically, the course aims to improve students' knowledge about the socio-economic and socio-cultural cleavages that characterize the political climate in contemporary democraties. The goal is to promote understanding of why certain political issues and attitudes dominate at a particular historical moment and in a certain social context. The content of the course is both theoretical and empirical and focuses on explanations of and processes associated with dominant cleavages, including the role of identity and material conditions. The course also provides opportunities to discuss different methodological approaches to research questions, including the potential benefits of and problems associated with different approaches.