Duration: 3 hours for 13 weeks [ECTS: 5]

Course Outline

This optional course tailored to students of economics provides a general introduction in the discipline of the Sociology. It aims to acquaint the students with fundamental terms and notions of the sociology as well as their interdependence with the economic terms and notions. One expected learning outcome on the course is also to shape the necessary theoretical background for interpreting the economic developments and phenomena in the modern world. Besides that, it is also offered an introduction into some basic cultural and ethnic and institutional aspects of the human and social activity. The assessment of the course is based on a final oral or written exam and a homework in one of the topics that will be analysed in lectures.

The course is organized as follows:

• Introduction and overview of the course
• The Sociology of Capitalism: The Classics and new approaches
• Qualitative methods and case studies of socio-economic analysis
• Current trends and tensions in Economic Sociology:
• Inequality, Poverty and Disempowerment
• Power and the Distribution of Resources
• Sustainability, Resources and the Environment
• Livelihood and Work, Gender and Race issues
• Unemployment and Employment
• Justice, Political Economy, Global Development and Governance
• Demographic Changes and Institutional Development (immigration, asylum)