Institut für Soziologie

• Sozialstruktur und soziale Ungleichheit europäischer Gesellschaften im Vergleich

  0181bB1.1
  • 30201 Vertiefungsvorlesung
    Social Structure of European Societies (Jan Paul Heisig)
    Zeit: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/A Hörsaal (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    This lecture is designed to present an overview of the main aspects of the social structures of contemporary societies within the European Union. The lecture focuses on contemporary national societies, but it will address long-lasting social cleavages and transnational developments as well. The lecture has three major parts: The introductory block starts with an intense discussion and recap of major concepts of social stratification. A selection of classical and modern approaches will be presented and discussed in class. The second block focuses on selected dimensions of the social structure, such as demographic structures, household and family structures, educational systems, labor market structures and welfare state regimes. The third block presents empirical evidence of the most salient forms of social inequality within and between European societies, such as poverty, material deprivation, gender and ethnic inequalities. The lecture closes with the question whether we experience a trend towards more or less common characteristics in European societies.

    Literaturhinweise

    Steffen Mau/Roland Verwiebe (2010): European Societies. Mapping Structure and Change. Bristol: The Policy Press.

  • 30202 Hauptseminar
    Social Structures and Inequalities in Comparative Perspective: Using Data Infrastructures of Comparative Empirical Social Research (Dr. Carina Cornesse)
    Zeit: Di 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
    Ort: Ihnestr.22/UG 2 Seminarraum (Ihnestr. 22)
    

    Kommentar

    high-quality research data. There are several survey programs that can be used to investigate pressing social issues within and across countries. This includes established infrastructures such as the European Social Survey (ESS), European Value Survey (EVS), International Social Survey Program (ISSP), and World Value Survey (WVS). These survey programs are not only characterized by the fact that they enable researchers to trace social change over time, but they also make it possible to do this from a comparative perspective. The aims of this seminar are to (1) introduce the most commonly used datasets for empirical cross-national social research and (2) to practice using them to answer social scientific research questions. This will provide course participants with essential competencies in effectively utilizing prominent survey programs within the social sciences. The seminar encompasses practical sessions dedicated to data exploration and analysis, during which participants will engage in hands-on exercises using STATA as a statistical software (or alternatively, R, if preferred). These sessions will give students the opportunity to formulate and test their own hypotheses.

  • 30203 Hauptseminar
    Introduction to Comparative-historical Housing Sociology (Sebastian Kohl)
    Zeit: Di 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
    Ort: 203 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    The housing question is back on the political agenda, with housing shortages and affordability problems surging in major cities on both sides of the Atlantic. Traditionally, sociology, political economy and welfare studies have rather neglected the study of housing markets, despite the prominence of housing in households’ budgets, wealth and its interrelatedness with education, health, gender and race. This seminar addresses this oversight by introducing into the topic in three parts: a historical introduction into housing in Europe and the US across the last century, an introduction into the different housing (policy) regimes at the national level and an introduction into the study of city-level housing phenomena. The seminar invites students to make use of empirical data to study housing phenomena in a comparative way. It should equip students with empirical knowledge on housing markets, their history and institutions as well as skills to analyze them and evaluate housing policies in current debates. Basic knowledge of a statistics software is required.

  • 30204 Hauptseminar
    Welfare state theories and applications (Katharina Bluhm)
    Zeit: Di 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/302b Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    The existence of large welfare states due to industrialization and class struggle is an outstanding feature of Europe until today. Various regime types have emerged that created path dependency and are related to different versions of the market economy. Despite European integration, social policy remains a core task of the national states and plays a crucial role in legitimizing democracy. The seminar explores the drivers of the welfare state development variety within Europe and the major triggers of change. We will begin with the typology suggested by Esping-Andersen, its critics, adaptations, and expansions (e.g., the role of religion and gender and the debate about a South European model). Afterward, we will investigate major changes and their conceptualization, discuss their application to Central and Eastern Europe, which turned towards capitalism after 1990, and explore why welfare-state chauvinism is a specific feature of right-wing populism in Europe.

  • 30205 Hauptseminar
    Social Inequality During Times of Crisis (Dr. Carina Cornesse)
    Zeit: Do 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    Times of crisis are highly dynamic and can either accentuate established inequalities, shake them up, or leave them unchanged. In many crises and their aftermath, there are societal groups who win and groups who lose. This can happen along various characteristics, including class, race, and gender. The societal causes and consequences of crises include socio-economic dimensions, such as income, wealth, and health, but also more subtle phenomena, such as (perceived) social cohesion. This seminar will look at some examples of societal crises in the 21st century to establish how they relate to social inequality in Europe and beyond. Examples will include peaceful economic or political events as well as violent crises, such as wars and the pandemic. In each case, the questions will be: How, if at all, is the crisis shaped by social inequality? And how did the crisis change dynamics in social inequality? In addition to exploring examples, the seminar will zoom out from each individual case to critically reflect the theoretical foundations, overarching processes, as well as data collection and analysis problems of studying social inequality during times of crisis.

  • 30206 Hauptseminar Abgesagt
    Inequality and Preferences for Redistribution (Fabian Kalleitner)
    Zeit: Do 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/302a Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    The seminar has three overarching goals: First, it will introduce students to the current research on belief and preference formation on economic inequality and redistribution. In doing that, we will take particular emphasis on the difference between redistribution and inequality on the supply side (market incomes) and on the welfare demand side (taxes and benefits), considering both wealth and the more commonly studied income inequalities. Other topics may also include regional segregation, gender gaps, and ethnic inequalities (all in the context of economic inequalities) depending on students' interests. Second, it will provide students with a basic understanding and the necessary tools to move from the literature, over the research question, to developing a research design and starting a research analysis. Third, the seminar will provide instructions on how to write short research proposals and a short empirical paper concerning the topic of the seminar. To achieve these goals, students will read compulsory literature and answer related questions ahead of each lesson. In addition, they will hand in a first research question, develop a research proposal, and write a first draft of their short empirical paper by the end of the semester.

  • 30207 Hauptseminar
    Inequalities and Social Stratification in Labor Markets (Fabian Kalleitner)
    Zeit: Do 14:00-16:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    The seminar aims to strengthen the understanding of the institutional and social embeddedness of labor markets as well as their impact on other social phenomena (such as social- and economic inequality, migration, etc.). In the course of the semester, we will learn various economic and sociological labor market theories and discuss them in the lectures. The main focus includes topics like: linkages between different educational systems and labor markets, gender inequalities, digitalization, and institutional complementarities of labor markets with systems of human capital production and social welfare.
    
    After successfully completing the course, you will be familiar with the basic topics of the sociological labor market literature and know common methods to investigate labor market inequalities. You will be able to critically read cutting-edge empirical studies in the field and incorporate their findings into your research. You know how to develop sociological research questions in the field of labor market sociology and how to present and defend your ideas in front of class. To achieve this, students will read compulsory literature and answer related questions ahead of each lesson. In addition, students will present a first draft of their research proposal and write a full research proposal at the end of the course.

  • 30208 Hauptseminar
    Immigrant integration in Europe (Daria Potapova)
    Zeit: Do 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    This seminar aims to give an overview on (1) the different types of policies aiming at integrating immigrants, (2) their variation across countries and (3) their implications for immigrants´ integration. We will focus on six types of integration-related policies: citizenship regimes; State-Church regimes; immigration policies; inclusive welfare policies; multicultural policies and anti-discrimination policies. For each type of policies, we will first discuss ways of measuring these policies in a comparative perspective. We will then turn to studies that assess the effects of these policies on immigrants´ integration

    Literaturhinweise

    Koopmans, R. (2013). Multiculturalism and Immigration: A Contested Field in Cross-National Comparison, Annual Review of Sociology, 39, pp. 147-169.

  • 30209 Hauptseminar
    Measuring Social Constructs (Vivien Fabry)
    Zeit: Do 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/204 PC-Pool (Garystr. 55)
    

    Hinweise für Studierende

    It is advised to bring and use your own laptops.
    Exam: 3.000 word term paper (or oral exam)

    Kommentar

    This course aims to familiarize students with the quantitative measurement of diverse social constructs (for example racism, sexism and social class) in European social science research. It introduces students to relevant literature on social constructs and inequalities in Europe and encourages them to explore the associated research methods like survey and text analysis and ways to analyze the data. Additionally, students not only gain theoretical knowledge but also practical experience in implementing various measurement techniques for different constructs using R.

  • 30210 Hauptseminar
    Digitalization and Social Inequality (Martin Ehlert)
    Zeit: Do 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/302b Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    Digitalization has a strong and growing impact on societies as new technologies change both our private and our professional lives. As with previous technological revolutions, there are many hopes and fears associated with digitalization that relate to social inequality. While some fear exclusion and mass unemployment due to digital technology others praise the new opportunities for flexibility at work and communication across old divisions within societies. Against this backdrop, this seminar aims to engage with digitalization and its relationship with social inequality both theoretically and empirically. Based on the concept of the “digital divide” (van Dijk, 2020), we consider social inequalities on three levels: first in access to digital technology, second in use of digital technologies and the associated skills, and third in the outcomes of digital technologies. Thus, we will cover a wide range of topics from inequalities in internet access to the consequences of technology use at workplaces. The focus will also be on the question whether digital technologies change old inequalities or generate new inequalities. The seminar provides theoretical and practical knowledge to evaluate the importance of digitalization for social inequality based mostly on quantitative analyses. We will discuss about relevant digital technologies, their prevalence, use, and outcomes. We will also learn about theoretical explanations of the “digital divide” from sociology and related fields. Course discussion will furthermore include issues on how to match research questions with theoretical foundations, modes of operationalization and quantitative empirical analysis.

    Literaturhinweise

    Van Dijk, Jan (2020): The digital divide. Cambridge: Polity Press

  • 30211 Hauptseminar
    Ausgewählte Aspekte der demografischen Entwicklung (Jutta Allmendinger)
    Zeit: Block-Seminar 9-12:30 Uhr (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
    Ort: WZB (Raum B002/003), Reichpietschufer 50, 10785 Berlin
    

    Kommentar

    Die Bevölkerungsentwicklung ist in den letzten Jahren immer mehr in den Mittelpunkt des öffentlichen Interesses gerückt. Die Babyboomer-Generation gefolgt von einer über Jahrzehnte stagnierenden Geburtenziffer weit unter dem bestanderhaltenden Niveau, die steigende Lebenserwartung und der positive Wanderungssaldo kennzeichnen diese Entwicklung. Die Folgen ziehen sich durch alle gesellschaftlichen Bereiche: den Arbeitsmarkt, die Sozialversicherung, den Wohnungsmarkt, das Gesundheitssystem, unsere Demokratie. Was sind die Ursachen für diese Entwicklung? Wie genau stellt sich die Situation heute dar? Wie sind die gesellschaftlichen Folgen einzuordnen? In dem Seminar „Ausgewählte Aspekte der demografischen Entwicklung“ werden diese Themen aufgegriffen. Jede Veranstaltung ist in zwei Blöcke unterteilt. Im ersten Block behandeln wir jeweils Elemente demografischen Grundwissens. Im zweiten Block wird auf Wechselwirkungen zwischen Bevölkerungsentwicklung, Ökologie, Ökonomie und Gesellschaft eingegangen. Neben der inhaltlichen Vertiefung gibt das Seminar auch einen Überblick zu den wesentlichen Datensätzen und den wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen, die Fragen der demografischen Entwicklung in den Mittelpunkt ihrer Forschung stellen. Das Seminar richtet sich an Studierende, die bereit sind, sich auf ein arbeitsintensives und anspruchsvolles Seminar einzulassen. Für die Veranstaltungen ist eine grundsolide Vorbereitung unabdingbar, da wir ansonsten die Zeit in der Gruppe und die Gespräche mit den geladenen Expertinnen und Experten nicht gewinnbringend nutzen können. Vorkenntnisse im Fachgebiet der Demografie müssen nicht mitgebracht werden, wohl aber Motivation und Zeit, sich mit den Inhalten auseinanderzusetzen. Teil der aktiven Mitarbeit ist die Vorbereitung auf Diskussionen und das Halten von Vorträgen und einer Moderation zu einem der eingeladenen Gäste sowie das Anleiten der anschließenden Diskussion.
    
    Veranstaltungen
    

    • 18.04.24 Einführung & Grundlagen der Demografie
    • 02.05.24 Demografische Entwicklung in Deutschland, in Europa und weltweit
    • 23.05.24 Demografie und Geburtenentscheidung
    • 13.06.24 Grenzen der Lebenserwartung
    • 20.06.24 Zusammenwirken von Demografie, Arbeitsmarkt, Klimaentwicklung und politischer Lage
    • 27.06.24 Demografie und soziale Sicherungssysteme

    Literaturhinweise

    Standardwerke und Zeitreihen
    

    • Preston, S. H., Heuveline, P., & Guillot, M. (2001). Demography: Measuring and modeling population processes. Blackwell Publishers.
    • Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund (Hrsg.). (2022). Rentenversicherung in Zeitreihen (28). Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund.
    • United Nations (Hrsg.). (2022). World Population Prospects 2022—Summary of Results (S. 52). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/World-Population-Prospects-2022
  Artikel
  
  • Haan, P., Kemptner, D., & Lüthen, H. (2019). Besserverdienende profitieren in der Rentenversicherung zunehmend von höherer Lebenserwartung [Wochenbericht]. Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin). https://doi.org/10.18723/diw_wb:2019-23-1
  • Lee, R. D., & Carter, L. R. (1992). Modeling and Forecasting U. S. Mortality. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 87(419), 659–671. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/2290201
  • Oeppen, J., & Vaupel, J. W. (2002). Broken Limits to Life Expectancy. Science, 296(5570), 1029–1031. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1069675
  • Perleberg, J. (2022). Notwendige Flexibilisierung: Für eine gerechte Anpassung der Rentenaltersgrenzen ist Gesundheit entscheidend. WZB Mitteilungen, 175, 53–56.
  • Vaupel, J. W., & Schwentker, B. (2011). Eine neue Kultur des Wandels–Essay. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 3–10.
  • van Raalte, A. A., Sasson, I., & Martikainen, P. (2018). The case for monitoring life-span inequality. Science, 362(6418), 1002–1004. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau5811

• Werte und Kultur in europäisch vergleichender Perspektive

  0181bB1.2
  • 30212 Vertiefungsvorlesung
    Cultural Differences and Similarities between the Member States of the European Union (Céline Teney)
    Zeit: Mo 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/A Hörsaal (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    What are the major cultural differences between the Member States of the European Union? How can one explain these differences? Are the cultural differences diminishing so that one can speak of a unified European culture? These are the three systematic research questions which underlie the structure of the lecture. The course will apply these questions to the different dimensions of culture. Apart from factual information, the course presents an overview of the different sociological concepts of culture and how different authors have used their concept to analyse cultural differences between European countries. The lecture is also composed of group exercises, in which students will conduct their own cross-national comparison by analysing data from the European Social Survey.

  • 15651a Seminar
    Gender, Borders, Memory (Gülay Caglar, Jessica Gienow-Hecht)
    Zeit: Mi 16-18 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
    Ort: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    Topic: Borders form a principal instrument of organizing international society, both historically and actually. From the ancient Greek city states to the twentieth century, borders have featured at the center of both peace treaties and declarations of war. Borders connect and condone, yet also divide and drive apart. They can come about by agreement or violence, can be fortified or unguarded, can be visible or invisible. What is more, borders are and have always been in motion. Their shape and design depend on the political and economic context, scientific knowledge, natural adjustments, emotional investment as well as the migration and exchange of people, goods, services, ideas and capital. Experts have labeled some borders – such as the one between Mexico and the United States or along the Pacific Rim – as transnational spaces sui generis: their effect on international policy and adjacent states is not merely limited to the border region itself but fundamentally impacts our understanding of the state, citizenship, nation, and culture. Course: This course examines the interplay of gender, borders, and memory in history and in the present. We will examine different genres of borders across time and space with a particular eye on historical visions and gender-specific gaze. The course deals with a set of dimensions—material, symbolic, historical and discursive—relating to border politics, and it discusses the gendered effects of border politics. Moreover, the course introduces concepts of intersectionality and memory and probes the ways in which both territorial dividing lines and sociocultural boundaries, originate in historical visions and legacies. How do these visions and legacies (re)produce and exacerbate intersectional inequalities ? How do gender and memory affect border politics and lives on the border, and, in the process, construct gender, sexual, racial-ethnic and other identities ? What are their material effects? How do activists challenge practices of bordering? How do they renegotiate questions of territorial sovereignty and belonging? Team: This is a team-taught class orchestrated by political scientist Gülay Caglar and historian Jessica Gienow-Hecht.We will meet in class once each week, complemented by various excursions. Requirements: Students from history, political science, as well as the humanities and social sciences at large are very welcome. All students need a blackboard account. Each session consists of a brief introduction by the instructors followed by an all-class discussion and, sometimes, a student presentation to be discussed in advance. For each individual class, all students will compose short précis (no longer than 120 words) including a critical question relating to the respective reading. Précis need to be uploaded on Blackboard twenty-four hours prior to the beginning of class. At the end of the semester, students are required to compose a paper: either a reflective think piece responding to the course readings and discussions (3-5pp); or a research paper addressing a topic of their choice (20-25pp). Depending on the credit (Pass/Fail or Grade), the final paper is due either on July 31 at midnight (5pp, 12pt. Times Roman, 1.5 space), or August 31 at midnight (20-25pp, 12pt. Times Roman, 1.5 space).

  • 30213 Hauptseminar
    The Rise of the Populist Radical Right (Swen Hutter)
    Zeit: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/301 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    Many countries in Europe and beyond have seen the emergence and establishment of strong populist radical right movements and parties. Examples range from the French Rassemblement national, the Hungarian Fidesz party, to Trump’s rise to power through the Republican Party. In the seminar, we will engage with three major scholarly explanations for the increasing popularity of these actors and their political implications. The first explanation puts economic factors and social inequalities center stage. The second one interprets the rise of these actors as a backlash against cultural liberalism and diversity. In contrast, the third explanation puts a stronger emphasis on political dynamics within and beyond nation-states. We will engage with these three explanations by reading four monographs over the semester. Thus, the students have to be prepared for a relatively heavy reading load and a mix of self-studying and in-class group discussions.

    Literaturhinweise

    Norris, Pippa and Ronald Ingelhart (2019): Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • 30214 Hauptseminar
    Religiosity in European Societies (Dieter Ohr)
    Zeit: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/302b Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Hinweise für Studierende

    Regular participation One oral presentation Exam: Seminar paper (3,000 words) or oral exam

    Kommentar

    Church attendance in most European societies has dropped to a very low level. More generally, in Europe religious institutions seem to have lost much of their former significance. From the perspective of secularization theories this is what one would expect in modern, highly individualized societies: the demand for religion will decline, individuals will no longer feel a need for faith in the supernatural. By contrast, religious market theories focus not on an alleged decline of religious demand but rather on the suppliers of religion. These theories claim that in Europe regulated and even monopolistic religious markets have resulted in inefficiency and hence much lower religious vitality than in the United States or in other regions of the world.
    In the first part of the seminar, theories of religious change will be discussed, such as secularization theories and religious market theories. In the second part, empirical findings regarding religious change in Europe will be analyzed. Two aspects of religion will be distinguished: organized religious behavior on one hand and subjective religious beliefs and attitudes on the other hand. A special emphasis in the seminar will be on the development and on the characteristics of small religious movements (‘sects’) that often show rapid rates of growth (e.g., Jehova’s Witnesses).

    Literaturhinweise

    Fox, Jonathan, 2013: An Introduction to Religion and Politics. Theory and Practice. London. Norris, Pippa/Inglehart, Ronald, 2004: Sacred and Secular. Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge.
    Stark, Rodney/Bainbridge, William Sims, 1985: The Future of Religion. Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation. Berkeley.
    Stark, Rodney/Iannaccone, Laurence R., 1994: A Supply-Side Reinterpretation of the ‘Secularization’ of Europe, in: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 33: 230-252.

  • 30215 Hauptseminar
    Conspiracy and Misinformation in the Digital Age (Philipp Wunderlich & Anna Lea Berg)
    Zeit: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/302a Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    Conspiracy theories have become a hot topic, especially since their significant influence on protests against the COVID-19 pandemic measures. The wide spread of these theories is often associated with misinformation spread on the internet and is seen as a sign of a society where consensus on 'one truth' is increasingly difficult to achieve. But what exactly constitutes conspiracy theories? And how can we analyse their popularity, dissemination, but also their scandalization from a sociological perspective? In this course, we will examine different perspectives on the phenomenon of conspiracy theories in order to gain a deep understanding of the social, political, and epistemological implications of their study. In the first part of the course, we will look at the classical paradigms of conspiracy studies to understand how conspiracy theories have been defined and studied from different angles, and in connection to various research traditions such as social psychology, cultural sociology, science and technology studies, and critical theory. Among other explanations, we will discuss conspiracy theories as coping strategies, as forms of emancipatory knowledge production and as genres of pop-cultural entertainment. In the second part of the course, we will look at the connections between conspiracy theories and pressing political issues of our time, including the alleged crisis of science and expertise, the rise of right-wing populism, as well as the problem of Fake News and the transformations of the media system through digitalization. Our aim is to develop a critical understanding of how a particular attention to conspiracy theories can illuminate contemporary studies of these phenomena. Conversely, we also aim to explore how these current dynamics might alter conspiracy theories and necessitate new approaches to their study.

  • 30216 Hauptseminar
    Social Movement Studies: An Introduction (Swen Hutter)
    Zeit: Mo 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
    Ort: Garystr.55/302b Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
    

    Kommentar

    This seminar introduces students to the field of social movement studies. Divided into two parts, we will first explore key concepts and theories such as resource mobilization, political opportunity structures, and framing. These theoretical approaches provide frameworks for analyzing various aspects of social movements, including their emergence, organization, tactics, and impact on society. For this part of the seminar, we will mainly read a textbook, supplemented by some classic articles. In the second part, we will delve into recently published articles from the leading journals in the field, Mobilization and Social Movement Studies. Through discussion and analysis, students will gain insights into current research trends and deepen their understanding of social movements and contentious politics.

  • 30217 Hauptseminar
    Citizens and Politics (Mirjam Dageförde)
    Zeit: Di 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
    Ort: Ihnestr.22/UG 3 Seminarraum (Ihnestr. 22)
    

    Kommentar

    Political representation is among the most important topics in the analysis of the idea and practice of modern democracy and a constitutive pattern of modern large-scale democracy. In recent years the legitimacy of representative logic has been called into question due to several factors: the erroneous notions of democracy often offered by the media and opinion polls, the idea of power being confiscated by a caste of politicians, further enhanced by processes of European integration, globalization and a rise of populism. Meanwhile, Western democracies face a presumed “crisis of representation”, a loss of confidence in politicians, political parties and institutions which leads to growing gaps between society and the political sphere. Hence, the analysis of the process of representation, approaches to judge about its quality and the identification of defects become more and more relevant for political scientist as well as for practitioners.
    Recurring to Pitkin’s famous description of representation as the making present something that is literally absent which occurs if politicians act in the interest of the represented, the schedule of this seminar is as follows: First, we discuss the presumed crisis of representation through investigating indicators for it. Second, we examine the concept of representation and classify the main actors and institutions in this process. Third, the approaches for (a) analysing actor’s behaviour and (b) judging about the quality of representation are discussed. This will lead to an examination of factors that influence actor’s behaviour and elements that might affect the quality of representation. We address furthermore current developments and challenges to representative democracy by analysing the rise of populism, challenger parties and the radical right. Finally, we critically reflect our findings and discuss the future of representative democracy.
    
    The readings are a mix of classics and current literature on the given topic.
    
    The seminar addresses the following questions:
    

    • What is political representation and how can we address the relation between citizens and the political sphere?
    • Which aspects concern political representation?
    • What are the most important actors and institutions in the process of representation?
    • How can we judge about the quality of representation?
    • What influences the quality of representation?
    • How does populism and the rise of radical parties influence representation and its functioning?
    • What is the meaning of these findings for the (prospective) functioning of representative democracy?

    Literaturhinweise

    • Dalton, Russell J., David M. Farrell & Ian McAllister 2011: Political Parties and Democratic Linkage. How Parties Organize Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    • Kriesi, Hanspeter, Edgar Grande & Martin Dolezal 2012: Political Conflict in Western Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    • Norris, Pippa 2011: Democratic Deficit: Critical Citizens Revisited. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pitkin, Hanna 1967: The concept of representation. Berkley: University of California.
    • Rohrschneider, Robert & Stephen Whitefield 2012: The Strain of Representation: How Parties Represent diverse Voters in Western and Eastern Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    • 30219 Hauptseminar
      Socioanalysis - Elements of the construction of social reality in Pierre Bourdieu (Rolf-Dieter Hepp)
      Zeit: Mi 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
      Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
      

      Kommentar

      Bourdieu characterizes his sociological efforts through the method of socio-analysis and sets them apart from a socio-logy that seeks to explain society through purely logical patterns.
      
      The seminar aims to show how strongly Bourdieu is anchored in French epistemology, from Durkheim to structuralism and Bachelard. At the same time, important points of reference in the German tradition of Bourdieu, such as Max Weber, Wittgenstein and Cassirer, will be developed.

    • Globalisierung und regionale Entwicklung

      0181bB1.3
      • 30220 Vertiefungsvorlesung
        Global and Regional Transformations: Challenging Methodological Nationalism (Sergio Costa)
        Zeit: Di 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/A Hörsaal (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        This lecture course is an introduction into the sociology of global entanglements which posits that social transformations reflect interdependent processes that take place in various world regions simultaneously. Due to still hegemonic methodological nationalism, sociologists have underestimated these interdependencies, instead focusing on allegedly isolated nation-states and their distinct “cultures”. A growing number of critical works from fields such as postcolonial and global sociology have therefore developed new approaches grasping transnational and transregional entanglements. In its first part, this course will offer a critical overview of these new perspectives, highlighting their analytical promises and deficits. The second part is dedicated to studying themes of global relevance to illustrate entanglements across time and space.

        Literaturhinweise

        Introductory reading:
        Bueno, A. et al. (ed.): De-Centering Global Sociology: The Peripheral Turn in Social Theory and Research. London/New York: Routledge, 2022

      • 30221 Hauptseminar
        Nation-State, Citizenship, and Globalization (Yasemin Soysal)
        Zeit: Mo 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/302b Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        This seminar is an introduction to major theoretical approaches and substantive issues in the current sociological thinking on the nation-state and citizenship, with a view on their late 20th and 21st century reconfigurations via globalization. Substantively, the seminar explores the contemporary processes that underline the inclusions and exclusions in the body of nation-state and its citizenry: territorial and cultural closure of the nation, expansion of individual (human) rights and privileges, immigration and incorporation of diversity, European citizenship, the transnationalization of normativity, actors, and claims for citizenship. The seminar aims to orient students to recent conceptualizations, and theoretical and research issues in the field. Thereby it hopes to stimulate further research on the topics to be covered in the course.
        
        Organization and requirements: The core of the course is class discussions. Regular participation and reading of the assigned materials and taking part in discussions are required. Each student is expected to organize and lead discussion at least in one of the sessions. For the written assignment, students are expected to submit one paper (3000 words) that should grow out of the concerns of the seminar and address the issues/questions discussed.

      • 30222 Hauptseminar
        Nationalism, Religion and Gender in Eastern Europe (Katharina Bluhm)
        Zeit: Di 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/302b Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        The recent rise of nationalism brings the intersection of gender, state, and nation into focus. It is often but not always combined with an illiberal-conservative turn in family policy and naturalization of gender roles, critiquing "postmodern" and "totalitarian liberalism" after 1968, including liberal feminism. This movement is more comprehensive than Eastern Europe and Russia but does find particular conditions here. The seminar starts with selected theoretical texts on gender, state, and nation, then examines commonalities and differences in socialist gender regimes before and after 1989 that feminists have framed as re-traditionalization. Building on this, we explore how nationalism and illiberal conservatism intersect with gender in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland, with Germany also used as a point of comparison. Finally, we discuss the influence of war on gender relations using the examples of Ukraine and Russia.

      • 30223 Hauptseminar
        Regional Inequalities (Dr. Carina Cornesse)
        Zeit: Mi 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        Regional and spatial disparities increasingly play an important role in scientific, public, and political debates on social inequality and social change. Economic opportunities are more limited in structurally weak areas, where, for example, processes of regional emigration and demographic change exacerbate the erosion of local infrastructures and opportunities, with far-reaching implications for people’s economic and social prospects. Residents of structurally strong regions, in turn, may benefit from infrastructural expansion and increasing demand, but also experience rising living expenses (particularly for homes and rental housing), gentrification, and displacement. There is a large body of social science research examining these regional developments and especially their effects on the social opportunities of individuals and households. This seminar provides insights into this field of research. Theoretical concepts of "regional inequalities" will be introduced and the current state of research on the most important dimensions of social inequalities will be discussed.

      • 30224 Hauptseminar
        Sociology of the European Union (Céline Teney)
        Zeit: Mi 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/302a Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        This seminar provides an overview of the sociology of the European Union. The guiding research question of this seminar is the extent to which Europeanization has been affecting citizens´ everyday life, practices, identities and values across Europe. We will for instance discuss empirical studies on the following topics: the role of the European integration process in shaping social inequality; European social classes; transnational social practices; European identification; attitudes toward the EU. This seminar covers the field of the Sociology of the EU, and does not provide an introduction to the European Union; students attending this seminar are expected to have a background knowledge on the European integration process and the institutions of the EU.

        Literaturhinweise

        A. Favell and V. Guiraudon (eds) (2011): Sociology of the European Union. London: Palgrave Macmillan

      • 30225 Hauptseminar
        Globalisation and Social Inequality (Jürgen Gerhards)
        Zeit: Mo 18:00-20:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/302a Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Hinweise für Studierende

        Modul exam: Either oral exam or term paper (about 3,000 words).

        Kommentar

        Globalisation processes have changed social inequality between and within countries and created new losers and winners. In the seminar, we will mainly focus on the analysis of the winners of this development – the formation of a global social class. Using Bourdieu’s terminology members of this group can be described as possessing different forms of capital (economic, social, cultural, and symbolic capital) that makes them independent from their respective nation state.
        
        The course offers firstly an introduction to the analysis of social inequality in times of globalisation by discussing central terms and theoretical concepts. Secondly, we will focus on specific characteristics and strategies of members of a global social class: e.g. the wealth of the superrich; billionaires and world politics; sending children to private international schools, buying several passports and citizenships, practising a specific global lifestyle.

      • 31502a Vertiefungsseminar
        Russische Eliten (Katharina Bluhm)
        Zeit: Mo 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/302a Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        Kapitalismus und Marktwirtschaft wurden in Osteuropa als Reformen von „oben“ (wieder-) eingeführt und haben neue Pfade der institutionellen und sozio-ökonomischen Entwicklung begründet. In der Forschung zu diesem Thema spielen daher Eliten und Elitekonstellation eine zentrale Rolle. Freilich standen diese Konstellationen und Entscheidungen nicht in einem luftleeren Raum, agierten Eliten nicht in einer „tabula rasa“, sondern abhängig von gesellschaftlichen und institutionellen Kontexten, internationalen Einflüssen und sozio-ökonomischen Bedingungen. Der Zerfall der Sowjetunion, die Elitekonkurrenz der 1990er Jahre und das Wiedererstarken eines sich konservativ gebenden Autoritarismus seit den 2000er Jahren ist vor diesem Hintergrund zu sehen. In letzter Zeit wurde viel über Putin und den Putinismus geschrieben. Ziel des Seminares ist es, den Blick zu weiten, das heißt den Zusammenhang von Transformationspfad und Elitendynamik in Russland genauer nachzugehen und theoretische Erklärungen dieser Dynamik zu analysieren. Dabei wird von dem soziologischen Begriff der Positionseliten und systematischen Erkenntnissen über den Zusammenhang von Eliteformation, Reproduktion und Zirkulation, Kooptierung und Ausschluss ausgegangen. Ein Schwerpunkt bilden die politischen Eliten (national-regional) und Wirtschafts-Eliten in ihrer wechselnden Beziehung zu einander, einbezogen werden aber auch Medien, Akteure der Zivilgesellschaft, die zum Teil in die Elite kooptiert wurden, und die Rolle der Russisch-Orthodoxen Kirche. Abschließend wird nach potentiellen Gegeneliten gefragt.

      • 31503a Seminar
        Civil Society and Mobilisation (Mihai Varga)
        Zeit: Mi 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/301 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        The seminar combines theoretical texts on civil society and social movements with important examples of collective action in post-communist Europe. In the social sciences “civil society” is expected to play an important role in strengthening democracies (A. de Toqueville, A. Gramsci) or in limiting the negative effects of markets (M. Castells, K. Polanyi). Against this background, research casts a negative light on civil society in the post-communist area: civil society is generally seen as weak, with the exception of the so-called “uncivil” society, mobilizing against the values of liberal democracies. Seeing civil society from the perspective of social movement theories on mobilization, the seminar helps contextualize and explain the rise of the “uncivil” society and the weakness of civil society’s liberal component. Cases to be discussed in class include: the NGO-sector and the international “democratization industry”, the role of intellectual dissidents, civil society at times of the Russian war against Ukraine, cultural movements – both conservative (in Poland) and anarchist (Voina, in Russia), far-right movements in Russia and Poland, Otpor in Serbia and its global model for peaceful revolutions, Ukraine’s Euromaidan and its aftermath.

      • 31504a Seminar
        Sociology of deviance. An introduction with applications to categories of marginalization in Eastern Europe (Mihai Varga)
        Zeit: Mi 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/301 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        Using theoretical reflections based on the work of Ian Hacking, Michel Foucault, and Howard Becker, we will discuss the interplay between Enlightenment and (post-)communist/Soviet conceptions of science and "proper" social behavior in labeling various people as deviant. We will focus on examples of "deviant" people drawn from research on Eastern Europe, and examine cases of how states (social workers, police) deal with people living with HIV or disabilities, people who use drugs, ethnsized & racialized poor, etc.

      • 32613 Hauptseminar
        Hyper-Commodified Cities and Urban Social Movements (Mathilde Gustavussen)
        Zeit: Mo 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
        Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
        

        Kommentar

        After decades of neoliberal governance, cities have become thoroughly commodified, from urban space and public services to public infrastructure. In this seminar we will interrogate processes of commodification, privatization, gentrification, and financialization, how they intersect in US cities, and the consequences for urban citizens. We will also explore how urban social movements have contested such processes, focusing on their tactics and strategies, as well as the potential for radically altering what some scholars have called the “hypercommodification of urban life.”

      • 33144a Hauptseminar
        Psychoanalyse in Lateinamerika: Soziologische Erkundungsgänge einer Disziplin und ihrer Anwendungen (Myriam Sauer)
        Zeit: Fr 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 19.04.2024)
        Ort: K02 Seminarraum (Keller), Rüdesheimer Str. 54-56, 14197 Berlin
        

        Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

        Die Sprache des Kurses ist generell auf Deutsch, Wortbeiträge auf Spanisch, Portugiesisch oder Englisch sind aber möglich, und werden notfalls übersetzt für andere. Ebenso besteht die Möglichkeit, dass die allgemeine Unterrichtssprache auf Englisch gewechselt wird.

        Kommentar

        Die Psychoanalyse besitzt in Lateinamerika --- vor allem in Argentinien und Brasilien --- eine bedeutende Rolle in der Konstruktion von Nation und Staat. Ihre historischen Anwendungen sind vielfältig und reichen von kritischen Explorationen des brasilianischen kollektiven Unbewussten und seiner rassifizierenden und patriarchalen Annahmen (M.D. Magno), kritischer Verknüpfungen von Marxismus und Psychoanalyse (José Bleger) bis hin zur Hinterfragung von Machtstrukturen (Patricia Gherovici). Ebenso aber kennt die Psychoanalyse, etwa beim brasilianischen Sozialpsychologen Arthur Ramos eine sozialrepressive Anwendung, wenn dieser die Theorien Freuds nutzt, um die Unterdrückung Schwarzer und indigener Menschen zu legitimieren. "Psychoanalyse in Lateinamerika" ist eine soziologische Exploration psychoanalytischer Theorien im 20. Jahrhundert mit Blick auf koloniale Annahmen im Wissensarchiv der Psychoanalyse. Anspruch des Seminars ist eine soziologische Fruchtbarmachung psychoanalytischer Theoreme sowie eine dekoloniale Hinterfragung psychoanalytischer Theorien. Nach einer kurzen Einführung in das klassische psychoanalytische Denken bei Freud und seinen Annahmen über Gender, Race und Kolonialität untersuchen wir sowohl historische psychoanalytische Quellen als auch die Werke kritischer Denker*innen und arbeiten mit Rückgriff auf kritische soziologische Theorien (z.B. Post-Colonial Studies, Black Studies) heraus, welche ideologischen Annahmen in den Texten angelegt sind und wie diese sich auf die Konstituierung lateinamerikanischer Staaten auswirken. Ebenso vertiefen wir aber auch radikale Anwendungen psychoanalytischen Denkens für die Soziologie in unserer Lektüre von Gherovici oder Bléger und entwickeln ein Gespür für die Verwobenheit von Psyche und Sozialität.

    • Vertiefung

      0181bC1.2
      • 30228 Vertiefungsseminar Abgesagt
        Beyond Surveys (Dr. Carina Cornesse)
        Zeit: Di 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/302a Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        Quantitative empirical social research has traditionally used two main types of data: First, survey data, in which population samples were examined either once (cross-sectionally) or several times (longitudinally) using questionnaires. Survey data have for a long time been the sole source of data for research on attitudes, preferences, and life situations. Second, process-generated and administrative data collected within the framework of official statistics have been analyzed, usually at a slow pace and with many access limitations. As a result of ongoing digitalization, a lot of data is accumulating online that can also provide increasingly comprehensive information about public opinion as well as people’s living conditions and behavior. These data can be used for answering central sociological research questions. This refers not only to social media data, but also to usage or observational data as collected via smartphones or other measurement devices. In the social sciences, a new field of research ("computational social sciences") is currently developing that explores the possibilities of using these data, including the question of their methodological quality. In this seminar, the development of these new data spaces for social science research will be presented and discussed using selected examples. This will include hands-on practice sessions, where participants can gain an impression of the benefits and limitations of such digital data.

      • 32603a Seminar
        Introducing Text Analysis with R through Political Party Manifestos from US (Osman Demirbag)
        Zeit: Mo 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 15.04.2024)
        Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
        

        Kommentar

        This research seminar guides students through the methodological frameworks for analyzing political texts as historical data, with a strong emphasis on quantitative text analysis. The course begins with an examination of the interplay between US party politics and economic policymaking from the 1840s to the present day, setting the stage for an in-depth understanding of historical sociology. Building on this historical backdrop, the seminar leads students in the systematic collection and curation of political texts, with a focus on party manifestos as pivotal sources for historical research. ----- As the course progresses, students will work with R for coding, statistical analysis, data visualization, and to implement automated text analysis techniques. Throughout the seminar, in-depth discussions will explore the successes and challenges of formal text analysis, particularly regarding interpretation and explanation in social sciences. This critical engagement will enable students to proficiently analyze the political and economic narratives within historical documents, thereby enhancing the scholarly exploration of quantifying qualitative aspects in political party research.

      • 30218 Vertiefungsseminar Abgesagt
        Advanced Research Design (Mirjam Dageförde)
        Zeit: Di 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        Advanced Research Design This course trains the analytical and research skills of Master students serving as a preparation or training for crucial aspects of students’ term papers, master thesis or internships at research institutes. These skills are essential for excellent studies, evaluations and also for evaluating expert recommendations or reports in the future career at universities, (international) institutions, research centers, politics, NGOs or elsewhere. The analytical skills that are trained and sharpened in this course serve as an additional – and increasingly required skill – for students and professionals in the social sciences.
        
        The target group of this class are MA Students in their 2nd year, for instance those who are about to register for their master thesis or who are in the process of writing them. The aims of the course are to strengthen students’ analytical skills and to improve their abilities to evaluate a research design. With regard to academic writing, the course enables students to sharpen research questions and hypotheses and to improve methodological approaches for diverging research questions. You should be able to assess the state of the existing literature, identify research questions of interest, formulate strategies to answer them, know the methodological tools with which to conduct the research, and write up the results so that they can contribute to existing knowledge. The class will use examples from social sciences and discuss current research of students, the course will familiarize you with current standards of research in social sciences. Although the course is not in itself a lecture on statistical methods, it also refers to quantitative methods.
        
        Course Objectives

        • Assessing the rigidity and validity of reports and studies – their set-up and the presented findings.
        • Knowledge of the elements and relevance of a research design
        • Produce a rigorous and precise research design
        • Formulate research questions & hypotheses
        • Individual and collective components
        
        Academic Integrity
        This course is based on the principles of academic integrity established by Freie Universität Berlin. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. All documents submitted must be your own work and sources must be properly cited

      • 30226 Vertiefungsseminar Abgesagt
        An International Comparison of Empirical Social Research in Germany and the USA from its Beginning until the 1950s (Irmela Gorges)
        Zeit: Do 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
        Ort: Ihnestr.22/UG 3 Seminarraum (Ihnestr. 22)
        

        Kommentar

        This course compares and analyses the most important empirical social research studies in Germany and the USA conducted from the middle of the 19th century until the mid 1950s. We will discuss if the possible di?erences in the choices of research themes, the development of new research methods, and the intended use for research results could be caused by the di?erent societal development in both countries. We will check our hypotheses that the di?erences in empirical research resulted from the researchers reaction on the respective political, economic and social situation in both countries. This hypothesis is supported by looking at the breaks of government forms in Germany: From a height of social empirical research during the time of the German Empire (1872 to 1918) empirical social research was disrupted during the Weimar Republic (1919 - 1933) mainly because of economic reasons but also by political struggles. Empirical social research then nearly was terminated in Germany during the Nazi Regime (1933 -1945) because only National Socialistic research themes were allowed to be conducted and promoted. In the USA, in contrast, empirical social research started to develop since the consolidation of the federation of states around the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, and from then developed steadily and with increasing acceleration: Empirical social research was used to stabilize the democratic state. After World War II the USA heavily supported empirical social research in the three, by the USA, Great Britain and France ruled democratic ´Zones´ of Germany, the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) (1949), which may be interpreted as a ´reimport´ of parts of basics of empirical social research developed earlier in Germany. New initiatives of empirical social research developed in the FRG did not ?nd the same acceptance.

      • 30227 Vertiefungsseminar
        Introduction to Machine Learning for Social Sciences (Bruno de Castanho Silva)
        Zeit: Do 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/302b Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        From chatGPT to policy design and implementation, machine learning algorithms are ubiquitous in a big data world. Their potential is now being explored in the social sciences. In this course participants will learn the fundamentals of machine learning as a data analysis approach, and will have an overview of the most common and versatile classes of ML techniques in use today and how they can be applied to sociological research. The goal is that at the end participants will be able to identify what kind of technique is more suitable for different questions and data, and how to design, test and interpret their models. They will also be equipped with sufficient basic knowledge to proceed independently for more advanced algorithms and problems. This is an introductory course, so that math and programming technicalities will be kept to a minimum, but it is good if students are familiar with linear regression. The practical applications are done in R, and having worked with it before is certainly helpful.

      • 30229 Vertiefungsseminar Abgesagt
        Qualitative analysis of experiences of displaced migrants in Europe (Céline Teney & Daria Potapova)
        Zeit: Di 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/302b Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        In this seminar, we will first discuss main current theories for understanding the experiences of displaced migrants. We will then review some methodological accounts on qualitative data analysis. We will then apply these theories empirically on a set of interviews conducted among displaced Ukrainians who fled from the Russian invasion of 24th February 2022 to Berlin, Warsaw and Budapest. Students are expected to carry out their own qualitative analysis on the interview selection.

      • 30235 Vertiefungsseminar
        Intermediate Data Analysis and Visualization in R (Vivien Fabry)
        Zeit: Mi 16-18 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/204 PC-Pool (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        This course aims to advance your understanding beyond the basics of R, concentrating on best practices in data wrangling, analysis, and visualization. It is recommended for students seeking to either refresh or improve their existing knowledge of R. For data wrangling, students will delve into the tidyverse packages and learn how to use them to clean, merge, and prepare datasets for analysis. The course also introduces students to various strategies to enhance their workflow while working with R. Additionally, the course will explore the art of crafting visualizations for data exploration and presentation, ranging from barplots to heatmaps. Furthermore, this course will teach and utilize Rmarkdown — a document format that allows the integration of code, enabling the creation of reproducible data reports that consolidate all aspects of the analysis.

      • 31505a Übung
        From Interviews to Inference. How to explore social structures & processes (Mihai Varga)
        Zeit: Do 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 18.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/301 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        This seminar discusses research strategies for exploring broader social processes and structures through interviews, (non-)participant observation, and fieldwork. We will begin by discussing how to develop research questions, (hypo)theses, and case selection (research design), and then look more closely at how to plan, conduct, and analyze interview material to answer research questions. Students are expected to conduct and analyse own interviews and also code and analyze already collected interview material.

    • Abschlusskolloquium

      0181bE1.2
      • 30230 Colloquium
        Colloquium (Swen Hutter)
        Zeit: Di 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        In this colloquium, we will critically discuss the ongoing master thesis projects which are written in the research group on political sociology. The discussions will focus on the how-to-do issues related to designing and conducting a research project. Students should benefit from each other’s feedback and the discussion of common challenges and potential solutions faced while doing their research.

      • 30231 Colloquium
        MA-Colloquium Sociology (Sebastian Kohl)
        Zeit: Di 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
        Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
        

        Kommentar

        The colloquium addresses students who are preparing their master thesis and equips them with some basic knowledge on questions of research design. Students will learn how to write a research proposal and will mainly be given a forum to present and discuss their work in progress in order to receive feedback.

      • 30232 Colloquium
        Colloquium (Dieter Ohr)
        Zeit: Di 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 16.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        This is a research colloquium where mainly MA theses (it is also possible for political science students to present their BA theses) are discussed. The focus is on the methodological perspective: given a certain research question, which research designs, data collection approaches, data types, approaches to analyze data should be considered and, eventually, used?

      • 30233 Colloquium
        Colloquium (Carina Cornesse & Stefan Liebig)
        Zeit: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
        Ort: Hs 108a Hörsaal (Garystr. 21)
        

        Kommentar

        In this colloquium, students have the opportunity of presenting their beginning and ongoing master’s thesis projects conducted on topics relating to social stratification and survey data. The discussions will focus on how to find an adequate research question, literature, and data. Furthermore, feedback on students’ thesis progress will be offered by peers and supervisors. In addition, there will be room for discussions on common challenges faced when writing a master’s thesis.

      • 30234 Colloquium
        Colloquium (Céline Teney)
        Zeit: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 17.04.2024)
        Ort: Garystr.55/323 Seminarraum (Garystr. 55)
        

        Kommentar

        In this colloquium, we will critically discuss ongoing master thesis projects. The discussions will focus on the how-to-do issues related to designing and conducting a research project. Students should benefit from each other’s feedback and the discussion of common challenges and potential solutions faced while doing their research.

      • 33754a Kolloquium
        Research Colloquium Sociology with special focus on Latin America (Sergio Costa)
        Zeit: Fr 10:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 19.04.2024)
        Ort: 003 (Seminarraum) Boltzmannstraße 1 14195 Berlin
        

        Hinweise für Studierende

        First meeting: Friday, 19 April 2024, 10-12 am. Block meetings will be announced.

        Kommentar

        In this colloquium, participants present and discuss their master theses and dissertation projects. The main colloquium language is English, however texts and presentations can also be delivered in Spanish or German. We will organize the sessions according to the language. The programme also includes guest lectures and the discussion of recent relevant publications according to the interest of the participants.

    • Module ohne Lehrangebot in diesem Semester

      5 Module
      • Der politische Einigungsprozess Europas und die Entwicklung europäischer Gesellschaften seit 1945 0181bA1.1
      • Soziologische Theorien des gesellschaftlichen Wandels und der gesellschaftlichen Integration 0181bA1.2
      • Methoden vergleichender Gesellschaftsforschung 0181bA1.3
      • Forschungspraktikum 0181bC1.1
      • zusätzliche Veranstaltungen MA Soziologie 0181bD1.1