| Academic year: | 2008-2009 |
| Course code module | 2BPSW-08E |
| Semester: | 1st semester |
| Credits: | 6 |
| Study load (hours) | 168 |
| Theory (hours): | 45,00 |
| Practice/Exercises(hours): | |
| Other (hours): | |
| Part-time program: | 2 |
| Instructor(s) | Jan Vranken
|
| Language of instruction: | English |
| Semester exam information: | exam in the 1st semester |
| Contract restriction information: | |
1. Prerequisites
*Algemene competenties
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Being familiar with central sociological concepts and being able to handle them
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Knowledge of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ sociological tradition (Marx, Weber, Bourdieu, Dahrendorf, Goldthorpe, etc.)
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Some acquaintance with situations and issues of inequality in contemporary society and with its organisation and functioning is an advantage.
*Sequentiality
‘Samenleving, feiten en problemen’ (Society, facts and problems) (1BPSW-10)
Not applicable for ‘Social Work’
2. Objectives (expected learning outcomes)
Being familiar with sociological thinking about forms of social inequalities.
Advanced knowledge of some situations of inequality: facts, mechanisms, processes and their context.
Being able to identify and to analyse situations of inequality using the concepts, theoretical frames and methods discussed in this course.
3. Course content
1° Introduction: how did inequality become a subject of action and research?
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Prerequisites of a social problem
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Ideas : Rousseau, Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen
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Social movement: abolition of slave trade and slavery
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Some general conclusions
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The end of social class?
2° Illustrations of inequality
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Income distribution
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Education
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Health and mortality
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First definition of inequality
3° Central concepts (differentiation, fragmentation, inequality, exclusion and stratification) are explained on the basis of a model developed by the professor.
4° Important forms of organized inequality: classes, castes and estates.
5° Three main models are explained in separate chapters:
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Functionalism
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Marx
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Weber
6° Power and authority
7° Social mobility:
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Types of mobility
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Models
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How to measure mobility?
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The relevance of mobility
8° Class structure in contemporary societies
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Important developments (globalisation, rise and decline of the welfare state, etc.) and their impact on class structure.
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The upper class: between capital owners and management
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The new versus the old middle-class
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The working class: subject to embourgeoisement?
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The urban underclass: also in Europe?
9° Modern authors on inequality and stratification
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Goldthorpe
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Giddens
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Bourdieu
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Mann
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E.O. Wright
10° Important forms of inequality and stratification: every year specific topics are selected (such as poverty, life events, health, gender, urban forms)
Theory, empirical data and methodology are balanced out.
4. Teaching method
Direct contact: Lectures
Personal work: Assignments - in groupSupervised self-study
5. Assessment method
Exam: Oral, with written preparationOpen questions
6. Compulsory reading – study material
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Course ‘sociology of inequalities’ (in the form of a power point presentation)
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Additions made during lectures
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Reading list consisting of eight standard texts (e.g. Davis & Moore, Tumin, Bendix, Lipset, E.O.Wright).
7. Recommended reading - study material
The original course text (in Dutch)
8. Tutoring
For questions concerning this course, you may contact jan.vranken@ua.ac.be.