Course Information
SemesterCourse Unit CodeCourse Unit TitleT+P+LCreditNumber of ECTS Credits
6SOC 302Contemporary Sociological Theory3+0+035

Course Details
Language of Instruction English
Level of Course Unit Bachelor's Degree
Department / Program BA Program in Sociology
Type of Program Formal Education
Type of Course Unit Compulsory
Course Delivery Method Face To Face
Objectives of the Course The aim of this course is to introduce the contemporary representatives of sociology to our students and make them contemplate about these issues, make comparisons between them and adapt them to their daily experiences.
Course Content This course handles the main concepts and theories of Talcott Parsons, Lewis Coser, Erving Goffman, Peter Berger, C. Wright Mills, Norbert Elias, Frantz Fanon/ Aimé Césaire/ Angela Davis, Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Immanuel Wallerstein, Henri Lefebvre/Michel de Certeau.
Course Methods and Techniques
Prerequisites and co-requisities None
Course Coordinator None
Name of Lecturers Prof.Dr. Alev Erkilet
Assistants None
Work Placement(s) No

Recommended or Required Reading
Resources Poloma, Margaret M. (1979) Contemporary Sociological Theory, MacMillan.
Ritzer, George (2003) Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, Blackwell Publishing.
Lee Raymond L.M. (2005) “Bauman, Liquid Modernity and Dilemmas of Development”, Thesis Eleven. 2005;83(1):61-77.
Wild, Helga (2012) “Practice and the Theory of Practice. Rereading Certeau’s ‘Practice of Everyday Life’”, JBA Review Essay, Spring 2012, p.1-19. This article is available on the link below: https://rauli.cbs.dk/public/journals/20/StaticPages/review_essays/WildReviewEssay.pdf.
E.C. Cuff, W. W. Sharrock, D. W. Francis (2005) Perspectives in Sociology: Classical and Contemporary, 4th Edition, Routledge.
Bauman, Zygmunt (2003) Wasted Lives: Modernity and Its Outcasts, Polity Press.
Davis, Angela (1983) Women, Race and Class, Vintage Books.
Fanon, Frantz (2008) Black Skin, White Masks, Richard Philcox (trans.), New York: Grove Press.
Wallerstein, Immanuel (2001) The End of the World as We Know It: Social Science for the Twenty First Century, University of Minnesota Press.
Poloma, Margaret M. (1979) Contemporary Sociological Theory, MacMillan.
Ritzer, George (2003) Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, Blackwell Publishing.
Lee Raymond L.M. (2005) “Bauman, Liquid Modernity and Dilemmas of Development”, Thesis Eleven. 2005;83(1):61-77.

Wild, Helga (2012) “Practice and the Theory of Practice. Rereading Certeau’s ‘Practice of Everyday Life’”, JBA Review Essay, Spring 2012, p.1-19. This article is available on the link below: https://rauli.cbs.dk/public/journals/20/StaticPages/review_essays/WildReviewEssay.pdf.

Additional Reading Advices:
E.C. Cuff, W. W. Sharrock, D. W. Francis (2005) Perspectives in Sociology: Classical and Contemporary, 4th Edition, Routledge.
Bauman, Zygmunt (2003) Wasted Lives: Modernity and Its Outcasts, Polity Press.
Davis, Angela (1983) Women, Race and Class, Vintage Books.
Deegan, Mary Jo (ed.) (1991) Women in Sociology: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook, New York: Greenwood Press.
Fanon, Frantz (2008) Black Skin, White Masks, Richard Philcox (trans.), New York: Grove Press.
Wallerstein, Immanuel (2001) The End of the World as We Know It: Social Science for the Twenty First Century, University of Minnesota Press.

Course Category
Social Sciences %100

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria
In-Term Studies Quantity Percentage
Mid-terms 1 % 30
Assignment 1 % 15
Attendance 1 % 10
Final examination 1 % 45
Total
4
% 100

 
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration Total Work Load
Course Duration 14 3 42
Assignments 1 25 25
Mid-terms 1 35 35
Final examination 1 55 55
Total Work Load   Number of ECTS Credits 5 157

Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
NoLearning Outcomes
1 1. The student is able to recognize the main theoretical approaches in the field of contemporary sociology.
2 2. The student is able to make comparisons between the understandings and explanations of different social thinkers.
3 3. The student is able to recognize the differences between and complementary nature of naturalistic, interpretative and evaluative approaches; functionalist and conflict theories, structuralism and interactionism and evaluate the holistic and multiplex nature of the social reality.
4 4. The student can adopt or use the concepts he/she learned in the class to analyze several social phenomena in his/her daily life.
5 5. The student is eager to create new concepts and understandings about social reality.
6 6. The student is able to write a critical article about and analyze the sociologist’s theories.


Weekly Detailed Course Contents
WeekTopicsStudy MaterialsMaterials
1 Talcott Parsons: Towards a General Theory of Action Reading the texts Margaret Poloma, Contemporary Sociological Theory, Part I Chapter 8
2 Lewis Coser: Functions of Social Conflict Reading the texts Margaret Poloma, Contemporary Sociological Theory, Part I Chapter 5
3 Erving Goffman: Symbolic Interactionism reading the texts Margaret Poloma, Contemporary Sociological Theory, Part II Chapter 10
4 Peter Berger: A Synthesis of Structuralism and Interactionism reading the texts Margaret Poloma, Contemporary Sociological Theory, Part II Chapter 13
5 C. Wright Mills: Sociological Imagination reading the texts Margaret Poloma, Contemporary Sociological Theory, Part III Chapter 14
6 Norbert Elias: The Civilizing Process reading the texts Ritzer, George (2003) Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, Chapter 7.
7 Frantz Fanon/ Aimé Césaire/ Angela Davis:The Wretched of the Earth, Négritude, to be a black woman reading the texts Frantz Fanon Black Skin, White Masks (2008), Angela Davis, Women, Race and Class (1983).
8 Arasınav
9 Anthony Giddens: Structuration Theory reading the texts Ritzer, George (2003) Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, Chapter 10.
10 Zygmunt Bauman: Liquid Modernity reading the texts Lee R.L.M, “Bauman, Liquid Modernity and Dilemmas of Development”. Thesis Eleven. 2005;83(1):61-77. doi:10.1177/0725513605057137
11 Michel Foucault:Post-structuralism reading the texts Ritzer, George (2003) Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, Chapter 8.
12 Pierre Bourdieu:Inspiring discussions about capital, fields.. reading the texts Ritzer, George (2003) Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, Chapter 11.
13 Immanuel Wallerstein: Dependency Theory and Social Science for the Twenty-First Century reading the texts Wallerstein, I.(2001) The End of the World as We Know It: Social Science for the Twenty-First Century, 220-253.
14 Henri Lefebvre/Michel de Certeau. Sociology of Daily Life reading the texts Wild, Helga (2012) “Practice and the Theory of Practice: Rereading Certeau’s ‘Practice of Everyday Life’”, JBA Review Essay, Spring 2012, p.1-19. https://rauli.cbs.dk/public/journals/20/StaticPages/review_essays/WildReviewEssay.pdf


Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13
All 5
C1 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 4
C2 5 3 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 4
C3 5 4 4 5 4 3 3 3 5 3 2 4
C4 5 3 4 3 5 5 3 4 3 4 5 4
C5 5 3 4 5 4 5 3 4 5 4 5 4
C6 5 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 4 5 4

Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant


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