POLS241 Questioning Contemporary Societies: Analytical Approaches and Research Tools
Annotation:
The main focus of the course is on analytical approaches and tools in understanding society and social phenomena. Over the last years the boundaries between the different social disciplines have started to be more blurring as well as societies have started being more fragmented and rapidly changing. Therefore, the aim of the course is to present multidisciplinary analytical approaches from different disciplines as political sciences, sociology, anthropology, etc. In addition to the overview of the different analytical approaches, the course would also provide knowledge on concrete analytical tools and their practical application. Basic topics as types of data, data collection, data sources, data analysis and visualization as well as combination of different tools and approaches will be also presented.
Lecturers:
Lyuba Devetakova
Course Description:
Competencies:
After completing successfully this course the students will:
1) know:
• How to critically approaching an issue
• How to define relevant research questions
• Analytical approaches and tools to face a research question
2) are capable of:
• Carrying out an independent research
• Collecting data and using data resources
• Data analysis and data visualization
Prerequisites:
• Curiosity to and general knowledge of the current political and social issues
• General knowledge of world’s history
• MS Excel basic skills
Types:
Full-time Programmes
Types of Courses:
Lecture
Language of teaching:
English
Topics:
Bibliography:
Students are highly encouraged to use the resources of:
NBU library on: http://nbu.bg/bg/library
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/
National Academic Library Information System on http://primo.nalis.bg/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do
Berger, P. Invitation to sociology.Doubleday,1963
Berger, P and Luckman, T. The Social Construction of Reality, Anchor Books, 1966
Bourdieu, P. Public Opinion Does Not Exist in Communication and Class Struggle, Vol I (1979), ed. Armand Mattelart and Seth Siegelaub
Geertz, C. The interpretation of cultures, Basic Books, 1973
Sharma, A. and Gupta, A. Anthropology of the State – A Reader, Blackwell Publishing, 2006
Works by and about Max Weber on https://archive.org/
Assessment:
Written assignment 70%
Practical assignment 45%
Participation in seminar 55%
Oral exam 30%