AØKB08030U Economic Sociology

The Course gives the student thorough knowledge of the classical economic sociological analysis on the development of the modern society.

Classical economic sociology emerged out of a concern about the cohesion of and individuals’ life in modern society i.e. the society that emerged during the industrial revolution. A critical approach to societal development was developed and is also today a core ingredient in economic sociological theories and analysis.

The course gives an introduction to classical economic sociology with an emphasis on Weber, Marx, Durkheim and Simmel. The main part of the course is on contemporary economic sociology. The student gets knowledge of the contents and developments of economic sociology since Granovetters reintroduction of the concept of embeddedness in the mid 1980s and the development of economic sociology with contributions from among others Gary Becker, Bourdieu as well as Giddens and Habermas.

The course contains texts debating the understanding of markets, the role of the state and the impact of social structures on the understanding of how modern society works and how it should be studied. Knowledge on economic sociology, sociological theory and economic sociology analysis on societal developments gives the student a comprehensive knowledge of the manifold and creative economic sociological analysis of modern society and the societal frames and background for individual action.

This gives the student knowledge in ways of analysing modern society and individual actions that in many ways challenges economic theory.