ASOK15429U Contemporary Economic Sociology

Volume 2016/2017
Education

MA thematic course (MSc Curriculum 2005)

MA Theory and Themes course (MSc Curriculum 2015)

Course package (MSc 2015):

- Welfare, inequality and mobility
- Knowledge, organisation and politics

 

Content

The course introduces the theoretical and empirical foundations of contemporary economic sociology, as a way to understand how sociologists engage with the study of complex socioeconomic issues. In the last decades, a vibrant economic sociology has emerged and developed, which has critically analysed both latest capitalist developments and a broad range of economy-related phenomena.

 

Part I. Introduction to contemporary economic sociology

1.Introduction: why and what a contemporary economic sociology for?

2. Old/new and broad/narrow economic sociology

3. Globalization and capitalism

 

Part II. Main perspectives and analytical concepts

4. Macro-micro perspectives. Social structure, culture, institutions, embeddedness, social system, state.

5. Micro-macro perspectives. Networks, social capital, identities, conventions, field, sector, social interaction.

6. Performativity of economics and economization

 

Part III. Main topics and issues

7. Markets

8. Inequality and finance

9. Calculation and value/valuation

 

Part IV. Current issues in contemporary capitalism

 

10. Globalizing production: global production/value networks/chains; Multi-National Corporations and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

11. Economy’s financialization (global financial markets) and culturalization (signs, symbols, information, knowledge, digitalization)

12. Comparative capitalisms and crisis: competing models of capitalism, and alternatives to current capitalism.

13. The challenge of the European and Nordic model of welfare capitalism

 

14. Conclusions and summing-up

Learning Outcome

After completion students are expected to be able to:

 

1. Knowledge:

 

-master the central concepts and principles of the new economic sociology, its main approaches, and recent developments.

 

-understand the main differencees between the main approaches of contemporary economic sociology

 

-reflect critically on the strenghts and weaknesses of the approaches and perspectives covered in the course.

 

2. Skills:

 

-carry out an original definition essay based on syllabus literature.

 

-analyse issues and problems related to current capitalism, globalization and crisis.  

 

-distinguish and evaluate the different analytical strategies to specific phenomena related to contemporary economies.

 

3. Competences:

 

-select and formulate relevant themes and questions, and identify adequate theories to analyse them.

 

-design an analytical strategy

 

-structure a coherent analytical essay on a topic of the course.

  

 

Course readings or texts will be available in a compendium and in electronic format in Absalon.

 

7.5 ECTS: 600 pages

10 ECTS: 800 pages

 

There are no main books. Most of the texts are journal articles and selected book-chapters.

 

General and reference sources (not obligatory):

 

-Beckert, Jens and Zafirovski, Milan (eds.) (2006) International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology. London: Routledge.

 

-“Economic Sociology. The European Electronic Newsletter” at http:/​/​econsoc.mpifg.de/​archive

The classes will consist of a combination of short lecturing, discussion of texts, group-work and debates, student presentations, working of examples and data, some media/visual documents, and if possible talks by guest lecturers.
INDICATIVE WORKLOAD
The number of lecture hours are the same for both 7,5 and 10 ECTS courses.

10 ECTS:
Lectures: 28
Course preparation: 80
Exercises: 28
Exam Preparation: 139
Total: 275
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Course Preparation
  • 60
  • Exam
  • 50
  • Exercises
  • 40
  • Lectures
  • 28
  • Preparation
  • 28
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual or group. A portfolio assignment is defined as a series of short assignments during the course that address one or more set questions and feedback is offered during the course. All of the assignments are submitted together for assessment at the end of the course. The portfolio assignments must be no longer than 10 pages. For group assignments, an extra 5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2015 to take this exam.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Criteria for exam assesment

Please see the learning outcome

Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual/group. Free written take-home essays are assignments for which students define and formulate a problem within the parameters of the course and based on an individual exam syllabus. The free written take-home essay must be no longer than 10 pages. For group assignments, an extra 5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2005 to take this exam.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Criteria for exam assesment

Please see the learning outcome