Sociology as a major field of study for BIDS
students
LISA EKLUND, AXEL FREDHOLM, OLLE FRÖDIN, CHRIS MATHIEU, JOHAN
SANDBERG, DEPT. OF SOCIOLOGY
Presentation overview
• A quick description to what sociology is (according to
some of us in any case)
• The courses we offer that are expressly designed for
Development Studies students
• Writing a thesis in sociology with a focus on development
studies
What is sociology?
• The literal answer: the scientific study of society
• The better answer: Multi-level, multiple perspective
approach to studying just about anything.
• The classic question – how is society and most of
what we find in it possible? How association takes
place – from micro/intimate relations, between two
individuals (and even the ”internal conversation”
within an individual - individual subject without
becoming psychological – “society within mind”) to
global level relations and forces. Can analyse
capitalism, inequality, gender, at all levels.
What is Sociology - continued
• Multiple approaches: conflict-consensus; social, cultural, economic,
interactionistic, practice perspectives. Few facts, mostly well-founded
arguments, perspectives, theories and methods to examine perennial
and specific open questions. Not much to memorize, lots to analyse –
almost anything can be analysed sociologically. A discipline with a
double activity – to investigate concrete situations, contexts,
circumstances; while at the same time actively investigating the
premises for its own impact and knowledge production – why and how
do we understand things the way we do, and how do others do so in
similar circumstances? And what are the consequences of this
understanding? This is what it is to be critical and reflexive discipline.
• Applied to development – see “whole pictures” or at least expanded
frames. An ability to analyse complexity intensively and extensively.
Understand multiple causalities
Courses Fall 2015
• The fall semester offers two courses:
• SOCB27: Sociology: International Migration &
Development, 15 credits (half-speed)
• SOCB28: Sociology: Development and Social Welfare
Policies, 15 credits (half-speed)
• The courses run in parallel (amount to a full-time course)
Courses Spring 2016
• The spring semester offers two courses:
• SOC B29: Sociology: Managing Sustainability, 15
credits (half-speed)
• SOC B26: Sociology: The Sociology of Human
Development, 15 credits (half-speed)
• The courses run in parallel (amount to a full-time course)
SOCB27 International Migration and
Development (Fall term)
• The course examines the link between migration and development
especially from “periphery” to “core” states in the terminology of global
systems theory. The objective of the course is to give the ability to
identify the causes of migration and how migration affects both sending
countries and receiving countries. Core questions are:
– What are the causes of migration to wealthier states and what policies
do they have regarding migration?
– How does migration affect the sending countries, and emigrant
regions?
– How do the unequal relations between the countries in the world
influence migration?
• Migration is studied at the micro-level, as an individual decision to move
to another country, at the group level as a family strategy in sending
regions to increase income; and in terms of the macro-level effects of
remittances, brain drain, brain gain, brain circulation
SOCB28 Development and Social
Welfare Policies (Fall term)
• The course is divided into two interrelated parts – one
more theoretical and the other case study oriented.
• In Part 1, students analyze classic typologies of welfare
capitalism before moving into social welfare policies in
developing contexts, their particular structural and cultural
opportunities and constraints, as well as recent social
policy transformations.
• In part 2, students analyze social policy trends in different
regions. Researchers present their recently completed
case studies in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
• All teaching, assignments and exams are directly related
to ongoing events and processes in developing contexts.
SOCB26 The Sociology of Human
Development (Spring)
• In this course students apply sociological theory to a set
of development issues and problems.
• Grounded in a review of classical sociological theory and
an historical analysis of various development
philosophies and paradigms, the course moves into a set
of contemporary sociological theory and research areas:
- Economic sociology
- Institutional theory
- Sociology of Organizations
- Human Development
• The course ends with a set of country case studies.
SOCB29 Managing Sustainability, Society
and Collective Behaviour (Spring term)
• The course aims to give the student basic knowledge on understanding and managing
sustainability.
• The course introduces basic terms, concepts and theories that are necessary to
understand sustainable development.
• Sustainable development and sustainability has increasingly become used in various
ways in within-disciplines as well as cross-disciplinary which has also expanded /
eroded the meaning of the term.
• Theories on the nature-society relationship, e.g. the role of nature in relation to socioeconomic development
• The constructivist approach to environmental problems, e.g. are environmental
problems ‘real’ or are they ‘socially created’?
• The rise of ‘green politics’, e.g. the history of ideas and concepts related to
sustainability
• Capitalism and sustainable development, e.g. are they compatible?
• Social organization and sustainability, e.g. are collective efforts possible at a global
scale?
SOCB24 Fieldwork, Internship and
Research Overview (Spring term)
• 15 credits spring – first half of final semester (year 3)
• Desk study
• Fieldwork (MFS 8 internal; 2 external)
• Internship
• Diaries and final report
UTVK03: Bachelor Thesis
• 15 credits – second half of final semester (year 3)
• Independent thesis based on scientific principles
• Various aspects and processes of development studied
from a sociological point of view
• Supervisors from sociology
• Individual supervision
• Group supervision – peer reviewing
• Thesis defense (and opposition)
 Be strategic in your choice of thesis topic. A good thesis
can open doors to future employment!
Welcome to the Department of
Sociology!
• From Lisa, Olle, Johan, Axel and Chris
• Study advisor: Christian Landgren / Britt-Marie Rönn
studievagledare@soc.lu.se
• Director of Studies: Chris Mathieu:
christopher.mathieu@soc.lu.se