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2023/2024 BA-BSOCO2022U Theories of Modern Society
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| Theories of Modern Society |
Course information |
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| Language | English |
| Course ECTS | 7.5 ECTS |
| Type | Mandatory |
| Level | Bachelor |
| Duration | One Semester |
| Start time of the course | Autumn |
| Timetable | Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk |
| Study board |
Study Board for BSc in Business Administration and
Sociology
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| Last updated on 29-06-2023 | |
Relevant links |
| Learning objectives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On successful completion of the course, the
student should be able to:
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| Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Number of compulsory
activities which must be approved (see section 13 of the Programme
Regulations): 1
Compulsory home
assignments
Students have to prepare a compulsory group presentation during the course. It takes the form of a brief presentation to the class. The topics are allocated by the lecturers – typically an exam question from previous years. Each topic will address a specific theoretical bloc of the course. As far as possible, the presentations will be spread over the course, making them a recurring element of the learning process. |
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| Course content, structure and pedagogical approach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Modern society presents a unique environment to private, public, and third sector organisations. Increasingly, established social hierarchies are challenged, leading to new forms of freedom and domination, just as earlier power relations continue to be in effect under new conditions. Simultaneously, different spheres in society – science, politics, art, education, religion – seem to become increasingly autonomous and increasingly intertwined. Unlike many other disciplines, sociology has not established a dominant paradigm for understanding these developments and the social, human, and other challenges they raise. Instead, the most influential sociological theorists rely on very different basic assumptions and methodological approaches to understand modern society. This course introduces five key sociological theorists that have had lasting influence on sociology and its many sub-disciplines. During the course, we will uncover the basic assumptions, key concepts, and central arguments of the theorists. We will focus on ways that these perspectives have been applied to fields relevant to private, public, and third sector organisations, and more broadly examine how the theories shed important light on changing constellations of economic, political, and social actors as well as on the social, human, and other consequences of their activities. Students will have the opportunity to apply the theoretical perspectives to contemporary cases in a collaborative manner. Throughout the course, we will focus on how the authors theorise the stratification and differentiation of modern society. The course builds on the theories that were introduced during Fundamentals of Social Theory. |
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| Description of the teaching methods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The course consists of three types of sessions
for each theory that is introduced: Lectures, examples of empirical
application and/or further theoretical developments, and workshops
focused on the students’ active appropriation of the theory.
Lectures are focused on understanding, application, and reflection. Workshops will be focused on application. A final workshop will focus on comparing the perspectives introduced during the course. To ensure engagement, students are expected to do short presentations of their work during the course. |
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| Feedback during the teaching period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The course is designed to enable continuous
feedback. Students are expected to hand in small assignments after
each lecture and short oral presentations. They will in turn
receive collective feedback on assignments and presentations.
During workshops, groups are encouraged to ask questions and present their work, on which they will then have the opportunity to receive feedback as they work with applying the concepts of the lectures to a case. Students have access to 5 multiple choice quizzes at CBS Canvas, which provide feedback to each answer option. All groups are offered supervision at prearranged timeslots. These timeslots are set in the office hours. The slots are distributed by the teacher and it is optional for the students to use the offer. |
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