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2020/2021

Sociology of Culture

Code: 104999 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2501928 Audiovisual Communication FB 2 2
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Maria del Mar Griera Llonch
Email:
MariaDelMar.Griera@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Other comments on languages

The course assignments and the exam can be done in english, catalan, spanish or french.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course

Objectives and Contextualisation

The main objectives of this course are:

a) Learn to think sociologically about culture in its broader sense

b) To understand the main theoretical perspectives  for examining processes of social  construction of reality.

c) To acquire tools to analyze empirically the cultural phenomena, to put them in context and to understand their meaning.

Competences

  • Demonstrate a critical and self-critical capacity.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and be able to relay ideas effectively in Catalan, Spanish and a third language.
  • Master the key concepts and knowledge that allow modern society and politics to be interpreted.
  • Rigorously apply scientific thinking.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Assimilate the necessary knowledge of social and political structure to understand the processes and the development of modern audiovisual phenomena.
  2. Define the basic concepts of political science.
  3. Define the basic concepts of sociological analysis.
  4. Demonstrate a critical and self-critical capacity.
  5. Develop critical thinking and reasoning and be able to relay ideas effectively in Catalan, Spanish and a third language.
  6. Rigorously apply scientific thinking.

Content

 

Part A. The sociological view on culture: theoretical, methodological and conceptual introduction"

a.1. What do we mean when we talk about culture? Conceptual clarifications

a.2. Perspectives: Cultural Sociology vs Sociology of Culture 

a.3. Thinking sociologically about culture: knowledge, power and context 

a.4. What role for culture in the making of society? main theoretical approaches

 

Part B. Interlude. The Ethnography lab: Capturing Culture Empirically

b.1. Where is culture, and where is not? Conceptual boundaries, and fuzzy empirical realities.

b.2. Educating the sociological gaze: ethnography and the sociological imagination

b.3. An ethnography of a cultural ritual: observing, documenting, thinking and explaining. 

 

Part C. Interrogating culture from different angles

c.1. Embodying culture? Reflections on culture, body, and the self

c.2. Culture and the everyday: love, food and leisure

c.3. Inequalities and culture: Class, gender, and race 

c.4 Sensing culture: taste, emotions and symbolic boundaries

c. 5. The production of culture: fields, scenes and actors

c.6. Culture and the making of the community: religions, nations and memory 

c.7. Globalization and acceleration in the cultural world

 

The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject. In case of a change of teaching modality for health reasons, teachers will make readjustments in the schedule and methodologies.

Methodology

The course is organized around four type of activities: 

a) Masterclasses that outline the main approach to the subject.

b) Reading Workshops where readings are discussed and / or joint work is carried out around specific issues.

c) Ethnography Lab: Capturing Culture Empirically. The students carry out an ethnographic work that the teacher supervises during student meetings and during designated class times. 

d)Personal and group tutorials. 

The proposed teaching methodology and evaluation activities may undergo some modifications depending on the health authorities' attendance restrictions

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Masterclass 52 2.08 1, 3, 2
Tutorials 3 0.12
Type: Supervised      
Ethnography Lab: Capturing Culture Empirically 35 1.4 6, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5
Type: Autonomous      
Reading and writing assignments 22 0.88 6, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5

Assessment

Students will be entitled to the revaluation of the subject. They should present a minimum of activities that equals two-thirds of the total grading. 

The activities that are excluded from the revaluation process are the ethnography of a ritual. 

In the case of a second enrolment, students can do a single synthesis exam/assignment that will consist of an exam. The grading of the subject will correspond to the grade of the synthesis exam/assignment

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Class participation 10% 10 0.4 6, 1, 4, 5
Final Exam 35% 3 0.12 6, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5
Reading and writing assignments 25% 0 0 6, 1, 4, 5
Understanding culture: Ethnography of a ritual (assignment) 30% 25 1 6, 1, 3, 4, 5

Bibliography

An updated list of bibliographical references will be published in the moodle.