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2021/2022

Social Structure

Code: 100475 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500257 Criminology FB 1 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:
Joan Miquel Verd Pericās
Email:
JoanMiquel.Verd@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

In case some students do not understand the language of the course, all the complementary explanation they could need will be provided. If there are international students, theory classes and seminars will be held in Spanish

Prerequisites

There are no pre-requeriments.

Objectives and Contextualisation

This subject, Social Structure, offers the student the knowledge s/he needs to understand the processes that shape social inequality in late modern societies, and, at the same time, provides very useful and valuable inputs for the analysis of several factors associated with the genesis of criminality as well as with the social contexts in which it appears.

The aim of the subject is to introduce the students to the main concepts, theories and fields of research developed by sociologists in order to study the fundamental processes of social structuration in late modern societies.

The course focuses on the analysis of basic dimensions of inequality (class, gender, and ethnicity), and also attends to the outcomes of the structuration processes under the pressure of different institutional configurations. The acquisition of these knowledges and skills will be illustrated with comparative data from Catalonia/Spain within the context of the EU, and through the elaboration and use of several statistical indicators.

Competences

  • Ability to analyse and summarise.
  • Analysing the conflict and criminology by using the criminological theories and their psychological and sociological foundations.
  • Drawing up an academic text.
  • Students must demonstrate they know the psychological and sociological concepts and foundations of criminology.
  • Verbally transmitting ideas to an audience.
  • Working autonomously.
  • Working in teams and networking.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Ability to analyse and summarise.
  2. Drawing up an academic text.
  3. Explaining the applied sociological bases of criminology.
  4. Using the sociological bases to analyse crime situations.
  5. Verbally transmitting ideas to an audience.
  6. Working autonomously.
  7. Working in teams and networking.

Content

1. Introduction: the sociological perspective in the analysis of social structure. Social structure and inequalities.
2. Conflict, social movements and collective action.
3. Social classes.
4. Gender and family.
5. Ethnicity and racism.
6. State, productive model, welfare regime and labor market.
7. Urban space, poverty and social exclusion.
8. Migrations.
9. Crisis, uncertainty, fear and security.
10.Society, environment and ecological crisis.

Before the beginning of the semester students will have a schedule of all the activities of the course in the virtual campus

Methodology

The evaluation system is one of continuous evaluation. The evidences that will be taken into account are team work, participation in seminars and a final exam. Team work counts for 30% of the final grade, the exam for 50% and the seminars for the remaining 20%. The students will be able to recover both the continuous assessment activities and the final exam.

On Working Teams

Characteristics: the work will consist of an essay on one of the subjects included in the syllabus. The topic will be freely chosen.
Group: 4 members
Length: 4000 words
Calendar: the schedule of work deliveries will be specified at the beginning of the course. But it will consist of the definition of the topic; the search of bibliography and the preparation of the index; a preliminary partial delivery; and a final delivery.
Follow-up: during the course there will be sessions to follow up and resolve doubts about the work. These will be indicated at the beginning of the course.

On the Seminars

The seminars are reading seminars in which the compulsory bibliography is discussed. Each seminar is related to one of the points on the syllabus. A calendar of the seminars and an indication of the corresponding readings will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Assistance

Both theory and seminar classes are compulsory. A student who does not attend a minimum of 80% of the classes cannot be evaluated. Absences can only be justified for reasons of illness or other force majeure and for academic reasons previously authorized by the teaching staff.

Punctuality

Classes start on time. Late arrival is not admitted. 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures. 19.5 0.78 3, 2, 1, 7, 4
Seminars. Cooperative learning process (working in small groups) and mixed methodology (bi-directional). 19.5 0.78 3, 1, 4
Type: Autonomous      
Evaluation. 5 0.2 3, 1, 6, 4
Student external work 106 4.24 3, 1, 6, 4

Assessment

The exam will include specific questions about the compulsory readings as well as on the lessons taught in class.

Only students that have done all tests and exercises and that have attended at least 80% of the lessons will be evaluated.
 
Students will be given a second chance of redoing every exam or exercise that they have failed.

Collective essays that do not accomplish the minimum requirements either will not be evaluated or should be remade. In this context, one must understand by “minimum requirements”: (1) papers should not have major deficiencies in its formal structure, (2) they must include the recommended bibliography.

A student who cheats or attempts it an exam will have a 0 in the subject and will lose the right to re-assessment. A student who submits a practice in which there is evidence of plagiarism or who cannot justify the arguments of their practice will get a 0 and receive a warning. In case of repetition of the behavior, the student will suspend the subject (0) and will lose the right to recovery.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Collective working paper on one of the several subjects proposed to the students 30% 0 0 3, 2, 1, 7, 4
Final exam on the contents of the course (compulsory readings and theoretical lectures) 50% 0 0 3, 1, 5, 6, 4
Participation in the seminars and group presentation based on one of the compulsory readings 20% 0 0 3, 1, 5, 7, 4

Bibliography

1. COMPULSORY READINGS

The dossier with the following compulsory readings will be available on the virtual campus:

Bauman, Zygmunt. (2009). Trabajo, consumismo y nuevos pobres. Gedisa, pp. 43-73

Bauman, Zygmunt (2007). Miedo Líquido. Paidós, pp. 9-35.

D'Angelo, Alessio (2018). Flujos migratorios en el Mediterráneo, Anuario CIDOB de la Inmigración 2018. CIDOB, p.30-46

Della Porta, Donatella i Diani, Mario (2011). Los movimientos sociales. CIS i Editorial Complutense, p.125-151.

Engels, Federico (1984[1845]).La situación de la clase obrera en Inglaterra. Ediciones de cultura popular, p. 54-107.

Espluga, Josep. (2001) Atur juvenil, salut i exclusió social. Revista Catalana de Sociologia, 15, p. 41-67.

Inza, Amaia (2014). La mercantilización del bienestar y el reforzamiento del Estado disciplinario. Revista de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociológicas, 13(1), p.49-69

Wacquant, Loïc (2001). Parias urbanos. Marginalidad en la ciudad comienzos del milenio. Manantial, p. 165-188 i 189-204.

Wacquant, Loïc (2007). La cárcel es una institución fuera de la ley. Conversación acerca de Las Cárceles de la miseria. Urvio. Revista latinoamericana de Seguridad Ciudadana 1, p.153-160

 

2. COMPLEMENTARY READINGS

Aguilar, Salvador. (2001). Ordre i desordre. Hacer

Berger, Peter. (1986). Invitació a la sociologia. Una perspectiva humanística. Herder.

Bourdieu, Pierre. (2000). La dominació masculina. Edicions 62. 

Bourdieu, Pierre. (2006). La distinción. Taurus. 

Ealham, Chris. (2005). Class, Culture & Conflict in Barcelona 1898-1937. Routledge.  

Mills, Charles Wright. (1985). La imaginació sociològica. Herder.

Neveu, Erik. (2009). Sociología de los movimientos sociales. Hacer.

Sennett, Richard. (2006). La cultura del nuevo capitalismo. Anagrama.

Sennett, Richard. (2005). La corrosión del carácter. Anagrama. 

Subirats, Joan. (2005). Perfils d’exclusió social urbana a Catalunya. UAB-IGOP. 

 

3. WEBSITES

Luxembourg Income Study: http://www.lisproject.org/

The Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality: http://www.stanford.edu/group/scspi/

UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre: http://www.unicef-irc.org/

European Foundation on Improvement of Livingandf WorkingConditions: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/qualityoflife/eurlife/index.php

Eurostat: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/

OECD Family database: http://www.oecd.org/document/4/0,3343,en_2649_34819_37836996_1_1_1_1,00.html

Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya: http://www.idescat.cat/

Instituto Nacional de Estadística: http://www.ine.es

Software

No software will be used in the course.