Sociology of Knowledge
Code: 101131 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2500262 Sociology | OT | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- Maria del Mar Griera Llonch
- Email:
- mariadelmar.griera@uab.cat
Teachers
- Esperanza Bielsa Mialet
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
There is none.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objective of the course is to question knowledge from a sociological perspective. During the course, we will ask ourselves questions such as the following: what do we consider "knowledge" in our society? How do people decide what to believe and what is worth believing in? What role do institutions such as the university play in the production of knowledge? Whom do we consider an expert in our society? What is the relationship between knowledge and reality? And what role does knowledge play in how we imagine and construct possible future scenarios?
The course will address these questions by combining the approaches of classical authors with contemporary contributions. We will also take the opportunity to relate theoretical contributions to the results of empirical research. The teaching methodology will combine lectures with seminars on readings.
Competences
- Applying the concepts and approaches of the sociological theory, specially the explanations of social inequalities between classes, between genders and between ethnic groups, to the implementation of public policies and to the resolution of conflict situations.
- Demonstrating a comprehension of the approaches of the sociological theory in its different aspects, interpretations and historical context.
- Describing social phenomena in a theoretically relevant way, bearing in mind the complexity of the involved factors, its causes and its effects.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Effectively communicating the basic analysis of social phenomena in an elementary level of English.
- Generating innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Searching for documentary sources starting from concepts.
- Students must be capable of assessing the quality of their own work.
- Students must be capable of managing their own time, planning their own study, managing the relationship with their tutor or adviser, as well as setting and meeting deadlines for a work project.
Learning Outcomes
- Comparing the different theoretical approaches about culture.
- Comparing the reading of cultural phenomena from several ideologies of the social reality of Spain and Catalonia.
- Defining the sociological concepts that interpret the cultural phenomena.
- Defining the underlying social phenomena of cultural policies and conflicts.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Effectively communicating the basic analysis of social phenomena in an elementary level of English.
- Explaining the social interpretations of culture according to these approaches.
- Expressing the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to culture.
- Generating innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
- Relating the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to culture, with the historical context in which they emerged.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Searching for documentary sources starting from concepts.
- Students must be capable of assessing the quality of their own work.
- Students must be capable of managing their own time, planning their own study, managing the relationship with their tutor or adviser, as well as setting and meeting deadlines for a work project.
Content
Main Program Modules
1. Introduction:The Sociology of Knowledge
2. The University in a Context of Neoliberal Globalization
3. Intellectuals and Experts Production
4. Dissemination of Knowledge: Issues of Translation Knowledge
5. Commons, and Institutions of Collective Action
6. The role of knowledge and the imagination of the future
These modules may be adapted and/or slightly modified in the specific course program.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Section 1 and 2 | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 2, 3, 8, 11 |
| Section 3 and 4 | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 3, 4, 8 |
| Section 5 and 6 | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Debates in class and preparation of the essay | 30 | 1.2 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Reading and commentary of the texts | 60 | 2.4 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
The course will combine lectures, reading seminars, and presentations on specific topics. Additionally, the students will develop an essay on a topic that will be agreed upon initially.
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.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Final Exam | 50 | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12 |
| In-class presentation | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15 |
Continuous Assessment
An essay to be defined at the beginning of the course (30%)
An exam (50%)
A class presentation (20%)
Single Assessment
A memorization exam (70%)
An essay (30%)
The review of the final grade follows the same procedure as for continuous assessment.
**It will be necessary to obtain a minimum of 4.75 in all parts of the assessment (exam, essay, and class presentation) to be able to pass the course.
Bibliography
- ADLER-NISSEN, Rebecca; KROPP, Kristoffer, A Sociology of Knowledge of European Integration, London/New York: Routledge, 2016.
- BERGER, Peter L. ; LUCKMANN, Thomas. La construcció social de la realitat : un tractat de sociologia del coneixement. Barcelona: Herder, 1996.
- DESPRET, V.¿Qué dirían los animales… si les hiciéramos las preguntas correctas?, Madrid: Cactus, 2018.
- DESPRET, V. A la salud de los muertos, Madrid: La oveja roja, 2016.
- FRASER, Heather; TAYLOR, Nik. Neoliberalization, Universities and the Public Intellectual. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
- HACKING, Ian. ¿La construcción social de qué?. Barcelona [etc.]: Paidós, cop. 2001
- HESS, Charlotte ; OSTROM, Elinor (eds.). Los bienes comunes del conocimiento. Madrid :Traficantes de Sueños, 2016.
- HOROWITZ, I.L. , Historia y elementos de sociología del conocimiento, Buenos Aires: EUDEBA, 1964.
- LAKOFF, George ; JOHNSON, Mark. Metáforas de la vida cotidiana. Madrid: Cátedra, DL 1986
- LÖWY, M., ¿Qué es la sociología del conocimiento?, México: Fontamara, 2000.
- MANHEIM, K. Ideologia i Utopia, Barcelona: Ed.62, 1987.
- MANNHEIM, Karl. Ideología y utopía: introducción a la sociología del conocimiento. México,D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2010.
- MERTON, R.K. Estudios sobre sociología de la ciencia a R. K. Merton, Teoría y estructuras sociales, México: FCE, 1965.
- MERTON, Robert K., La sociologia de la ciencia: investigaciones teóricas y empíricas, Madrid:Alianza Universidad, 1977.
- PFADENHAUER, M. The New Sociology of Knowledge: The Life and Work of Peter L. Berger, New York: Routledge, 2013.
- SCHÜTZ, A. Estudios sobre teoría social, Buenos Aires: Amorrortu, 1974.
- SEARLE, J. R. La Construcción de la realidad social, Barcelona: Paidós, 1997
- SEARLE, John R. La construcción de la realidad social. Barcelona [etc.]: Paidós, 1997
- SIEGEL, K., Women's Autobiographies, Culture, Feminism, New York: Peter Lang, 2011.
- STEPANOVA, M. En memoria de la memoria, Madrid, El acantilado, 2022.
Software
There is no specific one.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 51 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 51 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |