General Sociology
Code: 102303 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2501572 Business Administration and Management | OT | 4 |
| 2501573 Economics | OT | 3 |
| 2501573 Economics | OT | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- María Esther Fernández Mostaza
- Email:
- mariaesther.fernandez@uab.cat
Teachers
- María Esther Fernández Mostaza
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This course introduces Economics and Business Administration students to the sociological perspective, its main features and its basic conceptual and theoretical tools, with the objective of facilitating their ability to reflect on the human social condition and to understand the dynamics of social continuity and change.
Competences
- Business Administration and Management
- Capacity for independent learning in the future, gaining more profound knowledge of previous areas or learning new topics.
- Capacity for oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which enables synthesis and oral and written presentation of the work carried out.
- Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the structure of institutions and the state, their evolution and the consequences of possible changes, to be able to make a positive contribution to the debate about the role they play in current society.
- Identify improvements in the internal management process to stimulate company productivity.
- Identify the economic agents that make up an economy, understanding how they have been interrelated to date, how they are currently interrelated and forecast futures according to new circumstances and their influence on a specific company.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Work well in a team, being able to argue proposals and validate or reject the arguments of others in a reasoned manner.
- Economics
- Capacity for independent learning in the future, gaining more profound knowledge of previous areas or learning new topics.
- Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the structure of institutions and the state, their evolution and the consequences of possible changes, to be able to make a positive contribution to the debate about the role they play in current society.
- Identify improvements in the internal management process to stimulate company productivity.
- Identify the economic agents that make up an economy, understanding how they have been interrelated to date, how they are currently interrelated and forecast futures according to new circumstances and their influence on a specific company.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Show motivation for carrying out quality work and sensitivity to the consequences for the environment and society.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Value ethical commitment in professional practice.
- Work well in a team, being able to argue proposals and validate or reject the arguments of others in a reasoned manner.
Learning Outcomes
- A capacity of oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which allows them to summarise and present the work conducted both orally and in writing.
- Analyse the role of regulation in the workplace in Spain.
- Apply sociological analysis to current social structures.
- Assess ethical commitment in professional activity.
- Assess the interrelationships between companies and activity.
- Capacity to continue future learning independently, acquiring further knowledge and exploring new areas of knowledge.
- Demonstrate initiative and work independently when required.
- Demonstrate motivation regarding the quality of the work performed and sensitivity regarding the consequences on the environment and society.
- Identify ways of improving labour relations.
- Interpret the basic principles of sociology.
- Select and generate the information needed for each problem, analyse it and make decisions based on this information.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Work as part of a team and be able to argue own proposals and validate or refuse the arguments of others in a reasonable manner.
Content
Block 1. The classics of the discipline
The great European classics: Marx, Durkheim, Weber. The main themes include social class and alienation; power and authority; labor and the division of labor; urban life and modernity.
Block 2. Social Relations and Cultural Practice
The main themes include: the presentation of the person in everyday life; cultural and social capital; and social trust in the context of globalization and transformation.
Block 3. Identity, inequality and discrimination
Key themes include: Identity and diversity in the context of globalization; The construction and inequality of: gender, religious diversity and new educational inequalities.
Block 4. Citizenship and belonging
Key topics include: migration and integration; memory and, especially, socialization processes.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Class activities | 17 | 0.68 | 3, 1, 10, 17 |
| Course lectures | 32.5 | 1.3 | 3, 1, 10, 17 |
| Study, reading of texts | 75.5 | 3.02 | 3, 1, 7, 10, 16, 15, 14, 12, 13, 11 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Individual or small group meetings to resolve concerns and to supervise oral and written work | 10 | 0.4 | 3, 1, 6, 7, 10, 11 |
| Visual thinking and theory | 12 | 0.48 | 2, 3, 5, 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 8, 16, 15, 14, 12, 13, 11, 17, 4 |
Teaching is articulated around three types of classroom sessions: (a) Masterclasses by the teacher and (b) workshops; which have an autonomous learning part and whose results are presented in class, combined with (c) practical exercises based on the lessons taught and the assigned readings.
The lectures are aimed at the presentation by the teacher of the central concepts and arguments of the subject following the program's content, although not chronologically. All classes will promote student participation based on questions for debate and great attention will be paid to implementing visual thinking through mind maps and concept maps.
The workshops are spaces for working on the contents of the subject based on the theoretical classes and the readings assigned in advance. They are structured around three dynamics (with a specific and consensual calendar):
1. Debates around a specific reading in a "Reading Club" format;
2. Oral presentations, in group or individually, for three of the blocks of the subject; and
3. Group work that integrates the concept map, an oral presentation and a written document (maximum 10 pages).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conceptual map and presentation | 15% | 1 | 0.04 | 2, 3, 5, 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 8, 16, 15, 14, 12, 13, 11, 17, 4 |
| Essay | 40% | 0 | 0 | 3, 1, 6, 7, 10, 11 |
| Participation and group presentation of a text or audiovisual material | 5% | 0 | 0 | 3, 1, 7, 10, 17 |
| Written examination | 40% | 2 | 0.08 | 2, 3, 5, 1, 9, 10 |
The subject will be evaluated in the following way as CONTINUOUS EVALUATION:
1) Continuous participation and exhibition of a concept or text through a portfolio with students.
· The evaluation criteria will be explained in class and disseminated throughout the virtual campus.
· The evidence will be returned with comments.
· Submissions are in teams and a minimum of three throughout the course.
· 20% of the final grade.
2) Prepare an original essay on readings and practices in groups.
· It will be based on a list of questions provided during the course.
· The evaluation criteria will be explained in class and disseminated throughout the virtual campus.
· The evidence will be returned with comments.
· The work is necessarily in groups.
· 40% of the final grade.
3) Written exam. The written exam is given at the middle and end of the course, following the Faculty's exam calendar.
· It is an individual test and not a rote test.
· 20% of the final grade to each of the proofs (40% of the final grade).
COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION (Art. 265 of the UAB Academic Regulations) By requesting the comprehensive evaluation the student waives the option of continuous evaluation.
The comprehensive evaluation must be requested at the Academic Management (Gestió acadèmica) of the Campus where the degree/master's degree is taught.
The request must be filed according to the procedure and the deadline established by the administrative calendar of the Faculty of Economics and Business.
Face-to-face: Students must be present on the day of single assessment. The date will be the same as the end exam of the semester that appears in the evaluation calendar published by the Faculty of Economics and Business and approved by the Committee of Teaching and Academic Affairs of the Faculty. The duration of the single assessment must be specified within the characteristics of the activity.
100% of the evidence must be submitted on the day of the single assessment.
Evidence (1) Written Exam
Weight in the final evaluation (100%)
Duration of the activity: 2 hours
It is done in person.
RECOVERY: "In the recovery there is no distinction between students who have done continuous assessment and those who have opted for single assessment, all are evaluated with the same test or evidence of evaluation."
REVIEW OF THE FINAL GRADE: "The review of the final grade follows the same procedure as for continuous assessment".
Calendar of evaluation activities
The dates of the evaluation activities (midterm exams, exercises in the classroom, assignments, ...) will be announced well in advance during the semester.
The date of the final exam is scheduled in the assessment calendar of the Faculty.
"The dates of evaluation activities cannot be modified, unless there is an exceptional and duly justified reason why an evaluation activity cannot be carried out. In this case, the degree coordinator will contact both the teaching staff and the affected student, and a new date will be scheduled within the same academic period to make up for the missed evaluation activity." Section 1 of Article 264. Calendar of evaluation activities (Academic Regulations UAB).
Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, who in accordance with the previous paragraph need to change an evaluation activity date must process the request by filling out an Application for exams' reschedule: e-Formulari per a la reprogramació de proves.
Grade revision process
After all grading activities have ended, students will be informed of the date and way in which the course grades will be published. Students will be also be informed of the procedure, place, date and time of grade revision following University regulations.
Retake Process
"To be eligible to participate in the retake process, it is required for students to have been previously been evaluated for at least two thirds of the total evaluation activities of the subject." Section 2 of Article 261. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations). Additionally, it is required that the student to have achieved an average grade of the subject greater than or equal to 3.5 and less than 5.
The date of the retake exam will be posted in the calendar of evaluation activities of the Faculty. Students who take this exam and pass, will get a grade of 5 for the subject. If the student does not pass the retake, the grade will remain unchanged, and hence, student will fail the course.
Irregularities in evaluation activities
In spite of other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, "in the case that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation activity, it will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that can be instructed. In case of various irregularities occur in the evaluation of the same subject, the final grade of this subject will be 0". Section 11 of Article 266. Results of the evaluation. (UAB Academic Regulations).
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is to use the work of others as if it were your own. When using books, articles, websites or any other material, it is mandatory to reference the original work, clearly indicating within the text which references correspond to which phrases or sentences. When quoting a text word by word, it is essential to put the fragment quoted in quotation marks. Plagiarism is a serious infraction, equivalent to copying on an exam. It will result in a grade of zero. For more information on plagiarism, you can look at the guide on "How to quote and how to elaborate the references”: https://www.uab.cat/web/estudia-i-investiga/citacions-i-bibliografia-1345708785665.html
Bibliography
BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauman, Z. (2006). Modernidad y Holocausto (3ª. Ed.). Madrid. Sequitur. (seleccions).
Berger, P. (1986). Invitació a la sociologia: una perspectiva humanística. Barcelona. Herder.
Bourdieu, P i Wacquant L. J. (1994). Per a una sociologia reflexiva. (seleccions)
Cardús, S. (1999) . La mirada del sociòleg: què és, què fa, què diu la sociologia. Barcelona. Proa.
Dennis, Kingsley L. (2022), Asalto a la realidad, Barcelona, Blume.
Gracia, Carla (2022), Amb ulls de dona, Barcelona, Univers.
Marx, K i Engels, F. (1997) Manifiesto comunista. Madrid. Akal. (seleccions)
Porte A et al. (2006). La asimilación segmentada sobre el terreno: la nueva segunda generación al inicio de la vida adulta. Migraciones. (19):7-58 (selecció)
Putnam R. (1995). Bowling Alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy. 65-78 (seleccions)
Putnam, R. (2003). El declive del capital social: un estudio internacional sobre las sociedades y el sentido comunitario. Barcelona. Galaxia Gutenberg.(seleccions)
Ritzer, G. (1996). La 'McDonalización' de la Sociedad: un anàlisis de la racionalización en la vida cotidiana. Barcelona. Ariel. (seleccions)
Roy, O. (2010). La santa ignorancia: el tiempo de la religión sin cultura. Barcelona. Ediciones Península. (seleccions)
Bajo Santos, N. (2007). Conceptos y teorías sobre la inmigración. Anuario jurídico y económico (40) 817-840.
Stolcke, V. i Wolfson, L. (2000). La 'naturaleza' de la nacionalidad. Desarrollo Económico, 40 (157), 23-24.
Sorvari, Marja. (2022). Travelling (Post)Memory: Maria Stepanova’s In Memory of Memory. 10.1007/978-3-030-95837-4_5.
Weber, M. (1994). L’ética protestant i l’espirit del capitalisme. Barcelona. Edicions 62. (seleccions).
RECOMMENDED READERS FOR CONSULTATION
Calhoun, C., Light D, Keller S (2000). Sociología. Madrid. McGraw Hill.
Giddens, A. (1993). Sociología. Madrid. Alianza Editorial.
Heller, A. (2006). Què és la “postmodernitat”? un quart de segle més tard. CCCB
Macionis JJ, Plummer, K. (2011). Sociología. Madrid. Pearson.
Rithchart, R. (2020). The power of making thinking visible.US: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Rocher, G. (1973). Introducción a la sociología general. Barcleona. Herder.
Sennet, R. (2000). La corrosión del caràcter: las consecuencias personales del Trabajo en el nuevo capitalismo. Barcelona. Anagrama.
Todorov, T. (2000). Los abusos de la Memoria. Barcelona. Paidós.
Vivas, R. (2021). Visual thinking works. Barcelona. Lunwerg.
Software
The Programme will be given in class
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |