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Sociology: Key Concepts and Mechanisms (SPS-RE-EX-VDS-26)

SPS-RE-EX-VDS-26

Purpose

This course is part of a 3-course curriculum “SOCIOLOGY.” The other courses are the field seminar “SOCIOLOGY: Main questions and building blocks” and the elective “SOCIOLOGY: Core contemporary debates”. Taking the field seminar first is recommended but not a condition for participation. The present course is a theory course, with a focus on research designs that can be used for theory testing, and the type of data that are necessary. The objective of this course is to gain a deep analytical understanding of core concepts and mechanisms that together provide a toolkit for approaching research problems across the discipline and the social sciences more broadly. Each week focuses on one concept or mechanism. Different types of mechanisms emphasize different kinds of explanations: group-dependent mechanisms (e.g., relative deprivation, assortative mating, cooperation or boundary making) are useful for understanding how groups relate to one another and how these comparisons shape their actions; time-dependent mechanisms (e.g., cohort replacement, path dependency, cumulative advantage) focus on long-term trajectories to explain how past events can impact future outcomes, whether through endogenous processes or through demographic and structural ones; space-dependent mechanisms (e.g., contagion, segregation, chain migration) examine the role of networks and social interactions. The analysis of mechanisms allows us to understand how social phenomena come about, how they persist (path-dependency and isomorphism), when disruption can occur (tipping points) and why actions and behaviors can have unintended effects (Mathew effects, self-fulfilling prophecies, symbolic compliance). In a typical week we read an article or handbook chapter on the focal concept/mechanism as well as several articles applying it through different designs. The weekly two-hour sessions are hands-on: students discuss interesting conceptual problems, make links with other concepts and mechanisms, and present applications proposed in assignments.

Description

Syllabus is available here.

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