Бакалавриат
2026/2027
Общая социология
Статус:
Курс по выбору (Социология и социальная информатика)
Кто читает:
Департамент социологии
Где читается:
Санкт-Петербургская школа социальных наук
Когда читается:
1-й курс, 1-4 модуль
Охват аудитории:
для своего кампуса
Язык:
английский
Кредиты:
13
Контактные часы:
162
Course Syllabus
Abstract
Genaral sociology is introductory course. It is organized as discussion of important social issues (inequality, poverty, migration, urban space, religion etc.) with theoretical lenses provided by social theory. The course is divided into four big blocks: (1) social inequality, (2) social institutions, (3) social processes and (4) theoretical perspectives. The logic of the course and its structure are defined by the variety of answers for the questions about the conditions of formation, maintaining and reconfiguration/ destruction of the samples of social organization, and about the possible ways to analyze these processes suggested by sociology. We start from the very basic elements of explanation of social action and then proceed to understanding the nature of causal explanations in social science.
Learning Objectives
- Ability to use sociological theory for development of sociological research design, be able to differentiate social actions and social behavior, explain social actions through social mechanisms, understand the link between micro-actions and macro-outcomes, generate simple middle-range theories, develop academic skills in reading, writing, and presentation
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Ability to use sociological theory for development of sociological research design, be able to differentiate social actions and social behavior, explain social actions through social mechanisms, understand the link between micro-actions and macro-outcomes, generate simple middle-range theories, develop academic skills in reading, writing, and presentation.
- - to use sociological theory for development of sociological research design
- - be able to differentiate social actions and social behavior, explain social actions through social mechanisms
- - understand the link between micro-actions and macro-outcomes
- - generate simple middle-range theories
- - develop academic skills in reading, writing, and presentation.
Course Contents
- Introduction. Social Facts.
- Poverty.
- City and Inequality.
- Urban Institutions and Inequality
- Migration, ethnicity, inequality.
- Education and Inequality.
- Social stratification. Class and status.
- Social stratification. Forms of capital.
- Inequality and Social Mobility.
- Elites.
- Inequality and gender.
- Family and marriage.
- State and political institutions.
- Total and disciplinary institutions.
- Religion.
- Universities and higher education.
- Art and cultural production.
- Cultural industries and fashion.
- Mass Media.
- Socialization.
- Civilization.
- Transformations of sexuality.
- Revolutions and social movements.
- Urbanization.
- Structural functionalism.
- Symbolic interactionism.
- Ethnomethodology.
- Social networks.
- Organization.
- Status.
Assessment Elements
- Classroom discussionStudents must formulate critical questions for their classmates' projects. These questions should demonstrate a student’s ability to apply the theory from the mandatory readings to the empirical cases discussed by the presenting group. A student needs to ask one question during 75% of all seminars in the given semester to receive a grade of “10.” If a student participates in less than 75% of the classroom discussions, they receive a grade proportional to the number of participations. For example, if a student participates in 15 out of 20 discussions, they receive a grade of “10.” If a student participates in 7 out of 20 discussions, they receive a grade of “5.” "Bonus points can be earned by answering the professor’s questions during lectures.
- TestWritten test with open-ended questions. If any answers are suspected of plagiarism, the student may face additional questions from the full test set during the feedback session. Final test grade is the average of the scores from tests taken during the semester.
- Collective presentationTo successfully participate in seminars, students are expected to present a collective project during class (10 minutes for the presentation). The grade is calculated based on the average quality of the presentations given by the team throughout the semester. Each presentation is prepared by a working team (4 teams per seminar group). The grade for each presentation is relative. The strongest presentation given during a particular seminar receives 4 points, while the weakest receives 1 point. The presentations in between receive 3 and 2 points, respectively. Generally, the teacher distributes 10 points among the 4 working groups. If the presentations for a particular seminar are of equal quality, they are graded with the same points (e.g., 2.5 points to all 4 groups). At the end of the semester, the average number of points is calculated for each team, and a team ranking is produced. The relative scale is then converted to the standard HSE 10-point scale based on this ranking. Students from the team occupying the 1st position in their group ranking receive a grade of “10” for the project papers, while students from the team occupying the 2nd position receive a “9,” and so on. If a student misses some seminars without a sick leave, their grade is proportional to the number of seminars they participated in. For example, if a student’s team grade is “10,” but they missed 50% of the seminars in the given semester, their individual grade would be “5.” Presentations (in PDF format) must be submitted via the LMS before the established deadline, and the uploaded file is the only permitted reference during a live presentation; failure to do so will lead to the same proportional grade deduction as a missed seminar. Submissions must follow the rules of academic ethics; if theories or data are used, they must be properly cited. Plagiarism or AI usage is classified as academic misconduct and results in the same grade deduction.
- ExamStudents are expected to sit up an final written exam with open questions on the topics covered by the course. If any answers are suspected of plagiarism, the student may face additional questions from the full exam set during the feedback session.
Interim Assessment
- 2026/2027 2nd module0.2 * Exam + 0.25 * Collective presentation + 0.4 * Test + 0.15 * Classroom discussion
- 2026/2027 4th module0.2 * Exam + 0.25 * Collective presentation + 0.15 * Classroom discussion + 0.4 * Test
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Abrutyn, S. (2016). Handbook of Contemporary Sociological Theory. Switzerland: Springer. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1251393
- Rousseau, N. (2014). Society Explained : An Introduction to Sociology. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=752270
- Segre, S. (2014). Contemporary Sociological Thinkers and Theories. Farnham, Surrey: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=797017
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Dillon, M. (2014). Introduction to Sociological Theory : Theorists, Concepts, and Their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century (Vol. Second edition). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=667235
- Manzo, G. (2014). Analytical Sociology : Actions and Networks. Hoboken: Wiley. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=714658
- Sloman, S. A. (2005). Causal Models : How People Think About the World and Its Alternatives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=552942