Sociology of Inequality

The course is divided in three parts:1. The first part introduces students to some of the main approaches to inequalities in social sciences. It highlights the various ways inequalities have been studied and conceptualised, insisting on the history of academic and public discussions. The perspective is deliberately interdisciplinary, and focuses on key debates within contemporary social sciences. 2. The second part concentrates on sociological research, and looks more carefully at social dynamics at play in situations of inequality. It also highlights key concepts to better understand inequalities. Major sociology books will be analysed with students, and key extracts will be discussed during the course. 3. The third part deals with some of the challenges to equality building. It discusses the promises and limits of legal approaches to inequalities, and looks at the theoretical and empirical challenges raised by the concept of intersectionality.

This course aims to familiarise students with basic concepts and theories describing and explaining inequalities, and to provide them with tools to understand and participate to contemporary debates on the topic. It will highlight the various ways in which inequalities have been conceptualised as well as the variety of inequalities in Western societies. For this reason, the theoretical approaches discussed during the course will be illustrated using a wide range of examples dealing with different social groups and different kinds of issues.

See evaluation criteria.

Références, bibliographie et lectures recommandées

See course outline.

Support(s) de cours

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

david.paternotte@ulb.ac.be

Campus

Solbosch

Méthode(s) d'évaluation

• Examen écrit
• Présentation orale
• Travail de groupe
• Autre

Examen écrit

Présentation orale

Travail de groupe

Autre

1. Written exam (2 hours) – 70 %

The written exam will assess students’ ability to reflect on contemporary issues related to (in)equality. Students will be given a recent non-academic text (most likely a newspaper article) and will be asked to analyse and discuss it using concepts and insights from the course.

Students may bring their notes.

The exam may be written in French or English.

2. Collective book presentation – 30%

Students will work in groups to read a book collectively. Each group will produce a joint presentation in English (see detailed instructions below).

Please note that all assignments must be completed in order to receive the final grade.

Construction de la note (en ce compris, la pondération des notes partielles)

See above.

Langue(s) d'évaluation

• anglais
• (éventuellement français )