General provisions

The course is part of the Master's Programme in Sociology of Education. It can also be given as an independent course.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. Also required is 90 credits in the humanities or social sciences.

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course students are expected to be able to

• review of how ethnographic and prosopographic methods are used in sociology of education
• critically assess ethnographic as well as prosopographic methods in studies in sociology of education and how they can be a complement to each other
• analytically address theoretical aspects of the use of ethnographic and prosopographic methods in sociology of education
• formulate research questions for and design a research study in which ethnographic and prosopographic methods are basic research tools
• argue for and against how ethnographic and prosopographic methods are applied in the design of studies in sociology of education

Content

The course focusses on the use of ethnography and prosopography (collective biography) in the study of educational strategies and institutions as well as their relation to other social fields in which different types of educational capital constitute important assets. While part of the course discusses the theoretical foundations of ethnographic and prosopographic methods, another part examines current international research. A third part of the course addresses the practical application of ethnographic and prosopographic methods in terms of data collection and data analysis. For this course component, course participants may bring their own empirical data.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars and workshops.

Assessment

The assessment is based on written assignments.