General provisions

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

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) within the social sciences including at least 30 credits in sociology. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6. This requirement can be met either by achieving the required score on an internationally recognised test, or by previous upper secondary or university studies in some countries. Detailed instructions on how to provide evidence of your English proficiency are available at universityadmissions.se.

Learning outcomes

Having undertaken the course, the student will be able to:

* demonstrate familiarity with comparative perspectives in sociology

* demonstrate in-depth knowledge of different comparative approaches, through studies of classical and contemporary work in the field

* demonstrate the ability to highlight the characteristics of specific countries and similarities between countries through comparative perspectives

* demonstrate the ability to apply a comparative approach in the study of a specific case, with the aim of answering a research question.

Content

What makes Sweden, or any other country, what it is? Answering such a question requires a specific case-Sweden-be put into perspective, by comparing it with others. Much of the most notable sociological research has always sought to illuminate big differences across societies, with respect to outcomes like economic development, political democracy, and social inequality and exclusion. Balancing complexity, simplification, and generality, such research has made use of key analytical comparisons, both across units of analysis and generally of units over time. As Émile Durkheim therefore wrote, in his Rules of Sociological Method (1895): "comparative sociology is not a particular branch of sociology; it is sociology itself, in so far as it ceases to be purely descriptive and aspires to account for facts." An explicit comparative perspective can thus contribute to almost all sociological study. In this course we will discuss the merits and challenges of such a perspective. We will read exemplary works of case-based, comparative-historical sociology, and discuss the major insights they can give us about the social world today. The course will cover applications to a variety of substantive topics, such as environmental protection,

welfare-states, women's rights, globalization, the organization of capitalism, colonialism and postcolonialism, and various forms of social and political change (specific topics covered will vary).

Instruction

The teaching consists of lectures, compulsory seminars and independent studies.

Assessment

The assessment is based on active participation in seminars, and written assignments. Active participation in seminars is always compulsory. Absence from compulsory components can only partially be compensated by written assignments. Students who fail to meet the attendance requirements will be referred to the next occasion the course is offered. 

Grades: Pass with distinction (VG), Pass (G), Fail (U). 

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator. 

Uppsala University takes academic fraud and plagiarism seriously and takes action against students suspected of involvement in fraud and / or plagiarism. Disciplinary measures consist in formal warnings and suspension from study for specified time periods.