Issues of Contemporary Societies

Code:

LRI028

Acronym:

PSC

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Sociology

Instance: 2023/2024 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Sociology
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Languages and International Relations

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LRI	92	Study plan	3	-	6	41	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Familiarization with scientific discourse and the conceptual language of sociological analysis.

Understand the contributions of Sociology and other social sciences in their complementarity and in the broader context of interdisciplinarity.

Deepen knowledge about the main contemporary sociological paradigms: modernity, rationalization and modernity.
Modernity and the new modalities of space and territory organization;

Emphasize the global nature of spatial social change taking into account the phenomena of social and geographic mobility, migrations, ethnicity, culture, lifestyles and environment;

Provide a general and interdisciplinary overview of ethnicities, cultures and religions in the contemporary world; to frame the sociology of religions within the scope of general sociology; reflect and debate the multiple faces of religion in the modern world, with a special focus on Europe.

Learning outcomes and competences

Understand the contributions of Sociology and other social sciences, in their complementarity and the broader context of interdisciplinarity.

Identify and reflect on the research methods and techniques used in Sociology.

Provide an overview of the main theoretical currents of modernity.

Develop the ability to develop new conceptualizations of critical mobilization of sociological theories

Application of theoretical knowledge and technical-methodological tools is suitable for studying concrete cases in the context of modernity.

Mastery of critical and reflective culture in territorial, environmental, cultural, ethnic, and religious terms in the context of contemporary mobility.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Not applicable.

Program

1. Sociology as a social science.

2. The great paradigms: modernity, rationalization, and secularization

3. Late modernity

3.1. Risk society: the particular case of environmental issues

3.2. New and old territories: from the reconversion of the rural space to the great cosmopolitan and global metropolises.

3.3. Individualism and liquid modernity: the commodification of life.

4. Religion, migrations, and ethnoscapes: local identities and lifestyles.

4.1. Religion in public space and the new challenges of political power.

4.2. The private dimension of religion: religious identities and belonging, new spiritualities, and religious bricolage.

Mandatory literature

Anthony Giddens; Sociologia. ISBN: 84-206-8139-3
George Ritzer; Modern sociological theory. ISBN: 978-0-07-110177-6
Anthony Giddens; As^consequências da modernidade. ISBN: 972-774-043-X
Ulrich Beck; World risk society. ISBN: 0-7456-2221-6
Zygmunt Bauman; Modernidade líquida. ISBN: 85-7110-598-7
Carmo, Renato Miguel do ; Sociologia dos territórios, teorias, estruturas e deambulações, Mundos Sociais , 2014. ISBN: 978-989-8536-33-4
Helena Vilaça; A^religião no espaço público português.
Peter L. Berger; Modernidade, pluralismo e crise de sentido. ISBN: 85-326-2949-0
Luísa Schmidt; Portugal ambiental. ISBN: 972-774-018-9

Complementary Bibliography

Raymond Quivy; Manual de investigação em ciências sociais. ISBN: 972-662-275-1
Helena Vilaça; Da Torre de Babel às terras prometidas. ISBN: 972-36-0834-0

Teaching methods and learning activities

Classes have a theoretical-practical component and are complemented by specific bibliography and pedagogical materials available on Sigarra (slides, texts, empirical materials, developed summaries, conferences).

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	121,00
Frequência das aulas	41,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Final exam.

Calculation formula of final grade

The evaluation will consist of a final exam.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Internship work/project

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Students with special status, if they have any impediment to follow the classes or need some clarification regarding the evaluation, they should contact the teacher.

Classification improvement

The improvement of the final classification is carried out in accordance with the FLUP Assessment Norms. That is, the student will improve the grade by taking a new exam during the appeal period.

Observations

Contact with students

The teacher's e-mail is one of the pedagogical tools used, throughout the semester, to communicate with students. Students should consult it regularly, as it is through it that the teacher seeks to resolve issues related to the UC: notices, assessments, tasks, clarifications, and pedagogical materials, among others.

Student attendance service

The opening hours for students at the UC (day and time) will be defined by the professor according to the timetable of the semester.

Teaching materials

The pedagogical materials used in the UC (summaries developed, assessments, practical activities, complimentary bibliography, and other elements necessary for the course's functioning) will be made available in the documents of the UC's course sheet (Sigarra).

Teacher contact

Helena Vilaça

Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto (DS-FLUP)

Via Panorâmica, s/n, 4150-564 Porto

Room 253, Locker 193 - Tower B

Email: hvilaca19@gmail.com; hvilaca@letras.up.pt;

URL: http://www.isociologia.pt/