1. Sociology as a major field of study for BIDS students
Axel Fredholm, Department of Sociology

2. Presentation overview
A quick description to what sociology is (according to some of us in any case)
The courses we offer that are expressly designed for Development Studies students
Writing a thesis in sociology with a focus on development studies

3. What is sociology?
The traditional answer: “The scientific study of society”
Revolves around two classical questions: What is society and how is society possible?
Early sociologists (e.g. Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx, George Herbert Mead, Georg Simmel and others) focused on these questions and established a foundation for the scientific study of society
Their questions were often concerned with the transformation from premodern to modern (industrialized) society, e.g.
How could society be maintained when the cohesive life in small-scale communities changed into abstract and anonymous relationships in, for example, modern cities?
What is capitalism and why did it have such a strong impact on the processes of modernization?
What happens with society when industrialization and capitalism lead to unequal distribution of resources and power?
But they were also concerned with the microcosm of society, e.g.
What is the inner dynamics of social life and how does social interaction reflect the bigger structure of society?
The research on these topics gradually turned into different directions within sociology, e.g. social psychology, structural functionalism, or conflict-oriented (Marxist) perspectives

4. What is sociology?
The contemporary answer: “Sociology is a multi-level approach to studying just about anything that has to do with society”
Why? Because society is constantly changing and sociologists still have the ambition to understand what society is
Thus, ‘the more complex society becomes, the more complex becomes sociology’
This means that the sociological toolbox (e.g. theories, perspectives and methods) constantly is evolving along with the development of new directions and areas of interest
At the same time, there is often a link to classical topics such as the impact of inequality, social transformation, and the ways in which social interaction produces new configurations of society
Such topics are borderless – they are studied at all levels of society, and concern both global and national contexts as well as non-western locations. That is why sociology is interconnected with ‘development’
Contemporary sociology is also a discipline with a double activity
This means that sociology investigates concrete situations, contexts, circumstances; while at the same time actively investigating the premises for its own impact and knowledge production
Why and how do we understand things the way we do? And do others do so in similar circumstances? And what are the consequences of this understanding in contexts that differ from our own?
This is what it means to be critical and reflexive discipline – contemporary sociologists takes a critical position to everything – including our own role in terms of knowledge production and our own role in society

5. Courses Fall 2017
The fall semester offers two courses designed for BIDS students:
SOCB27: Sociology: International Migration & Development, 15 credits (half-speed)
SOCB28: Sociology: Development and Social Welfare Policies, 15 credits (half-speed)
The courses run in parallel (amount to a full-time course)

6. Courses Spring 2018
The spring semester offers two courses designed for BIDS students:
SOC B29: Sociology: Managing Sustainability, 15 credits (half-speed)
SOC B26: Sociology: The Sociology of Human Development, 15 credits (half-speed)
The courses run in parallel (amount to a full-time course)

7. SOCB26 The Sociology of Human Development (Spring)
The course initially gives a review of classical sociological theory and a historical analysis of various development philosophies and paradigms
Emphasis is then given to contemporary sociological theory and research areas:
Economic sociology
Institutional theory
Sociology of organizations
Human development
The course ends with country case studies with relevance for the research areas

8. SOCB29 Managing Sustainability, Society and Collective Behaviour (Spring term)
The course introduces basic terms, concepts and theories that are necessary to understand sustainable development
Sustainable development and sustainability has increasingly become used in various ways in within-disciplines as well as cross-disciplinary which has also expanded / eroded the meaning of the term
Based on this understanding the course focuses on:
Theories on the nature-society relationship, e.g. the role of nature in relation to socio- economic development
The constructivist approach to environmental problems, e.g. are environmental problems ‘real’ or are they ‘socially created’?
The rise of ‘green politics’, e.g. the history of ideas and concepts related to sustainability
Capitalism and sustainable development, e.g. are they compatible?
Social organization and sustainability, e.g. are collective efforts possible at a global scale?

9. SOCB27 International Migration and Development (Fall term)
The course examines the link between migration and development especially from “periphery” to “core” states in the terminology of global systems theory
The objective is to identify the causes of migration and how migration affects both sending countries and receiving countries. Core questions are:
What are the causes of migration to wealthier states and what policies do they have regarding migration?
How does migration affect the sending countries, and emigrant regions?
How do the unequal relations between the countries in the world influence migration?
Migration is studied at the micro-level, as an individual decision to move to another country, at the group level as a family strategy in sending regions to increase income; and in terms of the macro-level effects of remittances, brain drain, brain gain, and brain circulation

10. SOCB28 Development and Social Welfare Policies (Fall term)
The course is divided into two interrelated parts – one more theoretical and the other case study oriented
In Part 1, students analyze classic typologies of welfare capitalism before moving into social welfare policies in developing contexts
In part 2, students analyze social policy trends in different regions
All teaching, assignments and exams are directly related to ongoing events and processes in developing contexts

11. SOCB24 Fieldwork, Internship and Research Overview (Spring term)
15 credits spring (final semester)
Three options or tracks:
Desk study
Fieldwork (MFS 8 internal; 2 external, or ‘free mover’)
Internship
Examination: Diaries and final report

12. Med min gatekeeper till vänster om mig, och till höger en av kvinnorna i mikrolånsgruppen som jag intervjuade. Thesis: Examining the Potentials for Women’s Empowerment through Micro-Credit Lending - A Case Study in Tanzania

13. På väg till en by där jag skulle hålla intervjuer
På väg till en by där jag skulle hålla intervjuer. På bild syns två av de jag ska intervjua, min gatekeeper samt tolk - då intervjuerna hölls på swahili.

14. ett litet skjul där jag höll intervjuer när jag var i den lilla bergsbyn San José de los Remates, Nicaragua.
Thesis: To mother or to migrate? Ideal motherhood and normative migration: Perceptions from Nicaraguan migrant mothers

15. en spontan gruppintervju och kvinnan vars hus vi var i ville ha en bild på mig att sätta upp på väggen (deras svar användes sedan inte i min uppsats, så därför känns det okej att ha med den bilden).

16. UTVK03: Bachelor Thesis 15 credits – final semester
Independent thesis based on scientific principles
Various aspects and processes of development studies from a sociological point of view
Supervisors from sociology
Individual supervision
Group supervision – peer reviewing
Thesis defense (and opposition)

17. Welcome to the Department of Sociology!
Study advisor: Christian Landgren / Britt-Marie Rönn
Director of Studies: Chris Mathieu: