Political Sociology

Presentation

Introduction to Political Sociology as a peculiar sub-discipline crossing Sociology and Political Science, including an overview of the fundamental themes and debates on which such sub-discipline has been concentrating on from the classics to the present day.

Programme

Political Science and Election Studies

Level of Qualification|Semesters|ECTS

| Semestral | 5

Year | Type of course unit | Language

1 |Mandatory |Português

Code

ULP618-6545

Recommended complementary curricular units

Political Parties and Electoral Systems I; Political Parties and Electoral Systems II.

Professional Internship

Não

Syllabus

1) Political Sociology: foundations and horizons

2) Power, obedience, and socio-political organization and action from a universal prism

3) Power, obedience, and socio-political organization and action in the industrial era

a) Macro-structures and macro-processes at the origins of the Modern State

b) Obedience, and socio-political organization and action in the industrial era

b1) Mass society and the forging of a homogenizing collective identity "from above"

b2) The structural cleavages of the industrial society and their moulding of political elites, political parties and interest groups

4) Power, obedience, and socio-political organization and action in the era of globalization

a) Macro-structures and macro-processes driving globalization

b) Obedience, and socio-political organization and action in the era of globalization

b1) The fragmentation of mass society and the challenge of identity politics "from below"

b2) Key new protagonists in the domestic and international stages

Objectives

To understand the nature, the object, and, above all, the research agenda of Political Sociology, including the fundamental themes and debates with which it has consistently been preoccupied. To be able to substantiate, as well as defend, a specific position in a present-day political-sociological debate.

Teaching methodologies and assessment

Classes will be mixed: theoretical, i.e. based on the exposition of programmatic contents; theoretical-practical, involving required readings; as well as, in the cast of a handful of debate simulations, practical.

Continuous assessment will take into account debating performance (30%), a traditional final test requiring students to answer questions only about two (of their own choice) of the three major topics of the program (60%), and participation in class (10%).

Non-continuous assessment will be through a final examination potentially spanning all programmatic contents (100%).

References

BENEDICTO, J. & MORÁN, M. L. (2009). Sociedad y política: temas de sociologia política. 2ª Edição. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

CLEMENS, E. S. (2016). What is political sociology?. Cambridge: Polity Press.

FERNANDES, A. T. (1997). A sociedade e o estado: sociologia das formações políticas. Santa Maria da Feira: Edições Afrontamento.

FERNANDES, A. T. (1998). Os fenómenos políticos: sociologia do poder. 2ª Edição. Santa Maria da Feira: Edições Afrontamento.

LECHNER, F. J. & BOLI, J. (Eds.) (2020). The globalization reader. 6ª Edição. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.

JANOSKI, T., ALFORD, R. R., HICKS, A. M. & SCHWARTZ, M. (Eds.) (2005). The handbook of political sociology: states, civil societies, and globalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

MAIR, P. (Ed.) (1990). The west european party system. New York: Oxford University Press.

NASH, K. & SCOTT, A. (Eds.) (2004). The Blackwell companion to political sociology. Padstow: Blackwell Publishing.

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