Sociology

obligatory courses

Classroom

Introduction to the most important terms and ideas is sociology; especially concepts and research concerning the urban and spatial contexts.

The course is an introduction to spatial and urban sociology – the most important terms, concepts and methods. Each method is illustrated with a set of research studies concerning an urban issue. Special attention is devoted to the critical analysis of findings, drawing conclusions, and biases, which may be useful in spatial planning and urban design.

Babbie, E., 2007, Badania społeczne w praktyce, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.

Bauman, Z., 1998, Zawrotna kariera ‘podklasy’, “Przegląd Społeczny”, 1998, nr 1/2.

Blokland, T., 2001, Bricks, Mortar, Memories: Neighbourhood and Networks in Collective Acts of Remembering, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 25.2, June 2001.

Blomley, N. (2007) How to Turn a Beggar into a Bus Stop: Law, Traffic and „the function of the Place”, Urban Studies, 44.9, 1697-1712.

Czekaj, K., 2007, Socjologia Szkoły Chicagowskiej i jej recepcja w Polsce, Górnośląska Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa, Katowice.

Duneier, M., 2004, Scrutinizing the Heat: On Ethnic Myths and the Importance of Shoe Leather, Contemporary Sociology 33: 139–50.

Gladwell, M., 2006, Million Dollar Murray, The New Yorker

Harcourt, B.E.; Ludwig, J., 2006, Broken Windows: New Evidence from New York City and a Five-City Social Experiment, “The University of Chicago Law Review”, 73: 2006, 271-320.

Hubbard, P. & Sanders, T. (2003) Making Space for Sex Work: Female Street Prostitution and the Production of Urban Space, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 27.1, 75-89.

Kahneman, D., Sibony, O., Sunstein, C.R., 2021, Szum. Czyli skąd się biorą błędy w naszych decyzjach, przekład Piotr Szymczak, Media Rodzina.

Kaltenberg-Kwiatkowska, E., 2002, Sąsiedztwo we współczesnym mieście - stereotypy i rzeczywistość, w: Stare i nowe struktury społeczne w Polsce - tom III - Czynniki miastotwórcze w okresach wielkich zmian społecznych, redakcja W. Misztal, J. Styka, Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin, ss. 255-280.

Klinenberg, E. (2002) Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Siemaszko, A. (red.), 2008, Geografia występku i strachu. Polskie badanie przestępczości ‘07, Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warszawa.

Simmel, G., 2006 [1908], Mentalność mieszkańców wielkich miast, w: Socjologia, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa, ss. 513-531.

Stone, D., 2020, Counting. How we use numbers to Decide What Matters, Liveright, New York.

Sturge, G., 2022, Bad Data: How Governments, Politicians and the Rest of Us Get Misled by Numbers, The Bridge Street Press, London.

Sułek, A., 2002, Ogród metodologii socjologicznej, Wydawnictwo Scholar, Warszawa.

Venkatesh, S. (2013) Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy, Penguin Press.

Wacquant. L., 2008, Urban Outcasts. A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality, Polity Press, Cambridge.

Wheelan, C., 2013, Naked Statistics, Norton, NY.

Wilson, J.Q.; Kelling, G.L., 1982, Broken windows: The police and neighborhood safety, “Atlantic Monthly”, 249: 29–38.

Students have the knowledge and can use the most important terms used in social research, understand the social and political context, and are able to critically interpret results concerning the spatial aspects of social studies.

Students apply a critical perspective, are cautious to generalize study findings and can point to unfounded conclusions. Students can propose own studies – a theoretical perspective, conceptualization of terms, selection of variables, sampling criteria and study methods. They have the vocabulary and understanding to communicate with social researchers while designing a research study and then drawing conclusions from its results.

Students understand the need for continuous learning and acquiring new skill; they are ready to critically interpret, contest and pose new questions; they understand the need to cooperate with other professionals and institutions.

Attendance (max one voluntary absence). Reading required.

Two written tests in class (25% of final grade each)

Written exam during exam session (50% of final grade).

None.