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Course Catalog

SOC 201 Social Theory 3 Credits
What is society? What makes and holds societies together? Why and how do societies change and develop - or else fail to do so? This introductory sociology course presents an overview of the major theories of society proposed through the 19th and 20th centuries, ranging from classical theory through Marx and Weber to critical theory, hermeneutics and the interpretive tradition, psychoanalysis, structuralism, post-structuralism , post-colonial theory, feminist and post-modernist theories. Key issues for the study of (post)modern society include: the relationship between knowledge, power and representation; consumption, commoditization and electronic forms of exchange; the impact of new information technologies; transnationalism, global cities and hybrid identities; and local knowledge and everyday life viewed as text and performance. While the last few decades' decline of master narratives or "grand theories" has fed into the current emphasis on interdisciplinarity, the main premise of this course is that the need for interdisciplinarity brings with it a further need: that of a firm grounding in social theory.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Fall 2023-2024 Social Theory 3
Summer 2022-2023 Social Theory 3
Fall 2021-2022 Social Theory 3
Fall 2020-2021 Social Theory 3
Summer 2019-2020 Social Theory 3
Fall 2019-2020 Social Theory 3
Summer 2018-2019 Social Theory 3
Fall 2018-2019 Social Theory 3
Fall 2017-2018 Social Theory 3
Fall 2016-2017 Social Theory 3
Fall 2015-2016 Social Theory 3
Fall 2014-2015 Social Theory 3
Fall 2013-2014 Social Theory 3
Fall 2012-2013 Social Theory 3
Fall 2011-2012 Social Theory 3
Fall 2010-2011 Social Theory 3
Fall 2009-2010 Social Theory 3
Fall 2008-2009 Social Theory 3
Fall 2007-2008 Social Theory 3
Fall 2006-2007 Social Theory 3
Fall 2005-2006 Social Theory 3
Fall 2004-2005 Social Theory 3
Fall 2003-2004 Social Theory 3
Fall 2002-2003 Social Theory 3
Fall 2001-2002 Social Theory 3
Spring 2000-2001 Social Theory 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
and SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: SOC 201D
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 201D Social Theory - Discussion 0 Credit
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Fall 2023-2024 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Summer 2022-2023 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2021-2022 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2020-2021 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Summer 2019-2020 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2019-2020 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Summer 2018-2019 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2018-2019 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2017-2018 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2016-2017 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2015-2016 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2014-2015 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2013-2014 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2012-2013 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2011-2012 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2010-2011 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2009-2010 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2008-2009 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2007-2008 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2006-2007 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2005-2006 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2004-2005 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Fall 2003-2004 Social Theory - Discussion 0
Prerequisite: __
Corequisite: SOC 201
ECTS Credit: NONE ECTS (NONE ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 203 Perspectives on Law and Society 3 Credits
The course offers a survey of the interdisciplinary field of Law and Society. Works from a variety of disciplinary traditions such as Anthropology, Sociology, History, Political Science, Economics, Philosophy and Literature shall be read. Some of the main themes that Law and Society scholarship has tackled over the last three decades: origins and different sorts of law and lawmaking, the relationship of law to the political domain, the relationship of law to socio-economic structures of hierarchy and the relation between law on the books and law in action will be explored.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2007-2008 Perspectives on Law and Society 3
Fall 2005-2006 Perspectives on Law and Society 3
Fall 2004-2005 Perspectives on Law and Society 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
or SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 300 Sociology of Science 3 Credits
This course provides an introduction to the study of science as a social field and practice. It explores major approaches in the sociology of science, including institutional analysis, social constructivism, laboratory studies, actor-network theory, social worlds approach, boundary-work, and field theory. Topics to be discussed include the rise of modern science, the evolution of scientific knowledge and practice, technology and social change, gender in science, media representations of science, science policy, and the commercialization of scientific research.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Fall 2017-2018 Sociology of Science 3
Fall 2016-2017 Sociology of Science 3
Prerequisite: __
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 301 Political Sociology 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the study of power, politics, and the state from a sociological point of view. Topics to be covered include sociological theories of domination and the modern state, the social origins of political regimes, collective action in revolutions and social movements, class coalitions and welfare states, social cleavages.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2020-2021 Political Sociology 3
Spring 2019-2020 Political Sociology 3
Spring 2013-2014 Political Sociology 3
Spring 2012-2013 Political Sociology 3
Spring 2011-2012 Political Sociology 3
Fall 2010-2011 Political Sociology 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
and SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 305 Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility 3 Credits
Recent years saw a surge of interest in the social responsibilities of corporations in general and of multi-national corporations in particular. Largely premised on the view that corporate power exceeds or nearly exceeds that of national governments in this global era, various social forces are currently at play with the attempt to redraw the redistributive obligations and capacities of market, state and civil society. This class offers an in depth introduction to the topic, drawing on theoretical and empirical materials from sociology, political science, management theory and law. The purpose is to familiarize students with the contested meaning of the concept of 'social responsibility,' and to introduce them to the vibrant field of activity that emerges around it. In particular, the aim is to familiarize students with concepts and models such as corporate citizenship, triple bottom line reporting, social performance management systems, social accountability standards (e.g. SA8000), and compliance and monitoring instruments and to situate those in the context of evolving contemporary theories of governance and regulation.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Fall 2004-2005 Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
or SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 308 Sociology of Religion 3 Credits
This course surveys major topics and perspectives in the study of religion as a social institution. It starts with the classical writings of Troeltsch, Durkheim, Weber, and Geertz, and seeks to answer the following questions using empirical cases drawn from Europe, the United States, Turkey, and India: Why do different societies experience different degrees of secularization? How do church-state relations and secular ideologies vary from one setting to another? Can secularism itself be considered a religion-like formation? What is civil religion? What role does religion play in social movements, and civil societies?
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2012-2013 Sociology of Religion 3
Spring 2011-2012 Sociology of Religion 3
Spring 2010-2011 Sociology of Religion 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
and SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 313 Turkish Social Thought 3 Credits
The course will deal with the basic social and political ideas developed in the early and late republican period in Turkey. in the first part a special emphasis will be given to the formation of the social thought via the constitution of the notion of law and society within the framework of the 'essential' conflictual concepts, such as east-west, modernity-conservatism. In the second part basic schools of thought (like blue Anatolia) and the ideas and arguments of the prominent thinkers and intellectuals will be analyzsed. in this regard new understanding of the social and the political will be dissected with special reference to such debates as, modernity, postmodernity, secularism, political Islam, Europe, globalisation. An extensive review of Turkish literature in this context is imperative.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2009-2010 Turkish Social Thought 3
Spring 2008-2009 Turkish Social Thought 3
Spring 2007-2008 Turkish Social Thought 3
Spring 2006-2007 Turkish Social Thought 3
Spring 2004-2005 Turkish Social Thought 3
Spring 2003-2004 Turkish Social Thought 3
Fall 2002-2003 Turkish Social Thought 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
or SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 318 Qualitative Research Methods 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the principles of qualitative sociological research. It provides a strong theoretical basis for the interpretive research questions and sociological methods, such as interviewing, participant observation, thematic focus groups, comparative approaches, and the qualitative analysis of large surveys.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2007-2008 Qualitative Research Methods 3
Spring 2006-2007 Qualitative Research Methods 3
Spring 2004-2005 Qualitative Research Methods 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
or SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 321 Urban Sociology 3 Credits
Social implications of urban life with respect to such topics as patterns of city growth; urban social organization (family, neighbourhood, community); urban social issues (housing, crime); urban policy and urban planning (sociology of planning, citizen participation).
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2017-2018 Urban Sociology 3
Spring 2016-2017 Urban Sociology 3
Summer 2007-2008 Urban Sociology 3
Fall 2007-2008 Urban Sociology 3
Summer 2005-2006 Urban Sociology 3
Summer 2002-2003 Urban Sociology 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
or SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 350 Science, Religion and Society 3 Credits
This course investigates the relationship between religion and science from a historical and comparative perspective. It explores historical cases of conflict between religious authorities and scientists, reviews different religions’ approaches to scientific activity, examines the impact of positivism, naturalism, and materialism on secularist movements, and discusses contemporary controversies about intelligent design, stem cell research, and genetic reproductive technologies. The course concludes with a discussion of the place of religion in academic institutions and in the lives of scientists.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2013-2014 Science, Religion and Society 3
Prerequisite: __
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 402 Media and Politics 3 Credits
This is a seminar course designed to explore three aspects of media/politics in particular: (1) transnational/national news agencies and media organizations in the era of digital, cable and satellite communication (2) critical debates on issues such as bias and objectivity in political reporting, tabloid news, political scandal, investigative journalism (3) intersections between media power and national politics, including such themes as 'agenda setting', 'spin control', 'the spiral of silence' or 'political advertising'.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2015-2016 Media and Politics 3
Fall 2014-2015 Media and Politics 3
Fall 2012-2013 Media and Politics 3
Fall 2011-2012 Media and Politics 3
Fall 2010-2011 Media and Politics 3
Fall 2009-2010 Media and Politics 3
Spring 2005-2006 Media and Politics 3
Spring 2004-2005 Media and Politics 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
or SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 404 Media Research Workshop 3 Credits
The main aim of this workshop will be to provide hands-on experience in media research techniques. Students will be expected to work on individual projects and/or joint projects learning to apply various techniques such as ''frame analysis'',; ''narrative analysis''; ''focus group analysis''. The reading materials for the course will include examples from existing media research with different kinds of materials (visual, written, digital) as well as conventional ''methodology'' articles.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
and SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 406 Exploring the Legal Profession 3 Credits
The power that legal professionals enjoy, and the dependence of social order on that power, makes them the bearers of a number of tensions. Lawyers, judges, prosecutors, court clerks and police officers all operate within hierarchical structures, maintaining the social order while trying to deliver equality. Other actors such as Constitutional Court judges reflect upon and decide the rules through which the 'game'- e.g. democracy - is to be played. They are expected to keep up the legal form in all their actions. But real life conditions such as inadequate resources make this a burdensome task. At times, their moral inclinations as individuals conflict with their roles as legal actors. This course explores these and other tensions that define the role of legal professionals in social life, using the legal profession as a lens through which to understand the making of social, economic and political realities.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2005-2006 Exploring the Legal Profession 3
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
or SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 408 Religion and Politics 3 Credits
This course examines the interaction of religious and political authorities, discourses, and institutions through historical, comparative, and normative perspectives. We will start our discussion with a survey of the role of religion in the formation of modern political institutions and identities, including the modern state, long-distance and national social movements, welfare regimes, and national identities. We will then investigate various aspects of religious politics, focusing in particular on religious movements and violence, the rise and transformation of religious parties, secularism as political ideology and movement and the relationship between religious politics and democracy. The course will conclude with a review of recent debates in political theory on the legitimate place of religion in public life and in the political sphere. In the course of the semester, we will discuss empirical cases drawn from Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Fall 2022-2023 Religion and Politics 3
Fall 2020-2021 Religion and Politics 3
Fall 2019-2020 Religion and Politics 3
Spring 2014-2015 Religion and Politics 3
Prerequisite: __
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 420 Sociology of Mobilities 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the study of current mobilities of everything (people, ideas, goods, capital, and images), the social, cultural and political aspects of the infrastructure and workings of mobility places and systems, and the historical formation of the mobility as an insaparable feature of civilization, modernity and globalization. Topics to be covered include Mobilities Theory; cities as interfaces and spaces of travel and tourism; inequalities across (im)mobilities; historical development of transportation systems; global structures of mobilities; airports, railways, and container ports; mutual constitution of transportation, travel and tourism; social, cultural and economic impacts of transportation systems and hubs over place-making and social relations.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Spring 2017-2018 Sociology of Mobilities 3
Prerequisite: __
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 425 Power, Economy, and Society 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the study of the meaning, functions, and place of economic activities in society from a comparative perspective. Topics to be covered include globalization, capitalism and neoliberalism; work and labor regimes; governmentality; cultures of consumption; space and value; deindustrialization and class; and cultural economy
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Fall 2022-2023 Power, Economy, and Society 3
Fall 2020-2021 Power, Economy, and Society 3
Prerequisite: SOC 201 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 426 Gender and Work 3 Credits
This course examines how the organization and practices of labor, work, and workplace is gendered through a historical and comparative socio-cultural lens. Subjects to be examined include the constitutive relation between gender identity, class position and labor force participation; work and gender dynamics within different sectors in contemporary planetary economy; the state’s involvement with gender, family and work; and women’s and men’s experiences of work hierarchies.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Summer 2020-2021 Gender and Work 3
Prerequisite: __
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 432 Sexualities, Sociabilities 3 Credits
Who are we? Every social group tries to answer this question, albeit with significant variation across cultures and throughout history. All social groups also try to define and enact rules about the sexual activities of their members. Sociological and anthropological literature shows that the ways in which social groups define their rules about sexuality relate to the ways in which they define boundaries and maintain spaces for themselves. In this course we are going to survey existing theoretical discussions and research about this problematic. Specific themes for discussion will vary, but are likely to include such issues as homosexuality, honor crimes and the headscarf
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Fall 2017-2018 Sexualities, Sociabilities 3
Spring 2008-2009 Sexualities, Sociabilities 3
Prerequisite: __
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements:
 
SOC 444 New Social Movements 3 Credits
This course's aim is to introduce students to the various theoretical approaches to the study of the formation and impact of new social movements. The interrelationship of new social movements with identity politics and processes of globalization will receive special attention. In analyzing various theoretical approaches, we will concentrate on such topics as collective action, resource mobilization, post- Fordism, universality, multiculturalism, authenticity, hybridity and globalization.
Last Offered Terms Course Name SU Credit
Prerequisite: SPS 101 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
or SPS 102 - Undergraduate - Min Grade D
Corequisite: __
ECTS Credit: 6 ECTS (6 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year)
General Requirements: