Contemporary Social Issues
This course aims to provide a theoretically and factually informed understanding of some of the chief contemporary problems, as well as of the manners in which these are empirically dealt with.
The course deals with global social problems, albeit ones with heterogeneous local manifestations. As such, the course’s historical and geographical focus is on Western modernity. In several topics, this focus is brought to the realm of everyday life by analyzing specific cases taken from European social history. This is done without forgetting the myriad historical, political, and cultural ties between Europe and other regions of the world, which are discussed on the basis of specific social problems.
We begin by looking at the way in which social problems can be sociologically analyzed. After this, we discuss the State’s role in the political government of social problems, highlighting the different political stances on the State’s role that characterize modern European history (liberalism, social democracy, marxism).
This historical and political framing of contemporary social problems continues with a discussion of globalization processes, in which we will highlight both the long Eurocentric, capitalist, and colonial history of globalization, and its more evident characteristics since the late 20th century.
With this framing in mind, we will discuss some of the most relevant contemporary social problems, namely, ecological problems, pandemics, inequalities and poverty, and the issue of migrants and refugees.
Social problems study
Sociological Problem
Globalisation
Environment
The course’s goal is that students acquire the following skills:
- Framing social problems using learned concepts and theoretical schools of thought
- Critically analyze the ways in which the main contemporary political schools of thought interpret and evaluate social problems
- Framing contemporary social problems within the dynamics of globalization and Eurocentric modernity
- Critically analyze the specific social problems under scrutiny, namely, ecological problems, pandemics, social inequality and poverty, and the issue of refugees
It is also envisioned that students are able to use what they learn to critically analyze current events that affect several human groups globally, in Europe, nationally, and locally.
1. The sociological study of social problems
2. The State’s role in the government of social problems: the Social State between its European origins and its critiques.
3. Globalization.
3.1. The long history of Eurocentric globalization
3.2. Globalization since the late 20th century
4. Ecological problems: social causes and consequences
5. Pandemics: social causes and consequences
6. Social inequality and poverty
7. Migrants and refugees: from 20th century European history to the present
Arendt, Hannah (1998), As origens do totalitarismo. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.
Carmo, Hermano (coord.) (2001), Problemas Sociais Contemporâneos. Lisboa: Universidade Aberta.
Costa, António Firmino et al. (2015), “A constituição de um espaço europeu de desigualdades”, Observatório das Desigualdades e-Working Papers, Nº 1/2015.
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1990), The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity.
Giddens, Anthony (2000), O mundo na era da globalização. Lisboa: Presença.
Giddens, Anthony (2004), Sociologia. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich (1999), Manifesto do Partido Comunista. Lisboa: Avante.
Mills, Charles Wright (1982), A imaginação sociológica. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar Editores.
Quijano, Aníbal (2002), “Colonialidade, poder, globalização e democracia”, Novos Rumos, 37, 4-28.
Santos, Boaventura de Sousa (org.) (2001), Globalização: fatalidade ou utopia. Porto, Afrontamento.
Wallace, Rob et al. (2020), Pandemia e agronegócio. Doenças infecciosas, capitalismo e ciência. São Paulo: Elefante. |
E-learning.
Continuous assessment is privileged: 2 digital written documents (e-folios) during the semester (40%) and an online final exam (global e-folio) at the semester’s end (60%).Alternatively, students may choose to answer one final exam (100%), to be held at an assigned physical location.