Sociology

Since the emergence of a market-based global economy and its global chains linking distant countries with different developmental levels in an open space, most social processes and outcomes can only be substantively understood with a global perspective. Technological change, labour market processes, population development, urbanization, migration, social inequality systems, gender relations, religiosity and their media representation should be analysed in a global and local interplay. As a consequence, scholars can illustrate how local development fits into global processes i.e., what conflicts, contradictions emerge in the social arena and how various global or local social actors, including families, corporations or public actors, react; moreover, how actors position themselves in this vastly unequal global space.This four-semester Masters programme aims to equip students with fresh theoretical perspectives and analytical skills needed in understanding global social dynamics and comparative developments. It focuses on the deep understanding of contemporary concepts and theories related to global social change and is designed to teach the students the importance of critical analysis of social processes and problems in a global versus local framework.Relying on both classic and contemporary insights the program will assist students in understanding and professionally interpreting concepts such as: population, migration, poverty, internal mechanisms of market society, hegemony and dominance, the social impact and functioning of corporations, the role of technological development (including the impact of advancement of online communication, digital surveillance, robots, artificial intelligence, smart cities) in the context of global social change and globalization. We also focus on power relations among and within societies, gender, race and ethnicity as an interplay between global and local processes, the demographic implications of work regimes and the current emergence of a global labour market. Understanding, interpreting and, most importantly, critically analysing these issues requires a careful study of the changed role of the state, its social and economic institutions and the public policy context, as well as sound empirical research to provide convincing evidence including the use of global statistical and social media data, which will be introduced during this program.The curriculum includes several classes in quantitative and qualitative methodology aimed to equip students with up-to-date research methods and analytical skills. Students will learn how to collect and organize cross-national and large-scale data such as UN, World Bank, Eurostat, OECD and social media databases in an efficient way; how to analyse comparative data, longitudinal data and social network data; and how to design and implement online qualitative and quantitative research. This includes how to analyse interviews, texts, social media contents with qualitative and quantitative data analysis software. The assessment of public policy interventions will also be addressed using both quantitative and participatory methods.Our programme is research and practice oriented. In the final semester our students enter into an internship in various local and global organizations, which will broaden their work experience and serve to refine their final thesis research topic.