FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Department of Sociology
SOC 402 | Course Introduction and Application Information
Course Name |
Selected Topics in Sociology
|
Code
|
Semester
|
Theory
(hour/week) |
Application/Lab
(hour/week) |
Local Credits
|
ECTS
|
SOC 402
|
Fall/Spring
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
Prerequisites |
None
|
|||||
Course Language |
English
|
|||||
Course Type |
Service Course
|
|||||
Course Level |
-
|
|||||
Mode of Delivery | - | |||||
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course | Group WorkQ&ALecture / Presentation | |||||
Course Coordinator | - | |||||
Course Lecturer(s) | ||||||
Assistant(s) | - |
Course Objectives | The course aims to familiarise students with the social, cultural, historical, political and economic context in which rural sociology emerges as a distinctive research field. Its objective is to help students gaining understanding of the fundamental concepts, discussions and research methods in rural sociology such as agriculture, food, environment, village, peasantry, community, cultural identity, spatial inequalities and development. |
Learning Outcomes |
The students who succeeded in this course;
|
Course Description | The course is organized into three sections. The course begins by exploring theoretical perspectives for studying the sociology of agriculture, food and rural communities. The second section of the course will focus on contemporary issues of global food regimes and agricultural change. The course then explores social movements for civic agriculture and alternative food systems. It addresses broader sociological questions about the socio-spatial identities and socio-spatial inequalities in Turkey and in the world. |
|
Core Courses | |
Major Area Courses |
X
|
|
Supportive Courses | ||
Media and Management Skills Courses | ||
Transferable Skill Courses |
WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES
Week | Subjects | Related Preparation |
1 | Introduction | |
2 | Rural Sociology | Readings: Howard Newby. (1983). “The Sociology of Agriculture: Toward a New Rural Sociology.” Annual Review of Sociology, 9: 67‐81. Philip McMichael. (2006). "Peasant Prospects in the Neoliberal Age". New Political Economy, 11(3): 407-418. Recommended Readings: Jan Douwe Van der Ploeg. (1993). “Rural Sociology and the New Agrarian Question.” Sociologia Ruralis, 33: 240-60. Frederick H. Buttel. (1980). “Agricultural Structure and Rural Ecology: Toward a Political Economy of Rural Development”. Sociologia Ruralis, 20(1-2): 44-62. |
3 | Documentary Screening | The World According To Monsanto (2008) Director: Marie-Monique Robin An in-depth look at placeless agro-industrial model (genetically modified seeds) |
4 | The Agrarian Question | Readings: Susan A. Mann and James M. Dickinson. (1978). “Obstacles to the Development of Capitalist Agriculture.” The Journal of Peasant Studies, 5: 466-81. Henry Bernstein. (2003). “Farewells to the peasantry”. Transformation, 52: 1-19 Recommended Readings David Goodman and Michael Redclift. (1985) “Capitalism, Petty Commodity Production and the Farm Enterprise.” Sociologia Ruralis 25: 231-47. William H. Friedland. (2002). “Agriculture and Rurality: Beginning the ‘Final Separation’?”. Rural Sociology. 67(3): 350-371. |
5 | Transformation of Agriculture in Turkey | Readings: Caglar Keyder and Zafer Yenal. (2011). “Agrarian Change under Globalization: Markets and Insecurity in Turkish Agriculture.” Journal of Agrarian Change, 11: 60-86. Murat Öztürk, Joost Jongerden and Andy Hilton. (2017). “The (re)production of the new peasantry in Turkey”. Journal of Rural Studies. Xxx. In press. Available online. Recommended Reading Çağlar Keyder. (1983). “The Cycle of Sharecropping and the Consolidation of Small Peasant Ownership in Turkey,” Journal of Peasant Studies, 10: 130–145 Derya Nizam & Zafer Yenal (2020) Seed politics in Turkey: the awakening of a landrace wheat and its prospects, The Journal of Peasant Studies, 47:4, 741-766. |
6 | Rural Development: An Agricultural Paradigm Shift? | Readings: Jonathan Murdoch. (2000): "Networks-a New Paradigm of Rural Development?". Journal of Rural Studies 16:407-19. Clive Potter and Jonathan Burney. (2002): "Agricultural Multifunctionality in the WTO—Legitimate Non-Trade Concern or Disguised Protectionism?". Journal of Rural Studies 18: 35-47. Recommended Readings: David Goodman. (2004). "Rural Europe Redux? Reflections on Alternative Agro-Food Networks and Paradigm Change." Sociologia Ruralis. 44: 3-16. Henk Renting, Terry K. Marsden, and Jo Banks. (2003). "Understanding Alternative Food Networks: Exploring the Role of Short Food Supply Chains in Rural Development." Environment and Planning A 35: 393-411. |
7 | Midterm | |
8 | Documentary Screening | Black Gold (2006) Director: Marc Francis, Nick Francis An in-depth look at the world of coffee and global trade (fair trade movement). |
9 | Women and Rural Livelihoods Group A Presentation | Readings: Theodosia Anthopoulou. (2010). “Rural Women in Local Agrofood Production: Between Entrepreneurial Initiatives and Family Strategies. A Case Study in Greece.” Journal of Rural Studies, 26: 394-403. Roser Manzanera-Ruiz, Carmen Lizarraga and Rosemarie Mwaipopo. (2016). “Gender Inequality, Processes of Adaptation, and Female Local Initiatives in Cash Crop Production in Northern Tanzania”. Rural Sociology, 81(2):143–171. Recommended Readings: Jo Little, Brian Ilbery, and David Watts. (2009). “Gender, Consumption and the Relocalisation of Food: A Research Agenda.” Sociologia Ruralis, 49 (3): 201-17. Catherine S. Dolan. (2004). “On Farm and Packhouse: Employment at the Bottom of a Global Value Chain”. Rural Sociology, 69 (1): 99–126. |
10 | Documentary Screening | |
11 | Food Sovereignty: Social Class and Movements Group B Presentation | Readings: Annette-Aurelie Desmarais. (2002). “The Via Campesina: Consolidating an International Peasant and Farm Movement”. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 29: 91-124. Marc Edelman. (2005). “Bringing the moral economy back in… to the study of 21st century transnational peasant movements”. American Anthropologist, 107: 331-345. Recommended Readings: John Wilkinson. (2011). “From Fair Trade to Responsible Soy: Social Movements and the Qualification of Agrofood Markets.” Environment and Planning A, 43: 2012-26. Peter L. Taylor, Douglas L. Murray, Laura T. Raynolds. (2005). “Keeping Trade Fair: Governance Challenges in the Fair Trade Coffee Initiative”. Sustainable Development, 13: 199-208. |
12 | Food, Culture and Place Group C Presentation | Readings: Elizabeth Barham. (2003). “Translating Terroir: The Global Challenge of French AOC Labeling.” Journal of Rural Studies, 19: 127-38. Derya Nizam. (2017). “Place, food and agriculture: The use of geographical indications in Turkey”. New Perspectives On Turkey, 57: 3-30. Recommended Readings: Sarah Bowen and Kathryn De Master. (2011). “New Rural Livelihoods or Museums of Production? Quality Food Initiatives in Practice”. Journal of Rural Studies, 27: 73-82. Rosemary J. Coombe and Nicole Aylwin. (2011). “Bordering Diversity and Desire: Using Intellectual Property to Mark Place-Based Products”. Environment and Planning A, 43: 2027-42. |
13 | Food, Knowledge and Power Group D Presentation | Readings: Julie Guthman. (2007). “The Polanyian Way? Voluntary Food Labels as Neoliberal Governance.” Antipode, 39: 456-78. E. Melanie DuPuis and David Goodman. (2005). “Should We Go 'Home' to Eat? Toward a Reflexive Politics of Localism.” Journal of Rural Studies, 21: 359-71. Recommended Readings: Harriet Friedmann and Amber McNair. (2008). “Whose Rules Rule? Contested Projects to Certify ‘Local Production for Distant Consumers’.” Journal of Agrarian Change, 8:408-34. Maria Fonte. (2008). “Knowledge, Food and Place. A Way of Producing, a Way of Knowing.” Sociologia Ruralis, 48: 200-22. |
14 | Student Group Presentations (Group A & B) | |
15 | Student Group Presentations (Group C & D) Review of the Semester | |
16 | Final Exam |
Course Notes/Textbooks | Readings listed in this form |
Suggested Readings/Materials | The recommending readings will be avaliable on Blackboard. |
EVALUATION SYSTEM
Semester Activities | Number | Weigthing |
Participation | ||
Laboratory / Application | ||
Field Work | ||
Quizzes / Studio Critiques | ||
Portfolio | ||
Homework / Assignments |
1
|
10
|
Presentation / Jury |
2
|
30
|
Project | ||
Seminar / Workshop | ||
Oral Exams | ||
Midterm |
1
|
20
|
Final Exam |
1
|
40
|
Total |
Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade |
5
|
60
|
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade |
1
|
40
|
Total |
ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE
Semester Activities | Number | Duration (Hours) | Workload |
---|---|---|---|
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours) |
16
|
3
|
48
|
Laboratory / Application Hours (Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours) |
16
|
0
|
|
Study Hours Out of Class |
16
|
3
|
48
|
Field Work |
0
|
||
Quizzes / Studio Critiques |
0
|
||
Portfolio |
0
|
||
Homework / Assignments |
1
|
14
|
14
|
Presentation / Jury |
2
|
15
|
30
|
Project |
0
|
||
Seminar / Workshop |
0
|
||
Oral Exam |
0
|
||
Midterms |
1
|
15
|
15
|
Final Exam |
1
|
25
|
25
|
Total |
180
|
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP
#
|
Program Competencies/Outcomes |
* Contribution Level
|
||||
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
||
1 | To have the knowledge of classical and contemporary theories in sociology, and be able to comparatively analyze these theories. |
X | ||||
2 | To have the knowledge of main methodological approaches in sociology as well as social research and data analysis methods. |
X | ||||
3 | To have knowledge in the fields of general sociology, sociology of institutions, social structure and change, and applied sociology. |
X | ||||
4 | To be able to determine the appropriate methods in the design of the planning stage and conclusion of a sociological project, individually or as part of a team. |
X | ||||
5 | To be able to diagnose the social dynamics behind personal problems by using sociological imagination. |
X | ||||
6 | To be able to define social problems at local, national, and global level, and offer new policies for solutions. |
X | ||||
7 | To be able to apply commonly-used computer programs for data collection and analysis in sociological research. |
|||||
8 | To be able to develop a socially responsible, scientific and ethical perspective regarding the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data. |
|||||
9 | To be able to analyze different aspects of the social world by drawing on the knowledge produced by other disciplines of the social sciences. |
|||||
10 | To be able to constantly renew herself/himself professionally by following scientific and technological developments in sociology and social research. |
X | ||||
11 | To be able to collect sociological data and communicate with sociologists and other social scientists in a foreign language ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1). |
|||||
12 | To be able to speak a second foreign at a medium level of fluency efficiently. |
|||||
13 | To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout the human history to their field of expertise. |
*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest
NEWS |ALL NEWS
Book Presentation and Talk: Visual Sociology
Department of Sociology invites you to the Book Presentation and Talk event with Gülbin Özdamar Akarçay, the author of “Visual Sociology". Date:
Book Presentation and Talk: Painting the Revolution
Department of Sociology invites you to the Book Presentation and Talk event with Dr. Bengü Aydın Dikmen, the author of “Painting the
We welcomed ethnomusicologist Onur Sönmez.
We held our sociology seminar where we hosted ethnomusicologist Onur Sönmez. We thank him very much for this detailed and interesting presentation.
Cover Culture: Pleasure, Power, and Self-Imagination in İzmir’s Repetitive Music Scene
You are cordially invited to the Sociology Seminar where we will host Dr. Onur Sönmez. Onur Sönmez has a PhD in ethnomusicology
II. IUE GENDER STUDIES DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP (EKOKAM- Gender and Women’s Studies Research and Application Center)
Research Assistant Helin Kardelen Kavuş attended the “II. IUE Gender Studies Development Workshop” on March 8, 2024, International Women's Day. Organized by EKOKAM, the workshop
Women’s Cooperatives and Gender Equality
You are cordially invited to "Women's Cooperatives and Gender Equality", which will be co-organized by IUE EKOKAM, the Department of Sociology, and
Welcoming Our New Faculty Member: Professor Deniz Yükseker
We are proud to welcome and introduce our newest faculty member: Professor Deniz Yükseker. We wish her all the best and success
Sociology Seminar: Social Origins of Regime Change in Turkey: 1908 -2023
Department of Sociology cordially invites you to a seminar on "Social Origins of Regime Change in Turkey: 1908 - 2023" by Dr.