SOCb2142 Introduction to Urban Sociology

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Slavomíra Ferenčuhová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Slavomíra Ferenčuhová, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Supplier department: Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 18:00–19:40 U53
Prerequisites
!NOW( SOC142 Urban Sociology ) && ! SOC142 Urban Sociology
Introduction to sociology (recommended)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 27/25, only registered: 8/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 8/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of this class is to introduce students to the wide field of urban sociology, and to make them familiar with at least a few questions that this subdiscipline of sociology deals with. Since the very beginning of the course students will learn to approach city (a specific settlement, material environment, or institution) as a 'sociological problem' worth studying.
Learning outcomes
After taking this class the students will have a solid knowledge about the topics and types of problems that urban sociologists deal with. Also, they will have an idea about how this subject can be used in practice. Exercises using additional materials and literature, rather than reading original sociological writings, will make students learn about selected methods used in urban scholarship (for example participant observation; starting a research diary+photography; mental mapping; go-along method; interview; document analysis). Tis will help students to get the competency to formulate questions they can understand using similar methods The course stimulates critical reading of academic texts, searching from examples that can be analysed with the knowledge acquired through reading. Last but not least, the course should lead to stimulating curiousness and motivation to understand the relations between society, individual life and (urban) space, thus cultivating students' sociological (Mills) and geographical (Harvey) imagination.
Syllabus
  • (1) Kde se vzala sociologie města?
  • (2) Co je to město? Definice a třídění měst. Jaká jsou ústřední témata v urbánní sociologii?
  • (3) Města ve střední a východní Evropě - postsocialistická města?
  • (4) Panelová sídliště ve střední a východní Evropě I. (historie a výzkumy rezidenční spokojenosti)
  • (5) Panelová sídliště ve střední a východní Evropě II. (identita, každodennost)
  • (6) Sociální změna a nerovnosti ve městě: příklad bezdomovectví
  • (7) Města a příroda: příklad klimatické změny
  • (8) Globalizace, transnacionalismus, vztahovost: města a jejich propojení
  • (9) Plánování a vize města, city-branding, city-marketing
  • (10) Shrnutí kurzu
Literature
  • Stevenson, Deborah. 2013. The city. Wiley and Sons.
  • FERENČUHOVÁ, Slavomíra. Sociologie města 20. a 21. století (Urban sociology of the 20th and 21st century). Praha/Brno: Sociologické nakladatelství SLON/Masarykova univerzita, 2013, 290 pp. Základy sociologie 11. svazek. ISBN 978-80-7419-162-6. info
  • HORSKÁ, Pavla, Jiří MUSIL and Eduard MAUR. Zrod velkoměsta : urbanizace českých zemí a Evropa. Vyd. 1. Praha: Paseka, 2002, 352 s. ISBN 8071854093. info
Teaching methods
Rather than lectures, students focus on seminars and interactive learning. Students have to prepare for each class (reading, short writing assignments, other homework) and their activity in classes is indispensable in this course. In order to find their way through the readings, students are given a list of questions relating to the class's reading; they help them to get orientation in the texts and point out the main issues to focus on. Also, these questions stimulate individual critical thinking about the issues discussed later in the class.
Assessment methods
Requirements: 1) Class attendance and activity in the classroom: 25% of the mark 2) Homework (evaluated assignments): 30% 3) Final written exam (open questions): 45% To pass the course, the student needs to gain at least 60% of the points along the whole semester.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2019, Autumn 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2024/SOCb2142