UCL - Social Structures and Power

[SOC2015]

[30h] 5 credits

This course is taught in the 2d semester.

Teacher(s): Luc Van Campenhoudt

Language: French

Level: Second

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

- Capacity to analyse the structuring processes of societies and in particular "Power".
- Capacity to critically compare the main classic and contemporary approaches.
- Capacity to organise the whole theoretical space.

Main themes

- Comparative social structure and power theories.
- Historical evolution of the main theoretical approaches related to social transformation.
- Theorization of power in the contemporary social context.

Content and teaching methods

Lectures. The work of the main authors will be described several times under different perspectives according to the issue studied. Contemporary approaches will be illustrated and discussed through concrete questions (ex: Active Social State) and recent research (ex: work in network).

1. Introduction : difficulty in apprehending the notion of power, sociological theory production, notion of structure (generalities).
2. The social structure as emanating from considerations on society's survival or on the effective function-ing of society. Macro-sociological approaches (Spencer, Durkheim, Radcliffe-Brown, Marx, Parsons) and structuro-functionnal tradition. Principles of functional analysis (Merton, Fleck, Douglas).
3. The structure as generated by domination and coercion (Hobbes, Freud, Marx, Mills, Dahrendorf, We-ber, Gramsci, Marcuse, Habermas, Foucault).
4. The structure as generated by an integration process and by social exchange (Goffman, Becker, Blau, Gagnon et Simon)
5. From totality to differentiation: field and social system (Bourdieu, Luhmann).
6. From differentiation to de-differentiation, the social networks approach: structural approach (Bott, Granovetter, Freeman, Burt) ; "actantial" approach (McAdam, McCarthy et Zald).
7. Tensions within sociological theory: institutionalisation (formal) vs interdependency (informal), macro vs micro, structure and action, procedures and change, individual vs society (from authors below and a few others: Elias, Giddens, Thomson, Touraine).
8. Produce a theory of power in today's social context: determinant social transformations (" globalisa-tion", technological revolution, " expert systems", new systems and new paradigms of public action, " new risks "), relevance and overtaking of classic theories, movements and today's theoretical de-bates.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Oral exam.

Written material (texts)