Academic Level: 100
Seminar, 4,5 ECTS Credits (112,5 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)
offered in spring/summer, fall/winter
Lecturer: Julia Taggert, M.A.
This seminar is designed to give a first insight into the topics, methods and theories of the social sciences. We will explore topics such as social change, modern family development, social action, social stratification, and inequality from a sociologist's perspective. Global social inequality will be examined in more detail. Students will learn how to use common statistical indices and reports. The seminar is based on texts by modern sociologist Anthony Giddens, but students will also learn about classical theorists such as Weber and Marx. To connect the seminar to their service-learning experience, students will give a short presentation about their social engagement in Nürtingen.The second part of this presentation will deal with a more theoretical topic. Moreover, students will be required to write a paper on a given topic of their social engagement at the end of the semester. The grade will be based on the presentation and the paper. Attendance and active participation in class is required and will also influence the grade. In addition to the seminar, students must complete 40 hours of voluntary work with non-profit organizations in Nürtingen to fulfill the social engagement requirement. Important Note: If no resources are given in the report and in the presentation then the class is considered failed. The same applies to plagiarism. In this case, students get a fail for the entire module. Sources must be accessible by the teacher (i.e. in English or German language).
Assessment: Presentation, paper, participation in class, 40 hours of voluntary work
Prerequisite: a good level of English is required
Undergraduate students, Graduate students