Sociology of Social Equality and Inequality

6 ECTS credits
154 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1000696BEW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

NOTE: registration for this course is only possible for working students. Day students can register for courses whose code ends with an R. At Inschrijven / studentenadministratie@vub.be you must be registered at the VUB as a working student for the current academic year.

Taught in

Dutch

Partnership Agreement

Under agreement for exchange of courses

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool

Department

Sociology

Educational team

Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

4 contact hours Lecture
150 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course gives insight into the processes of equality and inequality, with a focus on Europe during the past two centuries. The following sociological topics will be discussed: social class, poverty and social inequality, social (im)mobility, legitimation of (in)equality, consequences of social (in)equality, welfare states, social policy and socio-economic residential segregation. The ideas of several thinkers are discussed, such as Piketty, Sandel, Milanovic, Goldthorpe, Bukodi, Pickett, Wilkinson, etc.. We always combine theoretical ideas and empirical material with applied policy class discussions.

Additional info

The study material consists of a reader with mandatory readings for the lectures on the one hand and the slides and class readings of the lectures on the other hand. Everything is made available digitally on Canvas. There are no class recordings (with the exception for recognized working students).

Explanation work form calculation
- Lecture (HOC): collective contact moments at which the lecturer discusses the learning content
- Working methods and practical exercises (WPO): collective and individual contact moments during which the student gets to work with the learning content under supervision
- Independent work and study (SELF): non-contact activities

The calculation below is indicative and gives an indication of the expected study load

DAY STUDENTS
HOC: 36 hours

lecture: 36 hours (12 classes x 3 hours)

SELF: 118 hours

keep track of the course during the semester, at the rate of 3 hours HOC: 36 hours
reading and processing the reader: 42 hours
exam preparation: 40 hours (5 days of 8 hours)

WORK STUDENTS
HOC: 4 hours

introductory class: 2 hours
final class with 'questions & answers': 2 hours

SELF: 150 hours

viewing the lesson recordings: 30 hours (10 x 3 hours)
keep track of the course during the semester: 38 hours
reading and processing the reader: 42 hours
exam preparation: 40 hours (5 days of 8 hours)

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

To get acquainted with some basic concepts and theoretical insights concerning the sociology of social equality and inequality and as such learn how to apply some general sociological insights.
To get acquainted with some sociological explanations on social inequality and be able to evaluate these critically.
To get insight and to develop views on current discussions on social inequality.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written Exam with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The exam consists for all students of an written exam (100%) with two parts: one part with multiple choice questions (50% _ corrected with the system of the higher standard setting) and the second part with open questions.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context