300062 Political Sociology: Globalization and Power (S) (WiSe 2015/2016)

Political Sociology: Globalization and Power
The course offers an introduction into political sociology in the age of globalization. In general, political sociology has been interested in the relationship between state and society at the scale of the nation state. With globalization empirical changes and new theoretical tools have transformed that character of political sociology; it has introduced new understandings of power and politics and lead toward new fields of research.
The aim of this course is to provide insights into contemporary sociopolitical dynamics and key theoretical approaches that help understand and make sense of them. As power is at the heart of a sociological analysis of politics we will engage in critical discussion of how power is constructed, organized, challenged, claimed and re-organized through various institutions, scales and agents. We will specifically look into the following topics:
- Politics and power in the age of globalization
- From government to governance and governamentality
- Spatial analysis, de- and re-territorializations
- Social movements: new, transnational and urban
- Resistance and accommodation of migrants and diasporic groups
- Cosmopolitanism