COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
PIR 103	B	1	3	0	0	3	5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Reina Shehi rzenelaj@epoka.edu.al , Thursday 10:30-12:30
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:	Conference Hall_ Wednesday 13:45- 16:30
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:
Course Description:	This course discusses the study of power and politics from sociological perspective. It introduces students with macro-concepts such as formation of nation states, political institutions and sources of political and social change. From a micro perspective, it examines how social identities and groups influence individual political behavior, such as voting, attitudes, and political participation. The end goal is to study the political system less mechanically and focus more on its underlying social forces.
Course Objectives:	The course aims to teach students about societies and major dynamics and issues in the social sciences. To enable them to learn about different societal structures, the formation of states, the impact of national identity, and how do they all interplay with political-economic systems. Furthermore, it introduces students to the types and magnitudes of crises in the modern world. Throughout the course, the main objective is to invite students to get critical and ask how independent and interdependent are we in a global world.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Society
2	Social Groups
3	Identity
4	Politics

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction: Key Concepts in Political Sociology : Introduction: What is Society, what is Politics? Why do we study Political Sociology? Alatas, S. F. (2003). Academic dependency and the global division of labour in the social sciences. Current sociology, 51(6), 599-613.
2	Social identity and socialization Mills, C. W. (2000). The sociological imagination. Oxford University Press
3	States, nations and nationalism Mann, M. (1984). The autonomous power of the state: its origins, mechanisms and results. European Journal of Sociology/Archives Européennes de Sociologie/Europäisches Archiv für Soziologie, 25(2), 185-213. Scott, J. C. (2020). Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. Veritas Paperbacks. Weber, M. (2009). From Max Weber: essays in sociology. Routledge.
4	Practice Session: Doing empirical research on identities: Researching identities in Albania Brubaker, R., & Cooper, F. (2000). Beyond" identity". Theory and society, 29(1), 1-47.
5	Migration and social integration Massey, D. S. (2003, June). Patterns and processes of international migration in the 21st century. In Conference on African Migration in Comparative Perspective, Johannesburg, South Africa (Vol. 4, No. 7, pp. 1-41). 1. Janoski, T., Alford, R. R., Hicks, A. M., & Schwartz, M. A. (Eds.). (2005). The handbook of political sociology: states, civil societies, and globalization. Cambridge University Press., ch. 31 (630-654)
6	Political Ordering Bromley S., Clarke J., Hinchliffe s., & Taylor S., (2009) Exploring Social Lives: Introducing the Social Sciences, The Open University, UK, Chapter 8, Pages 347-390
7	Authority and Power in International Affairs Meyer, J. W., Boli, J., Thomas, G. M., & Ramirez, F
8	Midterm Week
9	Governing Problems: Case study How are public matters governed in Albania?Bromley S., Clarke J., Hinchliffe s., & Taylor S., (2009) Exploring Social Lives: Introducing the Social Sciences, The Open University, UK, Chapter 7, Pages 305-345)
10	Practice Session: How are Public Matters Governed in Albania?
11	Making of Society and Politics: The power of Economy Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton University Press.
12	Making of Society and Politics: The power of Media Moeller, J., & de Vreese, C. (2013). The differential role of the media as an agent of political socialization in Europe. European Journal of Communication, 28(3), 309-325. Schudson, M. (2002). The news media as political institutions. Annual review of political science, 5(1), 249-269.
13	Living in a Global Village Lechner, F. J., & Boli, J. (Eds.). (2020). The globalization reader. John Wiley & Sons.
14	Concluding Remarks Bromley S., Clarke J., Hinchliffe s., & Taylor S., (2009) Exploring Social Lives: Introducing the Social Sciences, The Open University, UK, Conclusion Chapter, pages 437-442

Prerequisite(s):	N/A
Textbook(s):	1. Janoski, T., Alford, R. R., Hicks, A. M., & Schwartz, M. A. (Eds.). (2005). The handbook of political sociology: states, civil societies, and globalization. Cambridge University Press. 2. Stanbridge, K., & Ramos, H. (2012). Seeing Politics Differently: A Brief Introduction to Political Sociology. Oxford University Press. 3. Basaran, T., Bigo, D., Guittet, E. P., & Walker, R. B. (Eds.). (2016). International political sociology: Transversal lines. Routledge.
Additional Literature:
Laboratory Work:	N.A
Computer Usage:	N.A
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	To describe major features of contemporary societies that is relevant to politics.
2	To identify the political implications of social phenomenon such as class, race and ethnicity, religion and nationality.
3	To analyze what makes social values and attitudes change.
4	To apply theoretical understanding to empirical data and analyses in the field of political sociology.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years) Program
1	Having and using advanced knowledge and comprehension supported by textbooks including actual knowledge in political sciences and international relations literature, materials and the other scientific resources.	3
2	Analyzing data, ideas and concepts of current political issues and international relations, determining complex events and topics, making discussions and developing new suggestions in accordance with researches.	4
3	Having knowledge and thought about actual topics and problems together with their historical, social and cultural aspects.	5
4	Introducing those who are interested in politics and international events with the topics of Political Science and IR and teaching clearly the problems and the types of solutions.	3
5	Improving skills of working together with the main social science disciplines and other disciplines which are related to Political Science and International Relations.	4
6	Improving critical thinking and skills in making research independently.	4
7	Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena.	3
8	Improving skills for leadership and research and analyze capacity of those who is responsible with national and international ones.	3
9	Knowing any foreign language enough to communicate with colleagues and understand actual researches and articles.	2
10	Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge.	2
11	Gaining skills to follow societal, scientific and ethic values during collecting, interpreting, conducting of data related to social and political developments.	4
12	Having consciousness about human rights and environment.	4
13	Gaining the skills to follow actual developments and pursue long-life learning.	3

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Presentation	1	10
Case Study	4	5
Final Exam	1	40
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	2	16	32
Mid-terms	1	16	16
Assignments	1	12	12
Final examination	1	17	17
Other			0
Total Work Load:			125
Total Work Load/25(h):			5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

NA