Comparative Sociology of Europe

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The module provides an overview of comparative sociology of European societies. Internationally comparative studies contribute to advancing our sociological knowledge by describing and exploring social phenomena, testing and developing theories, and establishing generalizability of findings while taking into account the societies' variety in institutional setups such as welfare state configuration and social and demographic structures. Focusing on contemporary European societies the module will put particular emphasize on unifying Europe as a new social space not superseding but possibly transcending national boundaries of social conflict and solidarity. This module provides (1) an overview to theoretical approaches as well as various analytical strategies related to internationally comparative research in general and Europe in particular. Having laid down the foundations, the lecture will (2) contour European societies based on selected topics related to social and demographic change. The discussion of comparative sociological research on Europe (and beyond) will (3) be illuminated by drawing upon pertinent comparative studies adopting different modes of research methodology and design (e.g., small-N vs. large-N, cross-sectional vs. longitudinal). Further, the module will (4) present common issues in applying qualitative as well as quantitative techniques of comparison and possible solutions as found in the literature. Topic (1) and (2) will be covered in Part I and (3) and (4) in Part II.