Sociology of International Relations 2104-UPIR-D2SOIR
Classes are organized as follows:
Week 1. Organisational Class
Week 2. How to observe and test social behaviour? A short introduction.
Week 3. Identity and Nations
Chapters 7, 12, and 13 (Edkins & Zehfuss, 4th edition).
Chapter 7: Who do we think we are?
Chapter 12: Why is people’s movement restricted?
Chapter 13: Where do we think we are from?
Cohen and Kennedy, chapter 21: Identities and Belonging.
McSweeney, chapters 4 and 7: Identity versus the State; The Limits of Identity Theory.
Supplementary reading:
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised edition. London and New York: Verso, 2016.
Week 4. Religion and Secularism
Chapter 8 (Edkins & Zehfuss, 4th edition).
Chapter 8: How do religious beliefs affect politics?
Cohen and Kennedy, chapter 17: Global Religion.
Supplementary reading:
Thomas, Scott M. The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, pp. 1–21.
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities, Chapter 2: Cultural Roots.
Week 5. Power, Authority, and Legitimacy
Chapter 9 (Edkins & Zehfuss, 4th edition).
Chapter 9: Why do we obey?
Cohen and Kennedy, chapter 5: Political Sociology: Changing Nation-States.
McSweeney, chapters 1 and 6: The Meaning of Security; The Social Constructionist Approach.
Supplementary reading:
Weber, Max. “The Three Types of Legitimate Rule.” Berkeley Publications in Society and Institutions, 1958, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1–11.
Chomsky, Noam. Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky. Edited by Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel. New York: New Press, 2002, pp. 267–287.
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities, Chapter 10: Census, Map, Museum.
Assignment:
Conduct an experiment illustrating how power operates in a familiar social setting.
Week 6. From Colonialism to the Age of Interventionism
Chapters 16, 17, and 21 (Edkins & Zehfuss, 4th edition).
Chapter 16: How does colonialism work?
Chapter 17: Do colonialism and slavery belong to the past?
Chapter 21: What makes the world dangerous?
Cohen and Kennedy, chapter 3: Modernity and the Evolution of World Society.
McSweeney, chapter 10: Doing Security by Stealth.
Supplementary reading:
Thomas, Martin, and Andrew Thompson. “Empire and Globalisation: From ‘High Imperialism’ to Decolonisation.” The International History Review 36, no. 1 (2014): 142–170.
Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. London: Random House, 2014.
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities, Chapters 4 and 6: Creole Pioneers; Official Nationalism and Imperialism.
Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” In Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, edited by Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg. London: Macmillan, 1988, pp. 271–313.
Week 7. Language and Mass Media
Chapters 2 and 10 (Edkins & Zehfuss, 4th edition).
Chapter 2: How do we begin to think about the world?
Chapter 10: How do we find out what’s going on in the world?
Cohen and Kennedy, chapter 16: Media and the Digital Age.
Supplementary reading:
Chomsky, Noam. Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky. Edited by Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel. New York: New Press, 2002, pp. 12–37.
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities, Chapter 5: Old Languages, New Models (print capitalism).
Week 8. Language and Media (2)
Week 9. Presenting Team Work: Analyze the content of the media coverage on the chosen topic.
Week 10. Test
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Term 2025L:
Students will become familiar with the following topics related to the sociology of international relations: |
Term 2026L:
Students will become familiar with the following topics related to the sociology of international relations: |
Type of course
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Mode
Learning outcomes
Students become acquainted with the theories of leading sociologists whose concepts shape the research of international relations. They learn about the latest trends in area studies with emphasis on the social dimension of international relations. Students are encouraged to conduct their own research (experiments) in order to better understand the presented sociological theories. They learn how to prepare and present their own research projects. They learn how to present their research results in a succinct manner. They gain experience of working in a group.
Assessment criteria
The fundamental condition for receiving a graded pass is regular attendance. Students are allowed up to two absences, except for classes in which they are required to present the results of their work.
Passing the course with a grade requires meeting the following conditions:
1) Attendance at lectures (a maximum of two absences is permitted).
2) Active participation in class discussions.
3) Preparation and presentation of assigned tasks.
4) Successful completion of the final test.
During the course, each student is required to complete two assignments:
– an individual task related to a selected topic (20%);
– group work involving an analysis of mass media coverage (20%).
If a student fails to complete at least one of the required assignments, they are not eligible to take the final test.
Active participation during classes (completion of compulsory readings, asking questions, commenting, and participation in discussions) may increase the final test grade by up to 20%, provided that the student has passed the final test.
The final grade is calculated on the basis of:
– assignment results (40 points - 40%);
– the final test result (60 points - 60%).
Grading scale
90–100 points → 5 (very good)
80–89 points → 4.5 (good plus)
70–79 points → 4 (good)
60–69 points → 3.5 (satisfactory plus)
50–59 points → 3 (satisfactory)
below 50 points → 2 (fail)
Artificial Intelligence Tools Policy
This course applies Level 2: AI-assisted Idea Generation and Structuring according to the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). AI may be used for brainstorming and structuring ideas. All writing must be original.
Practical placement
not included
Bibliography
Edkins, Jenny, Maja Zehfuss, & Thomas Gregory, eds. Global Politics: A New Introduction. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 2025.
Cohen, Robin, & Paul Kennedy (with Maud Perrier). Global Sociology. 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
McSweeney, Bill. Security, Identity and Interests: A Sociology of International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Lektura uzupełniająca:
- Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised edition. London, New York: Verso, 2016.
- Thomas, Scott M. The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations: The Struggle for the Soul of the Twenty-First Century. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
- Weber, Max. "The three types of legitimate rule", Berkeley Publications in Society and Institutions. 1958, vol. 4, no. 1. pp. 1-11.
- Thomas, Martin, & Andrew Thompson. "Empire and Globalisation: from ‘High Imperialism’ to Decolonisation". The International History Review 36, no. 1 (2014): 142-170.
- Chomsky, Noam. Understanding power: the indispensable Chomsky. Edited by Peter R. Mitchell & John Schoeffel. New York: New Press.
- Tilly, Charles. The politics of collective violence. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
- Said, Edward W. Culture And Imperialism. Random House Group Ltd, 2014.
- Bauman, Zygmunt, & Carlo Bordoni. State of Crisis. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: