Social Interaction

The course will provide an introduction and overview of key perspectives and current theories related to social interaction. Contributions from Blumer, Garfinkel, Goffman, Strauss, Collins and Rawls are central, and the understanding of how the insights from this so-called "micro sociological" tradition can be considered as generic sociological notions of community and community development will be emphasized. Theories of social interactionism will be illiminated by connecting them to contemporary social phenomena. Active student participation will bring theories and perspectives close to students own lives. The term paper should be done in groups (3 students in each group) and presented as a podcast (audio file), which discusses the theoretical contributions or develops an analysis of a social phenomenon with the use of relevant theories.

Knowledge - the student shall:

* know about the basic theories, discussions and research about social interaction.

* have the ability to critically analyze the relevance of these theories according to understanding of community and development.

Skills - the student shall demonstrate the ability to:

* use theories of social interaction as an analytical tool for understanding social phenomena and problems.

* develop and disseminate such theories' relevance for understanding trends in society today.

Lectures and seminars. If few students attend the course in the first two weeks of teaching, the course will be given as an individual study course with supervision. Whether or not the course is offered also depends on the departments available resources. Please contact the department for further information.