Approaches to Comparative Social Research

2024/2025

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

6

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Департамент социологии

Статус:

Курс обязательный

Когда читается:

1-й курс, 2, 3 модуль

Преподаватель

Победоносцев Алексей Владимирович

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course “Approaches to Comparative Social Research” is designed to provide master’s students with a general knowledge of comparative studies in social sciences. Comparison is a universal method of almost all social sciences. In this course, students will study how comparative approaches and methods are used in various social science disciplines such as comparative sociology, comparative political economy, comparative politics, etc. Students will study how comparative methods from other social sciences can be applied to their research purposes.During the second model, the classes are taught by Aleksei Pobedonostsev. The classes of the third model are taught by Kadir Uysal.

Learning Objectives

• to study seminal texts in comparative social research
• to learn basic concepts of comparative social research
• to learn to criticize and evaluate comparative social research
• Improve verbal communication skills through interactive class discussions

Expected Learning Outcomes

• be able to meaningfully construct comparative research questions
• understand basic principles of comparative social research
• be able to criticize comparative studies
• model comparative research designs in comparative social research
• familiarize with major examples of comparative social research
• gain the knowledge of approaches and methods in comparative social studies
• acquire skills in evaluating and criticizing comparative social research
• identify strengths and weaknesses in comparative research.

Course Contents

• Introduction. Comparative economics of institutions.
• Comparing political systems and political regimes
• The comparative-historical sociology of colonialism
• The comparative political economy of the resource curse.
• Comparative sociology of global inequality
• Varieties of Capitalism (VoC)
• Comparative Study of Labour Markets
• Comparative Corporate Governance
• Comparative Study of Financialization
• Comparative Welfare State and Social Policy Structures

Assessment Elements

• Seminar activity
  In-person attendance in all classes is very desirable. Online attendance will be accepted only for students who reside outside Russia, after the confirmation of their residence abroad with the Student Office. Without such confirmation, online attendance to classes will be graded as absence. Skipping lectures and seminars is not welcomed. To encourage students to attend all classes, participation in seminar discussions gives 25% of the final grade. The attendance of seminar classes implies active participation in seminar discussions. Reading is crucial for having a fruitful and enjoyable discussion in class. Therefore, every student must read all mandatory reading materials assigned for seminar discussions The students’ assessment for participating in the seminars will depend on whether they have read their readings, participated in the literature discussion, answered the lecturer’s questions and formulated their own questions and comments.
• Two response papers
  During the course, students should write and submit two response papers: response paper №1 for the second module and response paper № 2 for the third model. The first response paper should be based on any mandatory text assigned for the second model. The second response paper should be based on any mandatory text assigned for the third model. Students are free to write response papers to reading material of their choice. The response paper is expected to be a short essay based on the reading text, outlining its contents and your own ideas based on it. Each response should include a minimum of 1000 words.
• Group presentation: Outside and in-class / Group work
  Students will form groups and make one presentation on the readings of a selected week during seminars. Each group can include 2-3 students. There will be 9 groups starting from week 2. Presentations will be of 30 minutes, and will include the main arguments of the reading materials, as well as reflections of the groups including one question for each material to discuss. Each group member will grade other members of his/her group, which will add or subtract 1 point out of 10 from the group grade for the graded student.
• Review Article: Outside class / Individual
  Students should write a review article on any topic of their selection from the syllabus. The article is expected to be between 4000-5000 words. It should cover all compulsory and suggested literature in the reading materials of the course for the subject, as well as additional major works in the field. In total it is expected to cover 20 major works on the topic. The article is expected to be more than just a summary of the literature. Students should approach the existing literature from a certain analytical point, describe the major debates, identify gaps and propose a viewpoint.

Interim Assessment

• 2024/2025 3rd module
  0.25 * Group presentation: Outside and in-class / Group work + 0.3 * Review Article: Outside class / Individual + 0.25 * Seminar activity + 0.2 * Two response papers

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Blyton, P. (2001). The General and the Particular in Cross-National Comparative Research. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50(4), 590–595. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00074
• Font, J., della Porta, D., & Sintomer, Y. (2012). Presentation. Methodological challenges in participation research. Revista Internacional de Sociología, (Extra_2), 9. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.800e74344fc48fa94f8da80b7c6579b
• Lieberson, S. (1991). Small N’s and Big Conclusions: An Examination of the Reasoning in Comparative Studies Based on a Small Number of Cases. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.5ACBF27C
• Lijphart, A. (2011). Democratic Quality in Stable Democracies. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.A9BD1B40
• Smelser, N. J. (1994). Sociological theories. International Social Science Journal, 46(139), 1. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=sih&AN=9504100912
• Soskice, D. (2005). Varieties of Capitalism and Cross-National Gender Differences. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.CAFCCDD2
• Tilly, C. (DE-588)121677117, (DE-576)163318476, 1929-2008. (2007). Democracy / Charles Tilly. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.263615383
• Wiseman, A. W., & Popov, N. (2015). Comparative Science : Interdisciplinary Approaches (Vol. First edition). Bingley, England: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=993133

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Crawford, B., & Lijphart, A. (1997). Liberalization and Leninist Legacies: Comparative Perspectives on Democratic Transitions. United States, North America: eScholarship, University of California. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.DB007F5
• Hall, T. D. (2017). Comparing Globalizations : Historical and World-Systems Approaches. Cham: Springer. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1636710
• Iversen, T., & Soskice, D. (2005). Electoral institutions, parties, and the politics of class: Why some democracies redistribute more than others. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.65DCFAFA
• Kucera, D. (2007). Qualitative Indicators of Labour Standards : Comparative Methods and Applications. Dordrecht: Springer. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=196760
• Rainer Bauböck, Donatella Della Porta, Ignacio Lago, & Camil Ungureanu. (2012). What methodological “wars” methodological pluralism? Revista Española de Ciencia Política, (29), 11. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.2385852644e540ab804dd172189cabdd
• Stroschein, S. (2004). From Contention to Coexistence in Local Politics: Mixed Cities in Central Europe. Conference Papers —— American Political Science Association, 1–34. https://doi.org/apsa_proceeding_29943.PDF
• Tilly, C. (1998). Democratization. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edssch&AN=edssch.oai%3aescholarship.org%2fark%3a%2f13030%2fqt98t901j5

Authors

• Desiatova Mariia Ivanovna
• Уйсал Кадир -
• MITROFANOVA EKATERINA SERGEEVNA
• Pobedonostsev Aleksei Vladimirovich