Course Description
Graduate Coursework Course Description
Global Sociology and Anthropology
Core Curriculum
This course offers foundational training in research methods critical to sociological and anthropological practice and problem-solving in real-world settings. The course equips students with a comprehensive understanding of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, emphasizing their application in diverse social contexts. Students will develop skills to design, collect, and analyze data for practical and actionable insights. Through engagement with case studies and exemplar research, the course prepares students to craft research projects that address pressing societal challenges, translating sociological and anthropological theories and methods into impactful practice.
This course provides a comprehensive exploration of classical and contemporary sociological theories. It teaches the foundational ideas, key concepts, and methodological approaches that have shaped the discipline of sociology. The coursework MA students will critically examine how these theories have been applied to understand social, economic, cultural, political, and religious phenomena and how they continue to influence contemporary sociological research and practice.
The seminar-style course allows student to appreciate and learn how to apply the shifts in theoretical ideas and arguments to understanding the changing meanings and significance of the individual and social groups, and their varying practices, including education, the family, friendship, leisure, work, and the broader society, culture, and economy.
The course traces the shifts in intellectual perspectives over the past century from functionalism and structuralism, to symbolism, interpretivism, feminism, post-colonialism, materialism, consumerism, cultural globalization, neoliberalism, and post-modernism.
Students will learn about how each theoretical position – functionalism, for example – shapes understandings and practices of selfhood, gender identity, family relations, non-familial patterns, labour, leisure, and individuals’ place in the larger socio-economic environment.
The course systematically exposes general linear modeling (or Ordinary Least Squares modeling) on continuous dependent variables in social science research and practice. Topics include cross-tabulation focusing on understanding the concept of statistical control and interaction effects, model specification, estimation, hypothesis testing, and remedies for violations of statistical assumptions. Extensions to the models dealing with limited dependent variables and the panel data analysis are introduced. The main emphasis is on the statistical techniques of social research. The course runs a series of hands-on data analysis labs for practical application of statistical methods.
The Qualitative Data Analysis Practicum is designed as a critical overview of qualitative methods used by social researchers. The primary focus of the course will be on qualitative data collection and analysis techniques, with attention to how such techniques are best integrated into a social science research project.
Specialisation Track: Culture, Society, and Economy
This course will first discuss what heritage is from an inter-disciplinary perspective and through the study of significant sites in various places in the world. Students will learn about different forms of heritage practices and the various international and national regulations and policies in this field.
Second, students will explore the relations between economics, sustainability, and living with cultural heritage. How societies have been managing heritage and cultural tourism resources and how “living heritage” is related to sustainable development.
Through case-studies students will reflect on how to tackle problems emerging from balancing site conservation, its surrounding communities’ needs and visitors use at these sites.
Digital technologies are transforming social, economic, cultural and political life, faster than social scientists and government regulators can keep up with them. This course introduces students to key areas where digital transformations are unsettling established norms and knowledges. It equips students with conceptual frameworks for understanding the complex logics, dynamics and stakes of emerging digital practices. Topics to be covered include the digital transformation of work, knowledge and expertise; the material economies and politics of digital infrastructure; the digitalization of money, markets and finance; the cultural politics of algorithms; and the intersections of race, class and Artificial Intelligence.
This course will explore the world of Disney, Walt Disney the man, and the business he created, which has come to be one of the most powerful and expansive corporations in the modern world. We will examine the films, theme parks, and influence of Disney on the contemporary world through a look at their technological achievements and socio-cultural influence. The course will examine contradictory and contrastive understandings of the Disney influence, and the varying experiences people have and seek from the world of Disney. Is there a specific “culture” associated with Disney? Has this culture been adapted specifically within Asia?
This course is an analysis of the relationship between gender and the shifts in power accompanying the “rise of Asia”. It is organized around three areas of academic discourse: modernity and globalization; nation and state; and ”positionalities” – arguments about who has the right to make knowledges about whom/what. Students will engage in both debates within mainstream social science about Asia and feminist debates about women and men in the “Global South”.
This course will review basic areas of the law: contracts, torts, property, and criminal law. Students will receive a basic training in legal principles and theories as illustrated through seminal cases from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Southeast Asia. Emphasis will be made more on the understanding, implementation, and reception of the law rather than an application of the law. This course is for students interested in studying how the works, in addition to the powerful influence of the law onto society.
This course examines the changing recognition of East Asian popular culture – movies, television dramas, popular music, animations, and comics – from pre-WWII till today, beginning with China in the 1930s, followed by Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan between the 1960s and 1990s, then South Korea from the 2000s, and China in recent decades.
We will also analyze how these geopolitical shifts and neoliberal economics shape senses of the self, gender dynamics, family formations, labor, perceptions of cultural heritage, and the rhetoric of national pride, for East Asians within the region and globally.
We explore the many ways that punishment interacts with social and cultural configurations. We view punishment in a historical context and what different institutions, understandings, forms, justifications and significance of punishment tell us about human societies and cultures. We explore how modes of punishment shape social and cultural institutions, forms, meanings and experiences.
We examine theoretical perspectives on the question “Why we punish”—What social functions does punishment serve? We consider the historical development of the prison, examine modes of punishment in prisons, and investigate the phenomenon of “mass incarceration.”
We look into how we understand punishment, what is the relationship between race and crime and how are human rights, democracy, and family at risk. The course draws from a diversity of sources ranging from sociology, anthropology, criminology and criminal justice to give particular attention to factors long associated with crime and punishment, such as sin, race, and citizenship. We will also study the unprecedented prison-population explosion (in terms of race, gender and class), and its relationship to major social problems.
We relate to and create environments through all of our senses and by deploying different sensory hierarchies. The course explores a range of domains of social life including urbanity, religion, material culture, migration, tourism, and animal-human relations. We scrutinise the relations and tensions between culture, identity formation, representation, and meaning- making. Drawing upon sociology, anthropology, and history, the course investigates the sensuous interrelationship of body-mind-environment, and critically merges theory, concepts, and examples drawn from case studies around Asia. We deliberate on both intra- and inter-regional cross-cultural encounters in order to evaluate possibilities of comparison within the region and beyond.
Learn about our contemporary world and our place in it by studying visual forms such as advertisements, cityscapes, graffiti, museums, media, maps, tattoos, fashion and so on. Learn to analyze images and visual representations. We will explore the contexts, discourse, and practices that enable both social and political visibility and invisibility in society. Central here are questions of power invested in the image – how they are produced, circulated and consumed. It is a study of the visual construction of the social and the social construction of the visual – what we see, how we see, and the worlds they produce.
This course is about understanding the processes of conducting ethnographic research in urban environments.
It focuses on the biases and assumptions in planning; in deciding on the techniques and methods for interviews and participant-observations; in analyzing research data; in considering professional codes of ethics; and in presenting ethnographic data in reports or alternative means.
We will pay close attention to the intricate interlinking of issues such as age, ethnicity, gender, nationality and religion with macro socio-cultural, economic and political processes, and how these generate opportunities and challenges in relation to discriminations, inequality, marginalization, social mobility, and poverty.
Specialisation Track: Global Asia
This course utilizes sociological and anthropological perspectives to offer a fresh perspective on Asia. Through theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and case studies, students critically analyze multifaceted social structures, cultural practices, and historical contexts defining Asian societies. Key themes explored include urbanization, gender, migration, religion, decolonization, and identity formation within an Asian context. By delving into both classical and contemporary scholarship, students gain profound insights into the intricate complexities of social phenomena across the continent. Through interactive discussions, readings, and practical exercises, students develop essential analytical skills and cultural competence necessary for effectively engaging with contemporary issues and challenges in Asia.
While money is often treated as a merely economic institution, anthropologists find that it is also infused with rich and complex cultural, social and moral meanings. This course explores a range of money uses and money cultures from across Asia, to think about how this medium of value and exchange mediates relations among people at multiple scales –in projects of progress and prosperity, amidst yawning socio-economic inequities, and through financial and political crises. How have Asian monies shaped the economies and politics of the region? How are newly emerging financial technologies transforming Asian societies?
This course will examine the changing legal environment on key ethical and legal standards in the workplace regarding treatment of minorities, harassment, and working conditions. As the world continues to change, so too does the workforce, and understanding these changes is key to effective management. The course will examine important changes to legislation in Asia as well as explore unchartered territories to provide students with the confidence to navigate tricky issues in the workplace ethically and professionally.
This interdisciplinary course offers a comprehensive exploration of China's evolving landscape within the context of global dynamics. Students delve deeply into various aspects of China's transformation, including political shifts, economic reforms, societal nuances, cultural transformations, and environmental challenges, engaging in critical analysis and profound reflections. Through this rigorous examination, students navigate the intricate tapestry of contemporary China, exploring topics ranging from media censorship and urbanization to moral crisis, state-society relations, gender dynamics, and public health issues. By grappling with these complexities, students develop a nuanced understanding of China's ascent as a formidable global force.
This course offers a critical look at the theme park, a type of leisure form increasingly ubiquitous in the contemporary world, and increasingly popular in various forms in Asia. What are the historical antecedents that have preceded the contemporary theme park, and how has this leisure form evolved into the modern form that is so popular globally today? Through the examination of various theme parks, and studies that critically assess their meanings and roles in contemporary society, students will be challenged to think critically about aspects of leisure and popular culture that shape our world views.
This course will look at the role of tourism in contemporary society. How did tourism develop as a modern phenomenon and are there different origins and histories of tourist travel in Asia as opposed to the West, where the origins of modern tourism is often said to be located? How does tourism shape the idea of society, culture and the environment? How does tourism shape the work we do, the lives we lead and the impact we have on other places in the world and what is the most sustainable and responsible way to develop tourism going forward?
This course aims to provide a comprehensive exploration of the interplay between gender norms and family dynamics in the context of Asia's ongoing globalization, development, and modernization. Drawing on theories and frameworks of family sociology, this course will incorporate a multidisciplinary lens by engaging the students in understanding the cultural, social, and economic forces shaping the experiences of individuals and families in diverse Asian societies. Key topics include globalization and its impact on gender roles and women's empowerment, changing dynamics of family attitudes and behaviours, intersectionality in Asian contexts, and case studies embedded in specific Asian countries.
Focusing on heritage in Asian cities is important because of the three major challenges that a city poses to heritage production:
- pressures for heritage buildings to make way for redevelopment
- heritage contests between different urban communities to keep what is important to them; and
- the role of heritage in capital cities to represent the cultural achievements of the nation and as a policy to enhance national identity.
Key topics in the course include:
- Heritage and Identity
- Heritage and Economy
- Governance
- Heritage Districts
- Difficult pasts
- Community Museums
- Policy: what to preserve
- Policy: how to showcase
Specialisation Track: Population, Aging, and Health
This course provides a comprehensive exploration of population diversity, focusing on the interconnected dynamics of ethnicity, migration, and their impact on society. Students will gain a deep understanding of the patterns, determinants, and implications of ethnic relations and migration, both within Asia and globally. Key topics include trends in international migration; theories of migration and ethnic relations; states and borders; social integration; interethnic relations; multiculturalism; feminization of migration; interethnic and transnational families; and intersectional understanding of ethnicity, migration, and the society.
This course offers a sociological exploration of family dynamics, intergenerational relations, and trends in long-term care provision in rapidly aging societies. It examines how structural, cultural, and demographic factors influence family transformations and caregiving patterns for older persons. Additionally, it investigates the theoretical underpinnings, the social and policy implications of rapid population aging for intergenerational relations. Furthermore, the course analyzes the role of social institutions, such as healthcare systems and social welfare policies, in shaping caregiving practices and addressing the care needs of diverse families. Finally, it delves into the sociological complexities inherent in private and public long-term care provision.
This course shall explore social factors that predict health and well-being across the life course. It will adopt a life course framework to understand and address health disparities. Students will review sociology, demography, and epidemiological research on critical social determinants of health and mortality, such as gender, race, socioeconomic status, education, social capital and family. Furthermore, students will apply critical sociological theories and biosocial perspectives such as the fundamental causes of health, the role of chronic stress, weathering, and cumulative disadvantage. The course will help students gain a deeper understanding of how social and contextual circumstances shape health and ageing.
The course highlights the challenge and opportunity of the unprecedented population aging in the globe. Starting with theoretical and historical reviews on reasons for population aging, this course focuses on the implications of this significant demographic trend on society and the economy in the near future. It introduces policy solutions and business strategies to deal with and/or take advantage of the rapid changes in population transformations. The key message is that although the world is swept by a grey wave, the future could still be golden as long as we can properly capture new chances arising from this trend.
Qualitative research approaches play a central role in the advancement of health research and practice because they explore new research questions and can provide new answers to enduring issues. Qualitative methods are effective instruments to analyze experiences and processes of health, illness, and healthcare systems. This course will train students to generate in-depth information on health-related behaviour, perceptions, and patterns that may not be well captured by quantitative techniques.
This course aims to provide an introduction to advanced quantitative research methods to analyse cross-sectional and longitudinal data in population research. The topics will cover multiple regression, panel data analysis, structural equation modelling, causal inference and experimental designs, tailored for population studies. It offers a comprehensive toolkit for analysing complex relationships between variables, understanding temporal dynamics, and testing causal hypotheses in demographic research. The course emphasizes practical applications in addressing critical issues like population health, migration patterns, and social inequalities, equipping students with the skills to contribute to evidence-based policy-making and advance theoretical knowledge in the field.
Religion is a social determinant of health. Despite the secular currents of globalization and information revolution, its prevalence is consistently observed in health behaviors, lifestyles, and various health outcomes. The course aims to study the relationships that religion and spirituality have with various dimensions of health, such as mental well-being, coping mechanisms, physical morbidities, activity limitations, aging, dying and death, and bioethics. The course provides an in-depth understanding of how religious beliefs, norms, and activities relate to individual and public health. It will equip the students with the knowledge and analytical skills necessary for their future careers.