The Department of Sociology offers graduate programs leading to the degree of "Master of Science in Sociology" . In accordance with the basic principles of METU, all degree programs in Sociology aim at:
developing an in-depth conceptual understanding of theoretical debates.
employing techniques of collecting, analyzing and interpreting data informed by different methodological standpoints.
empowering sociological knowledge with research experience and an historical and comparative perspective, with a specific emphasis on Turkey.
To qualify for the Master's program in Sociology candidates should have a B.A. or B.S. degree or its equivalent in Sociology. However, candidates with a Bachelor or equivalent degree from another field may also be accepted on the condition that they attend required undergraduate courses before the start of the Master's program.
Fields of Study :
Political Sociology, Rural Sociology, Sociology of Education, Sociology of Religion, Sociological Theory, Methodology and Social Research, Industrial Sociology, Economic Sociology, Sociology of Change and Transition, Urban Sociology, Sociology of Knowledge, Science and Technology, Sociology of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus, Feminist Theory, Sociology of the Body, Sociology of Development, Sociology of Family, Sociology of Law, Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Theory, Women's Studies, Migration, Sociology of Arts, Social Mobility, Ethnicity, Citizenship, Environmental Sociology, Population Movements, Sociology of Work, Anthropology of Religion and Islam, Identity Politics, Turkish Transformation, Ideology and Discourse Analysis, Civil Society, Media Studies.
PROFESSORS
Akşit, Bahattin: B.A., METU; M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago.
Rural Structural Transformations, Social Change, Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Middle East and Central Asia, Sociology of Health and Population Research, Sociology of Knowledge, Science and Technology, Disaster Management
Ayata, Sencer (Director of the Graduate School of Social Sciences): B.A., METU; Ph.D., University of Kent.
Urban Culture, Industrialization, Poverty, Political Movements
Ecevit, Mehmet: B.A., METU; Ph.D., University of Kent.
Social Thought, Feminism, Social Science Methodology, Sociology of Family, Rural Sociology
Ecevit, Yıldız: B.A., M.A., Hacettepe University; Ph.D., University of Kent.
Sociology of Work, Women, Labor and Employment, Women Studies, Feminist Theory and Methodology, Poverty, Civil Society, Social Politics and Social Security
Ertürk, Yakın: B.A., M.A., Hacettepe University; Ph.D., Cornell University.
International Human Rights, Regimes and Multilateral Dialogue, Identity Politics, Violence Against Women and Conflict, Globalization and Population Movements, Household Labor Use Patterns, Women in Development
Mutlu, Kayhan: B.A., Ankara University, M.Ed., University of California; Ph.D., Utah State University.
Criminology, Conventional Crimes, White Collar Crimes, Organized Corporate Crimes, Ethnicity, Sociology of Religion
Nalbantoğlu, Hasan Ünal: B.A., METU; Post-Graduate Diploma, University College, London; Ph.D., Hacettepe University.
Sociology of Science and Knowledge, Philosophy of Technology, Sociology of Arts
Özcan, Y. Ziya: B.A., Ankara University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago.
Social Stratification and Social Mobility, Research Methods in Social Sciences, Statistics
Özdalga, Elizabeth: B.A., Ph.D., University of Göteborg, Sweden
Religion, Nation and Society in the Modern Middle East.
Yeğenoğlu, Meyda: B.A., M.A., METU; M.A., Ph.D., University of California at Santa Cruz.
Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Theory, Globalization, Feminist Theory, Middle East, Orientalism, Contemporary Social Theory, Migration, Ethnicity and Citizenship
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS
Hoşgör Gündüz, Ayşe: B.A., M.A., METU; Ph.D., University of Western Ontario.
Sociology of Development, Gender Issues, Social Stratification and Mobility, Methodology and Social Research Techniques, Applications of Statistics in Social Sciences
Kalaycıoğlu, Sibel (Chairperson): B.A., METU; Ph.D., University of Kent.
Welfare State and Social Citizenship, Social Inequality, Social Mobility, Political Sociology, Sociology of Work and Industry, Migration, Family Safety Nets and Survival Strategies, Poverty Indicators, Labor Market and Informal Sector, Domestic Violence, Social Exclusion, Social Deviance, Sustainable Development
Saktanber, Ayşe: B.A., M.A., Ph.D., METU.
Cultural Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, Media Studies, Islam in Middle Eastern Studies, Islam, Culture and Politics in Turkey
Rittersberger Tılıç, Helga (Vice Chairperson): Vardiplom, Diplom, University of Bonn.; Ph.D., University of Essen.
Urban Sociology, Social Movements, Migration, Environment Sociology, Population Studies, Ethnicity, Racism, Identity, Poverty, Informal Economy
Tokluoğlu, Ceylan: B.A., M.A., METU; Ph.D., Carleton University.
Theories of State-Building, Nationalism and Ethnicity, Turkish Transformation, Political Sociology
Yeğen, Mesut, B.A., M.A., METU; Ph.D., University of Essex.
Ideology and Discourse Analysis, Citizenship, Turkish Modernization, Kurdish Question in Turkey
ASSISTANT PROFESSORS
Aydıngün, Ayşegül: B.A., METU; M.A., Bilkent University; Ph.D., METU.
Central Asia and Caucasus, Ethnicity, Post-Soviet Nationalisms, Sociology of Education, Turkish Jews in Israel
Erdemir, Aykan (Vice Director of Graduate School of Social Sciences): B.A., Bilkent University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University.
Nonprofit Organizations, Alevis, Middle East, Political and Legal Anthropology, Anthropology of Religion and Islam
Ergun, Ayça: B.A. Ankara University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Essex.
Civil Society, Political Parties, Caucasian and Black Sea Countries, Social Science Methodology
INSTRUCTORS
Akçay, Adnan: B.A., M.A., Ph.D., METU.
Sociology of Body, Medical Sociology, Quality of Life, Social Indicators, Turkish Transformation, Regional Development, Rural Structures
Şen, Mustafa: B.A. Ankara University; M.A., Ph.D., METU.
Economic Sociology, Sociology of Transition to Free Market Economy, Contemporary Central Asia, Sociology of Religion, Rural and Urban Sociology
Yıldırım, Erdoğan: B.A., M.A., Ph.D., METU.
Political Sociology, Sociology of Law, Sociological Theory, Tribal Socio-Political Organization, Turkish Social History
Required Courses
SOC 500 Prothesis Seminar
SOC 501 Sociological Theory I
SOC 502 Sociological Theory II
SOC 507 Research Methods I
SOC 599 Master's Thesis
SOC 800-899 Special Studies
Elective Courses
SOC 503 Problems of Studying .Women in Muslim Societies
SOC 505 Advanced Political Sociology I
SOC 506 Advanced Political Sociology II
SOC 508 Research Methods II
SOC 509 International Regimes and Gender Equality
SOC 510 Urban Theory and Policy
SOC 511 Local Politics
SOC 512 Population Movements in a Globalizing World
SOC 513 Comparative Studies in the Sociology of Religion
SOC 515 State and Civil Society in Eurasia
SOC 516 Gender, Media and Cultural Representation
SOC 517 Econ. and Social Transformations in Eurasia
SOC 518 Social Movements and Civic Action
SOC 519 Feminist Methodology in Social Sciences
SOC 520 Introduction to Structural Equation Models
SOC 521 Sociology of Structural Transformations
SOC 522 Sociology of the Middle East
SOC 523 Data Analysis
SOC 524 Cultures of Modernity
SOC 525 Global and Local Debates on Civil Society
SOC 526 Issues in Women's Work and Employment
SOC 527 Society and Culture in Iran
SOC 528 Post-structuralism, Deconstruction and Feminist Theory
SOC 529 Migration and Ethnicity in Eurasian Societies
SOC 530 Kinship, Tribe, Confederation and State in Central Asia and Middle East
SOC 531 Sociological and Economic Issues on Turkey
SOC 532 Sociological Themes and Debates in Politics, Science and Culture
SOC 534 Anthropology of Europe
SOC 533 Gender Issues on Class and Patriarchy
SOC 535 Contemporary Feminist Theory
SOC 536 Peoples and Cultures of Central Asia
SOC 538 Human Development and Social Policy
SOC 540 Class and Ethnic Relations in the Middle East
SOC 545 Sociology of Everyday Life and Interpersonal Relations
SOC 546 Issues in Criminology
SOC 550 Middle East Women, Feminism and Orientalism
SOC 551 Seminar in Sociology of Religion
SOC 560 Globalization and Diasporas
SOC 561 Ideology and Discourse Analysis
SOC 570 Citizenship and Society
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
SOC 500: Prothesis Seminar NC
SOC 501-502: Sociological Theory I-II (3-0)-3
The aim of this course is to make students familiar with concepts, issues and debates in the field of contemporary social and critical theory. It will examine key concepts such as representation, power, subjectivity, desire, signification, sexuality, the unconscious, and difference by way of examining major continental critical theories.
SOC 503: Problems of Studying Women in Muslim Societies (3-0)-3
This course aims to stimulate debate about the problem of considering "Muslim women" as a distinct category to study the status, image and role of women in Muslim societies. It discusses the impact of Islam in the formation of patriarchal structures, practices, and discourses of Middle Eastern societies in their cultural and historical specifities while focusing on the literature chish examines the predicaments of women in Turkish society.
SOC 505-506: Advanced Political Sociology I-II (3-0)-3
The main theme of this course is elites and elite theories. Following the introduction of elite theories, students are expected to discuss the pros and cons of each theory. After the historical review of elite theories, recent problems relating to elites will be taken up and discussed in the light of the experiences of Western and Middle Eastern countries.
SOC 507: Research Methods I (3-0)-3
This course aims to relate recent discussions in the philosophy of science to methodological issues in social sciences and humanities. Various philosophical issues which have implications for social science research and limitations of the social sciences are discussed.
SOC 508: Research Methods II (3-0)-3
This is a continuation of SOC 507. Students learn and apply research and data analysis techniques by using real social science data. Quantitative as well as qualitative research techniques are introduced and applied to various data-sets of internet. The course seeks to increase the data analytical skills of the students.
SOC 509: International Regimes and Gender Equality (3-0)-3
The course aims to analyze the interplay between governmental and non-governmental actors at national and international levels in establishing international regimes to transform social inequalities particularly in the area of gender. It starts out with a discussion on the need to link paradigm (academia), policy (governance structures) and praxis (activism) in the production of socially relevant knowledge. The focus will be on international regimes, particularly those within the context of the United Nations, that promote equality and human rights for women. It will focus on both the processes of the intergovernmental bodies (Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), General Assembly (GA) and the treaty body (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)) and the impact of scholarship and activism on their creation. Equality policies and human rights instruments and the institutional support mechanisms for these bodies will be analyzed. The effectiveness of the 4 World Conferences and World Conferences of the 1990s in fostering compliance with equality policies and international law will also be analyzed. Finally, the affect of these mechanisms and processes in achieving gender equality at the national level will be examined.
SOC 510: Urban Theory and Policy (3-0)-3
Theories relating to urbanization and urban life are discussed and policies formulated to cope with urban problems are evaluated. Social stabilization has placed the question of daily practices back on the agenda. It forces us to think abour individual diversity and questions of social (re)production and 'ways of life'. Thus our leading question will be to discuss structure and/vs. the positions of agents in the context of contemporary urban theories. Special attention is given to the case of Turkey.
SOC 511: Local Politics (3-0)-3
Goals, processes and patterns of territorial distribution of power. Administrative decentralization and political decentralization. Community power structure and decision-making at local levels. Politicization of the periphery. Local and regional autonomy in the European integration.
SOC 512: Population Movements in a Globalizing World (3-0)-3
This course aims to answer the following question: How does global restructuring affect the movements of people accross space? Five types of interrelated categories of population movements are identified: 1. population displacements due to increased conflict and civil strife as well as natural disasters; 2. illegal forms of international migrant labor arrangements including trafficking in women; 3. reverse and return migration from north to south and urban to rural; 4. shuttle between two or more worlds with strong links in all; 5. 'rented' temporary free-floating migrant labor. Relevant international organizations; immigration policies; gender differentials; social construction of identities, networks and communities; household survival strategies and emerging trends, constraints and prospects for population movements will be considered. While these patterns of population movements will be analyzed within a global context, students will be expected to analyze each category as it is experienced in the case of Turkey.
SOC 513: Comparative Studies in the Sociology of Religion (3-0)-3
Comparative approaches to the study of religion and society with special reference to the problems posed by modernity, secularism, nationalism, democracy and generalized education. The main emphasis is on the religions of the developed world.
SOC 515: State and Civil Society in Eurasia (3-0)-3
This course will enable students to understand state and civil society relations in the post-Soviet transformation. The course aims to introduce students to the main theoretical debates concerning the causes and the nature of the political, social, and economic transformation from communism; to provide theories of transition, democratization and theoretical approaches to state-society relations while explaining varieties of post-Soviet transition. The course will particularly focus on the formation of civil society organizations (non-government organizations, unions, movements, umbrella groups), their aims and activities, their role in the process of transition and democratization and the nature of the relationship between governments and civil society organizations. The course will also explore the impact of the international element (international governmental and non-governmental organizations) on governments and NGOs and its role enable in the formations of state civil society relations.
SOC 516: Gender, Media and Cultural Representation (3-0)-3
This course aims to focus on the modalities of mass media by which hegemonic construction of gender identities come to be realized. Film, television and texts produced through cyberspace, photography, and the graphic arts and also 'women genres' as objects of analysis and as research tools. Retrospective inquiries on the selected topics will depend on the current research interests of students and they will design and carry out their projects.
SOC 517: Economic and Social Transformations in Eurasia (3-0)-3
This course analyses the fundamental economic and social changes in Eurasia in recent decades. It focuses on the establishment and functioning of the socialist system and its later dismantling in favor of a market economy. Both of these transformation processes included not only the change of economic patterns and property rights but also affected social relations, values and ideologies. The course discusses general issues and theories of transformations as well as comparing selected case studies. Particular attention will be given to the impacts of political and macro-economic changes on local communities.
SOC 518: Social Movements and Civic Action (3-0)-3
The course will critically examine the major theoretical approaches to the study of social movements and NGOs. The emergence and development of any social protest: recruitment and mobilization, tactics and strategies, and external opposition and control. Do contemporary forms of protest strengthen civil society and democratic development around the world? The objective of the course is to critically apply the theories we discuss to contemporary protest and political activity.
SOC 519: Feminism and Methodology in Social Sciences (3-0)-3
This course aims to review and re-evaluate the feminist methodological literature and the basic themes in feminist research methods with a critical perspective. This involves the historical and current discussions in women's studies on the relations between science and philosophy; theory and methodology; research and epistemology; and objectivity and subjectivity. The course questions the purpose and sources of knowledge and the legitimized 'knower'.
SOC 520: Introduction to Structural Equation Models (3-0)-3
The aim of the course is to prepare students to understand the structural equation models which are widely used in the literature, and to teach them how to use them for their own research. The emphasis is on correlation specification error, measurement error, unobserved variables, multiple indicators, and the form and substance of sociological models.
SOC 521: The Sociology of Structural Transformation (3-0)-3
Historical sociological approach to the problem of structural transformations. History and new conceptions of time. Transformational mechanisms in non-linear social history. From hierarchical to network society. Society, state and non-governmental organizations. From civil society to resistance and project communities/identities. From defence of place to space of flows.
SOC 522: Sociology of the Middle East (3-0)-3
The Middle East in historical and world contexts. Islam and development of secularization in Turkey and other countries in the Middle East. Social, cultural, and educational transformations in selected countries of the Middle East. Modernity, post-modernity, globalization, orientalism, fundamentalism, authenticity, identity and religion. Sociological and anthropological depictions of cultural transitions in the Middle East and Islamic world.
SOC 523: Data Analysis (3-0)-3
This is basically a computer assisted data analysis course. Knowledge of introductory statistics and any computer program such as SPSS, SAS, Minitop are required. Students learn various statistical data analysis techniques by analysing real social science data.
SOC 524: Modernity and Post-Modernity (3-0)-3
The origins of modernity. Kantian and Hegelian visions of Enlightenment. Tradition and modernity; the aftermath of the Structuralist debates; different theoretical approaches to the constitution of modern 'subjectivity'. Post-modern politics and the question of democracy. The Enlightenment Project: incomplete or aborted?
SOC 525: Global and Local Debates on Civil Society (3-0)-3
This course explores theories and cental debates evolving around the issue of civil society. It focuses on the relationship between state and civil society organizations which has been central to sociological analysis and the changing role of these organizations pertaining to globalization. It particularly examines recent debates on civil society and discourses of civil society organizations in Turkey. Controversial issues that affect civil society organizations are also discusses.
SOC 526: Issues in Women's Work and Employment (3-0)-3
The actual and potential contribution of women in economic life. Gender segregation and discrimination in the labor market and the causes and consequences of women's unequal position at work. Impact of technological changes and economic recession on women's work; gender in the international division of labor, the economic importance of the informal sector and of women's labor.
SOC 527: Society and Culture in Iran (3-0)-3
This course offers a general overview of the contemporary Iranian society and culture through a critical discussion of the anthropological and sociological works on Iran. The principle aim is to provide students with the necessary theoretical and methodological tools to explore and appreciate the diversity of individual and collective experiences in Iran from a culturally relativistic point of view. Students will be encouraged to contextualize the course material within a comparative and historical framework while also keeping in touch with current developments.
SOC 528: Post-Structuralism, Deconstruction and Feminist Theory (3-0)-3
This course explores the general problematic of sexual difference by examining several thinkers such as Irigaray, Kristeva, Le Douffe, Cixous, Butler, Cornell, and the ways in which they utilized poststructuralist theories developed by thinkers like Jacques Lacan, Deleuze, Guattari, Derrida and Foucault who have provied theoretical tools by which we can critically examine the construction of the subject, sexuality, and identity.
SOC 529: Migration and Ethnicity in Eurasian Studies (3-0)-3
The aim of this course is to scrutinize the relationship between identity, ethnicity, migration and culture; the interaction between dominant cultures and minority groups and its impact on ethnic identity formation in Eurasian studies. Case studies for this course come from groups such as the Crimean Tartars, Meskhetian (Ahiska) Turks, Soviet Germans, Soviet Jews and the Russians. In addition to the western theories of ethnicity, the Soviet ethnos theory and the Soviet nationality policy are critically examined to analyze the groups specified above.
SOC 530: Kinship, Tribe, Confederation and State in Central Asia and the Middle East (3-0)-3
The kinship-based structure of tribal organization and its relation to supra-tribal and non-tribal forms of organization in Central Asia and the Middle East. Concept of the segmentary lineage system and its critics; tribal structure as an organizational framework functioning simultaneously at various levels from local to societal; the historical conflict between tribe and state in the two regions.
SOC 531: Sociological and Economic Issues on Turkey (3-0)-3
Formation of nation-state; capitalist penetration and incorporation; state and capital; populism; ideological conservatism; modernity, Westernization; statism; merchant bourgeoisie and political rule; state and hegemony; breakdowns of the internal order and the establishment of hegemony; ideologies and patterns of domination in internal politics; social movements; relations among and between subordinate and dominant classes.
SOC 532: Sociological Themes and Debates in Politics, Science and Culture (3-0)-3
Critical analysis of the historical and contemporary themes and debates in politics, science and culture: confusion between social science and social philosophy; how material and spiritual cultures are related and what are their bases; historical development of the forms of social consciousness; politics and contemporary philosophical analysis; a critical evaluation of the methodology of modern political science.
SOC 533: Gender issues on Class and Patriarchy (3-0)-3
The classical approaches to class and patriarchy in historical and contemporary perspectives; interpretation and explanation of structured social inequality, patriarchal relations and their implications on politics and social change; women's position and the system of economic exploitation; feminist and main-stream stances on the gender and stratification debate; feminist approaches giving emphasis on patriarchal structures.
SOC 534: Anthropology of Europe (3-0)-3
This course offers a general overview of the European society and culture through a critical discussion of the anthropological works on the area. The principal aim is to provide students with the necessary theoretical and methodological tools to explore and appreciate the diversity of individual and collective experiences in Europe from a culturally relativistic point of view. Moreover, the European Union and its enlargement process as reflected through the anthropological lens will be major focus of the readings and class discussions.
SOC 535: Contemporary Feminist Theory (3-0)-3
This course explores a number of theories and central issues evolving around the issues of women's oppression. It particularly focuses on patriarcy which has been central to much feminist analysis and continues to inform a great deal of feminist work.
SOC 536: Peoples and Cultures of Central Asia (3-0)-3
The course will provide an understanding of the region and its peoples over the course of the last century. So it will start with a general overview of its geography and history as well as some general patterns of traditional economy and society, including the major religions in the past and in the present. The second part will introduce the indigenous peoples in the region, i.e., those that were already living there before the area was annexed by the Russians and the Chinese respectively. In the third and fourth parts the changes that took place during the socialist times in the aftermath of the dissolution of the socialist systems will be discussed.
SOC 538: Human Development and Social Policy (3-0)-3
This course explores the concept and practice of Human Development as a sociological analysis tool with emphasis on national and social development policy building. The course will examine the multifarious social and economic development debates offered by the global Human Development Reports (HDR) or UNDP, published annually sice 1990. Particular emphasis will be given to analysis and discussion of Turkey's human development performance in the context of the construction of the Human Development Index (HDI) and in the time period of 1990-2005 while comparative perspective maintained with those of selected UN member states, EU and OECD countries. Controversial human development issues will be discussesed with the aim of shifting analysis towards the adoption of the Human Development perspective in policy making and development priority setting for socio-economic development and formulation of related action programmes/projects.
SOC 540: Class and Ethnic Relations in the Middle East (3-0)-3
This course focuses on patterns of collective identity, solidarity and conflict based on such ascriptive factors as descent, language, customs and belief systems and examines how communal fragmentation coexist with the emerging class formations in the Middle East. Comparative analysis will be used to identify political cleavages within as well as among communal groups in this particular region.
SOC 545: Sociology of Everyday Life and Interpresonal Relations (3-0)-3
Studies on the sociology of everyday life and the studies on interpresonal relations in small group contexts will be brought together in this course through a critical survey and discussion of recent literature.
SOC 546: Issues in Criminology (3-0)-3
The relationship between criminal law and social structure. Social order and crime. Police force, jails and courts, prejudice and streotype definitions. Crime as a social product. Theoretical issues and methodological problems.
SOC 550: Middle East Women, Feminism and Orientalism (3-0)-3
Feminist debates concerning the problems that pertain to the cross-cultural representation of Middle Eastern women. Studies which call into question the assumptions of a singular, unitary and homogeneous category of the Middle East women. The epistemological and theoretical aspects of Orientalist and evolutionary paradigms. The traditional geopolitics such as colonialism, modernization and nationalism.
SOC 551: Sociology, History, and Religion (3-0)-3
Principally being supplementary to SOC 650: Sociology and History, this course aims at deepening perspectives on Historical Sociology by concentrating on problems raised by different kinds of religious movements. Based on perspectives developed within comparative religion, special attention will be given to developments in the Middle East.
SOC 560: Globalization and Diasporas (3-0)-3
This course aims to analyze the political, economic and cultural dimensions of globalization at an advanced level. It will focus on the formation of diasporic communities; bi-national affiliations and multiple loyalties; the role and status of the nation-state; arguments of de-nationalization; new forms of racism and counter-forces of multiculturalist claims; global cities as the most intensely polarized social spaces of the activities of globalization; cosmopolitan attachments and the different ways in which borders are crossed by migrants and tourists.
SOC 561: Ideology and Discourse Analysis (3-0)-3
This course aims to study the trajectory of the categories of 'ideology' and 'discourse' in radical social thought with a focus upon the issues of 'constitution of meaning' and 'constitution of subject'. The topics to be discussed throughout the course are as follows: Marxism and idelogy, ideology as false consciousness (Lukacs), the question of hegemony (Gramsci), ideology as interpellation (Althusser), signification theory of linguistics (Saussure), the priority of utterence (Voloshinov), archeological and genealogical readings of texts (Foucault), the discursiveness of the social (Laclau and Mouffe), and intertextuality (poststructuralism and Derrida).
SOC 570: Citizenship and Society (3-0)-3
A brief history of citizenship. Main contours of citizenship. Citizenship as membership; citizenship and political community. Citizenship as status; citizenship rights. Citizenship as participation. Liberal, communitarian and republican approaches to citizenship. Transformation of political community and citizenship today. New modalities of citizenship. Citizenship in the European Union.