THE FINAL STATE EXAMINATION IN THE MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAM
SOCIOLOGY IN EUROPEAN CONTEXT (SEC).
The Final State Examination has two consecutive steps. The first is written and consists of
answering one question from the Sociology themes and one from the Social Research
Methodology themes. In the second step, which takes place a week later, students defend
orally their Master Thesis and discuss the outcomes of the previous written part with their
examiners.
For a general information on the Final exam see http://intraneteng.fsv.cuni.cz/FSVINTEN47.html.
THE THEMES AND RECOMMENDED LITERATURE
SOCIOLOGY THEMES
1. Postmodern social theory.
Lyotard, J. F. (1996). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
Seidman, S. (1991). The End of Sociological Theory: The Postmodern Hope.
Sociological Theory 9 (2): 131–146.
Matthewman, S., Hoey, D. (2006) What Happened to Postmodernism?. Sociology 40
(3): 529–547.
Eagleton, T. (1995). „Where do Postmodernists Come From.“ Monthly Review 47 (3):
59–70.
2. Theories of globalization.
Martell, L. (2010). Sociology of Globalization. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Beck, U. (1999). What is Globalization? Cambridge: Polity Press.
Dirlik, A. (2003). Global Modernity: Modernity in an Age of Global Capitalism.
European Journal of Social Theory 6 (3): 275–292.
Roudometof, V. (2009). Gusts of Change: The Consequences of the 1989 Revolutions
for the Study of Globalization. European Journal of Social Theory 12 (3): 409–424.
3. The culture of the new capitalism.
Boltanski, L., & Chiapello, E.. (2005). The New Spirit of Capitalism. London: Verso
(General Introduction, pp. 1–55).
Harvey, D. (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Slaughter, & Rhoades, S.G. (2004). Academic Capitalism and the New Economy:
Markets, State, and Higher Education. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Kemple, T. M. (2009). Spirits of Late Capitalism. Theory, Culture & Society 24 (3):
147–159.
4. Recent trends in social theory (postcommunism, postcolonialism and multiculturalism).
Hall, S. (1996). „When was the “Post-Colonial”? Thinking at the Limit‟ in I.
Chambers and L. Curti (eds.) The Post-Colonial Question: Common Skies, Divided
Horizons‟, London: Routledge, pp. 242–260.
Ray, L. (2009). “At the End of the Post-Communist Transformation? Normalization
or Imagining Utopia?” European Journal of Social Theory 12 (3): 321–336.
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Bhambra, K. G. (2007). „European Modernity and the Sociological Imagination.‟ In
Rethinking Modernity: Postcolonialism and the Sociological Imagination, Palgrave:
Houndmills.
Glazer, N. (1993). We Are All Multiculturalists Now. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press.
5. Elite change and stability.
J. Higley and Lengyel, G. (2000). Elites after State Socialism. Theories and Analysis.
Lanham, Boulder, New York, Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Pareto, V. (1968). The Rise and Fall of the Elites. An Application of Theoretical
Sociology. Totowa, New Jersey: The Bedminster Press. (Introductory Chapter).
Bozóki, A. (2003). Theoretical Interpretations of Elite Change in East Central
Europe. In Mattei Dogan (ed.), Elite Configurations at the Apex of Power. Leiden Boston: Brill, 215-248.
Szelényi, I. & Szelényi, S. (1995). Circulation or Reproduction of Elites During the
Postcommunist Transformation of Eastern Europe. Theory and Society 24 (5): 615638.
6. Elite qualities.
Weber, M. (1978). Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretative Sociology.
Berkeley: University of California University Press (pp. 243-292).
Lengyel, G.(2007). Notes on The “Quality Of Elites”. In: György Lengyel at all. Elites
in Central-Eastern Europe. Budapest: Friedrich Ebert Foundation, pp. 5-12.
Frič, P. Classic Leadership Theories (unpublished manuscripte).
Higley, J. & Pakulski, J. (2011). Do Ruling Elites Degenerate? American and British
Elites Viewed Through Pareto‟s Lens. International Journal of Comparative
Sociology 10 (6): 949-967.
7. Elite and non-elite relationship.
Schumpeter, J. (1961). Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy,. London: Allen and
Unwin.
Field, G. L. & Higley, J. (1980). Elitism. London and Boston: Routledge and Kegan
Paul.
Frič, P. et al. (2010). Czech Elites and General Public: Leadership, Cohesion and
Democracy. Prague: Karolinum Press.
Pakulski, J. & Higley, J. (2011). Towards Leader Democracy? In Hart, P. and Uhr, J.
Public Leadership: Perspectives, and Practices. Camberra: ANUE Press, pp.45-56.
8. International migration and networks of mobility.
O‟Reilly, K. (2012). International Migration and Social Theory. London: Palgrave
MacMillan.
Bubaker, R. (2010). Migration, Membership, and the Modern Nation State: Internal
and External Dimensions of the Politics of Belonging. Journal of Interdisciplinary
History, xli:1 (Summer): 61-78.
Massey, D. et al. (1993). Theories of International Migration: A Review and
Appraisal. Population and Developmen Review 19(3): 431-466.
9. State, culture, and politics of place.
Donnan, Hastings, & Wilson, T. (1999). Frontiers of Identity, Nation and State.
London: Berg.
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Gupta, A. & Ferguson, J. (1992). Beyond „Culture“: Space, Identity, and the Politics
of Difference. Cultural Anthropology, 7(1):6-23.
Wimmer, A. & Glick Schiller, N. (2002). Methodological nationalism and beyond:
nation state-building, migration, and the social sciences. Global Networks 2(4): 301334.
10. State borders and mobile bodies.
Bigo, D., & Guild, E. (2005). Controlling Frontiers: Free Movement Into And Within
Europe. Aledershot: Ashgate.
de Geneva, N. (2002). Migrant “Illegality” and deportability in everyday life. Annual
Review of Anthropology (31): 419-447.
Adey, P. (2009). Facing airport security: affects, biopolitics, and the preemptive
securisation of the mobile body. Environment and Planing D: Society and Space (27):
274-295.
SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY THEMES
Students are supposed to both explain the methods and use them in practice within the
examination.
A. Quantitative Research Methodology
1. Setting the research design; research problem, hypotheses, objects, concepts,
variables, attributes, levels of measurement.
2. Sampling techniques.
3. Data collection methods; qualitative and quantitative methods,
4. Preparing the research instruments (questionnaires).
Andrews R. (2003). Research Questions. London: Continuum.
Creswell, J.W., & Plano Clark, V.L. (2007). Designing and Conducting. Mixed
methods research. California: SAGE Publications.
Gliner, J.A., & Morgan, G.A. (2000). Research Methods in Applied Settings. New
Jersey: LEA Publishing.
Schutt, R.K. (2005). Investigating the Social World. The Process and Practice of
Research. Boston: SAGE.
Singleton Jr., R.A., & Straits, & B.C., Straits, M.M. (1993). Approaches to Social
Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
B. Statistics in SPSS
5. Descriptive statistics - usage in social science data analysis, examples.
6. Comparison of means and medians - usage in social science data analysis, examples.
7. Analysis of categorical data in social science data analysis, examples.
8. Regression and correlation analysis in social science data analysis, examples.
Feld, A. (2000). Discovering statistics using SPSS for Windows: advanced techniques
for the beginners. London: Sage.
Norusis, M.J. (2005). SPSS 13.0: statistical procedures companion. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
De Vaus, D. (2002). Survey in social research. London: Routledge – Taylor & Francis
Group.
SPSS Base manual
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C. Qualitative Research Methodology
9. Analysis of texts in sociological research – basic concepts (text, discourse, reader),
levels of analysis and approaches.
10. Analysis of discourse and narrative analysis – principles and use in sociological
research.
Andrews, M., Squire, C., & Tamboukou, M. (Eds.). (2013). Doing narrative research.
Sage
Titscher, S., & Jenner, B. (Eds.). (2000). Methods of text and discourse analysis: In
search of meaning. London: Sage.
Wodak, R. & Krzyżanowski, M. (Eds.). (2008). Qualitative discourse analysis in the
social sciences. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
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