sow660 Sociology of the European Integration (Course overview)

Department of Social Sciences

6 KP

Module components

Semester courses Summer semester 2025

Examination

Lecture

Seminar

1.07.092.1 - Sociology of the European Integration mit Brüssel-Exkursion (Lehrsprache Englisch)
- Prof. Dr. Martin Heidenreich
- Prof. Dr. Bernd Siebenhüner
- Tuesday, 08:00 - 10:00, Weekly (from 08.04.25)
In industrialized societies, participation in social life is closely linked to income from work and thus access to the labor market. The course starts with the question which occupational structures characterize the German and European labor market and where dividing lines between "outsiders" and "insiders" on the labor market run. This is particularly relevant for the egalitarian employment regimes of Europe. In the first part of the seminar, the focus will be on approaches to and empirical research on the "inequality of income opportunities". Afterwards, interrelations between selected social groups (long-term unemployed, young people, migrants and women) and relevant institutional conditions (social security systems and activation policies, education systems and protection clauses, family policies, technological developments and social redistribution policies) are discussed.
1.07.092 - Sociology of the European Integration mit Brüssel-Exkursion (Lehrsprache Englisch)
- Prof. Dr. Martin Heidenreich
- Monday, 12:00 - 14:00, Weekly (from 07.04.25)
The economic, legal and political integration of Europe is at the core of the process of European integration. In addition to the political transformations induced by the creation, enlargement and deepening of the European Union particularly since the 1990s, European integration has given rise to a fundamental transformation of social relations and the life worlds of people. While in the postwar period, daily life took place primarily in the framework of nation-states, the opening of hitherto largely nationally regulated and limited social fields and spaces has fostered increasing cross-border contacts and a stronger transnationalisation of social interactions, attitudes and interpretations. This transnationalisation of social fields and spaces as a result of European integration lies at the heart of the research on horizontal Europeanization and also of this seminar. In the first part of the class, a broad overview on the process of European integration, major EU institutions and policy fields will be given. In the second part, horizontal Europeanisation processes in different social fields are analysed, as well as the related conflicts and bargaining relations and their impact on patterns of social inequality. Complementary to the Europeanisation of social fields, the Europeanisation of social space (P. Bourdieu) will be analysed, taking as an example the transnationalisation of everyday practices, collective memories and reference groups of social inequalities. This raises the question how field-specific and space-specific Europeanisation processes are related. In addition, different modes of Europeanization (power/coercion, competition, communication and cooperation) will be analysed. Given the profound crisis of European integration in the wake of the Euro crisis, the final part of the course will emphasise the analysis of conflicts and tensions between national and European regulations, identifications, and patterns of integration and social inequality.

Hinweise zum Modul

Module examination	↵ 1 Referat (Dauer 20-30 Minuten) und 1 schriftliche Ausarbeitung (10-15 Seiten)
Skills to be acquired in this module	This module should provide students with the ability to analyse the processes of European integration, its socio-cultural and societal basis, and its inherent tension and dilemmas. Looking at the example of Europe, students should develop an understanding for empirical interconnections and theoretical options for the transnational organisation of society.