Faculty of Humanities

The scope and course of the exam in the discipline of Sociology  as part of the Doctoral School of AGH
After the presentation of the project (project description in the form of a file provided to the committee is optional, but recommended), the Candidate will be asked 4 questions from the following list, and one concerning the specific sociology related to the proposed project.

I. Basic sociological concepts: understanding, the ability to define

1. Social capital and trust
2. Vertical and horizontal mobility
3. Definition of the situation
4. Primary and secondary socialization
5. Social control
6. Power
7. Social structure
8. Role
9. Social group
10. Social Action

II. History of Sociology

1. Please describe the main tenets of Karl Marx's historical materialism.
2. Please present the sociology of Emil Durkheim (society as a sui generis reality, social facts and the principles of their research).
3. Please describe the main assumptions and concepts of Max Weber's stratification theory.
4. What is the anomie and forms of social integration in Emil Durkheim's sociology.
5. Please discuss Georg Simmel's contribution to sociology.
6. Please present the humanistic coefficient and its application on the example of Florian Znaniecki's research.
7. Please describe the social pragmatism in American sociology.
8. Please describe the classical trends of social anthropology.
9. Please describe the impact of the Chicago School on the current research methodology.
10. Please introduce the psychological trend in sociology.

III. Contemporary sociological theories

1. Please describe the assumptions and orientations within symbolic interactionism, including the selected orientation (eg social phenomenology, Iowa school, Chicago school, ethnomethodology).
2. Please present the assumptions of functionalist theories and more closely an exemplary theoretical system (eg. Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton, Jeffrey Alexander, Niklas Luhmann)
3. Please discuss the theories of conflict and present the selected theory in more detail (eg. Ralf Dahrendorf, Lewis Coser, Randall Collins).
4. Please discuss the exchange theories and present the chosen concept in more detail (eg George Homans, Peter Blau).
5. What are the assumptions of the new institutionalism. Please introduce selected thinkers of this direction and their works (eg Paul DiMaggio, Douglas C. North, V. Olstrom, E. Olstrom).
6. Please discuss the concept of postmodern societies and present the  selected theorist  (eg Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman, Michel Foucault).
7. What are basic concepts and assumptions of Pierre Bourdieu's theory.
8. What is critical sociology characterized by? Please discuss the selected analytical trend (eg M. Burawoy, C. W. Mills, J. Habermas).
9. Please describe the assumptions of the network actor theory (ANT).
10. Characterize the theories of modernization and the world system (eg Immanuel Wallerstein, Alain Touraine, Shmuel Eisenstadt).

IV. Methodology, methods and research techniques

1. How is the accuracy and reliability of measurements, validity and reliability of research determined?
2. What is triangulation in sociological research and what are its varieties?
3. What are the stages of the research process? Please list and discuss.
4. Please describe the indicators used in sociological research: their types, how is their power determined?
5. Characteristics of quantitative social research. Please discuss an example method or technique.
6. Characteristics of qualitative social research. Please discuss your chosen method or technique.
7. Experiment as a research method.
8. Please discuss the assumptions of the action research.
9. What are and when are case studies used?
10. Content analysis, discourse analysis and text analysis.

Detailed sociologies / study of contemporary society - please discuss one selected /

1. Sociology of social movements
2. Gender sociology
3. Disability studies
4. Studies on science and technology
5. Sociology of space, places and cities
6. Economic sociology
7. Sociology of religion
8. Family sociology
9. Health sociology
10. Postcolonial research: domination and subordination

• Typological problems with defining culture - the variety of criteria. The problem of cultural sources.
• Adaptation as a basic mechanism of culture creation.
• Unconsciousness as a source of culture.
• Culture as a symbolic system. The origin and types of symbols.
• Language and communication systems as a source of culture. Anthropolinguistics. Cognitive linguistics.
• Non-linguistic communication systems and their role in culture.
• Values ​​as a source of culture.
• Intercultural dialogue and the forms of acculturation.
• Confrontation of traditional value systems with globalisation processes.
• Popular culture as an area for reflection for cutural studies.
• Cyberculture.
• Quantitative and qualitative research in social sciences.
• "Oral history" as a method of studying the culture past.
• The method of interview in humanities.
• Survey methods in the study of culture.
• Evoked and existing sources.
• Semiotic analysis of cultural texts.
• Discourse analysis.
• Observation as a research method.
• The use of the ethnographic approach in the organisation and market research.
• Research on visual aspects of culture.
• Ethical problems of qualitative research.
• Research into the Internet and new media.