autumn 2020 BED-2060 Social inequalities in modern society - 10 ECTS

Application deadline

Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 June for the autumn semester . Exchange students and Fulbright students: 15 april for the autumn semester.

Type of course

This course may be taken as a singular course.

Course content

This is a course for those who are interested in the causes, consequences, and challenges of social and economic inequalities in modern societies. The course discusses the theoretical & empirical perspectives of the institutions in which inequalities are structured, reproduced and experienced. Students will address these discussions through relevant theories, research and empirical case studies in these areas. After the course, students will be expected to recognize the structures of social inequalities in income, education, neighborhood, and health. They are also expected to develop questions about these inequalities through topics of race/ethnicity, social class, gender, migration, and intergenerational persistence.

Objectives of the course

Students who have successfully completed the course should have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge and understanding

Students will have the ability to understand

  • the theoretical basis, background, and the evolution of social inequalities at a basic level
  • empirical approaches and general discussions on social inequalities in the discipline of economics

Skills and competences

Students will be able to demonstrate ability to

  • identify social inequalities in modern society
  • define various approaches and explanations for social inequality
  • undertake and present an empirical analysis of inequality

General Proficiency

Students will

  • be able to read and understand academic outcomes that are presented in the course
  • demonstrate ability to use research tools and one statistical software
  • demonstrate ability to interpret quantitative data


Language of instruction and examination

English

Teaching methods

Lectures and seminars.

Final exam

The course is closed and the last opportunity to take the exam after this semester is autumn 2021

Please see this web site for more information

Assessment

Assessment will be based on a portfolio of one obligatory assignment (counts 50%), and one term paper (counts 50%). The term paper can be submitted as a part of a group (max. three students). The portfolio should showcase the ability to ask an interesting scientific or business-relevant question, to gather and clean relevant data, to apply a meaningful analytical analysis, and explain and visualize the results in an engaging, comprehensible manner.

A graded scale of five marks from A to E for pass and F for fail. Only one overall grade is given for the course.

There will not be a re-sit exam for this course.


  • About the course
  • Campus: Tromsø |
  • ECTS: 10
  • Course code: BED-2060