Laboratory of Ethics and Profession in Sociology

Code: SOC12551L

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Sociology

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Sustainable Development Goals

4. Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Learning Goals

The objective of this Course Unit is to make known to students the diversity of roles, and organizational contexts in which sociologists can work. Considering that most of the students completing their higher education will perform functions mainly outside the academy, in this CU the specific competences and the relevance of the concepts and perspectives of sociology are analysed, in a confrontation with other disciplinary areas. In addition, it is intended that students acquire proficiency in the analysis of sociologist profiles and be able to contextualize these profiles in current societies. In this sense will be developed teamwork research exercises and contact with sociologists, in which students will still be challenged to discuss and analyse the ethical and civic issues that are posed to the sociologist.

1. The professionalization of sociologists: inside and outside of the academy
Sociology as an autonomous scientific and disciplinary area
higher education-occupation relations in today's society
Knowledge, skills and professional practices
Strategies for professionalization and updating practices
2. The scientific & professional group of sociologists
Institutionalization and professional association.
Comparison with other disciplinary areas and other countries
3. Activity, roles and professional experiences of sociologists
Plurality of areas and professional roles of sociologists
Theoretical, methodological, relational and operative skills
Work teams and inter-professional relations
4. Analysis of culture and professional ethics of sociologists
Professional culture: cognitive and ethical parameters
Identities, practices and professional culture
Principles of ethics and deontology and civic responsibilities
Sociology, sociologists and society

Teaching Methods

Considering the laboratory nature of the course, classes consist mostly of practical activities developed individually and in groups. Although there is a set of classes with a more theoretical nature where bibliographic references and conceptual aspects related to profession, identities, cultures and professional ethics are addressed, the laboratory classes are organized into four dynamics: 1) discussion of digital content produced by professional associations, documentaries, professional portfolios of sociologists, press articles, ethics guides and codes of conduct, simulation of problems and solutions; 2) presentation and oral discussion of texts on ethics and profession; 3) organization and holding of a series of lectures with sociologists working in different organizational contexts; 4) organization and presentation in a seminar of the results of the work developed by the students in groups. The group work consists of exploratory research on the professional trajectory and daily life of a sociologist, through interviews and/or observation and field diary. Groups are guided in the design of the work (selection of and contact with sociologists, interview guide and/or observation grid, transcription and analysis, production of a group report). Outside of class, students can also request tutoring guidance, during office hours or at another time to be arranged by email, for the preparation and evaluation of preliminary versions of their individual assessment reports. The main bibliography, summaries, and teaching materials used in will be available on the course's Moodle platform, as well as general guidelines for the development of group work and individual reports.

Assessment

Students can choose between continuous assessment or final assessment. In the continuous assessment system, students are evaluated based on the following assessment elements: 1) attendance and participation, assessed based on attendance records, text discussions, and active participation in classes and lecture series (30%); 2) group report, evaluated based on the fieldwork carried out and the quality of the analysis produced on the professional trajectory and daily life of a sociologist (40%); 3) individual report, evaluated based on the depth of critical reflection produced on the activities developed in the laboratory during the semester (30%). In the final assessment system, and considering the laboratory nature of the course unit, the evaluation consists of the following assessment element: 1) submission and oral discussion of an in-depth individual report on the programmatic and bibliographical content of the course unit (100%).