This course will focus on ethnic prejudice and specifically on the sociological and social psychological understanding of prejudice against different minority groups. We will examine the most influential classical theories of prejudice and will deal with the more recent developments in this field of research. The aim of the course is to introduce the highly diverse and multi-disciplinary field of prejudice research and to show that the notion of prejudice is present in various concepts of nationalism studies as identity-formation, inter-group conflicts and majority-minority relations. While learning about these issues, participants will also familiarize with a wide range of methods of empirical social research.
The course consists of five main thematic blocks focusing on different aspects of prejudice. In the first block the concept of prejudice and the main approaches and dilemmas of prejudice research will be in the focus and we will look at the most influential theoretical approaches in this field. The second thematic block is an overview of the ways in which prejudice is studied. In order to be able to critically review the results of empirical studies and to plan and carry out your own research projects, we will familiarize with a wide range of research methods and will discuss their pitfalls and applicability. We will also learn some hands-on methods for collecting face-to-face qualitative data in interviews and group discussions. In the third thematic block, we look at various forms of prejudice based on results of recent national and international empirical studies. Consequently, in the fourth block, we will seek answers to the question “Why people have prejudices?” looking at prejudice in its complexity by a multi-level approach. The fifth block will conclude the study of prejudice by discussing the possibilities of prejudice-reduction through an overview of various intervention and prevention methods.
- Instructor: Luca Varadi