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76585-01 - Seminar: Youth and Future (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Mirela Ivanova (mirela.ivanova@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Aims and Goals: This Master seminar explores the sociological intersections of youth and future, focusing on how both are socially constructed and historically situated within broader structures of temporality. The course aims to equip students with critical theoretical tools to analyze how the future is imagined, structured, and experienced—particularly by young people—in different social contexts. By engaging with classic and contemporary sociological texts, as well as empirical studies, students will develop an understanding of how temporality function as key dimensions of social life. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of youth as a phase of life that is embedded in—and shaped by—expectations of the future. Seminar Structure: The seminar is divided into three thematic parts: 1. Temporality and Society: The first part of the seminar investigates the broader sociological concept of temporality. We will ask: What constitutes "the future" as a social category? What does it mean to speak of "futurelessness"? How are these ideas entangled with the development of modernity, late modernity, and capitalism? Through theoretical readings, we will explore how time is socially organized, imagined, and experienced in (late) modern societies. 2. Youth as a Temporal Category: The second part turns to the sociological construction of youth. We will examine how "youth" is defined as a distinct phase within the temporal structure of the life course and how it is shaped by cultural, institutional, and economic factors. Particular attention will be given to how the meaning and experience of youth have changed over time in the Global North—especially in relation to shifting expectations towards transition, autonomy, and maturity. 3. Future Orientations of Young People: The final part of the seminar brings the previous discussions together by focusing on empirical research into young people's orientations toward the future. We will look at how young people envision, navigate, and respond to uncertain, constrained, or open futures. Questions of hope, risk, mobility, and precarity will be central, as well as the role of structural inequalities in shaping what kinds of futures are imaginable or attainable. By the end of the seminar, students will be able to critically analyze the role of temporality in sociological thought, understand the constructed nature of youth as a life phase, and evaluate current research on how young people relate to the future under contemporary social conditions. |
| Admission requirements | MA Students |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Monday | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 15.09.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 22.09.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 29.09.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 06.10.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 13.10.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 20.10.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 27.10.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 03.11.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 10.11.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 17.11.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 24.11.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 01.12.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 08.12.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Monday 15.12.2025 | 12.15-14.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Modules |
Modul: Ungleichheit, Konflikt, Kultur (Master's degree subject: Sociology) Modul: Wirtschaft, Wissen und Kultur (Bachelor's degree subject: Sociology) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Preparation of discussion input for each session Regular attendance and active participation in the discussion |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Soziologie |