Sociology of Risk and Uncertainty

The course introduces students to the sociology of risk and uncertainty. The starting point of the course is the tracing of the discontinuities of modernity and the antinomies of globalization and cosmopolitanization. It also attempts to sociologically clarify the concepts of risk/risks – dangers. The first part of the course has a theoretical orientation, aiming at a comprehensive sociological interpretation of the characteristics of modern societies through the analyses of Niklas Luhmann on the concept of risk in the light of social systems theory, Ulrich Beck on the risk society, the contribution of Anthony Giddens and Scott Lash on the risks of reflective modernity, as well as Zygmunt Bauman on fluid modernity and life in the era of uncertainty. In combination with the above, Michel Foucault's thought is utilized in relation to cybernetics, particularly as it is produced in conditions of a risk society. Special focus is given to the outline of the risk society and to issues concerning the individualization of social inequality, the generalization of science and politics, etc., ending with the ongoing and future challenges of the global risk society. The above constitute the bridge for the thematics developed in the second part of the course, which focuses on contemporary fields of study and research in the sociology of risk and uncertainty, through examples such as: labor, climate crisis, pandemics, nuclear, crises, global organ trade, etc., composing the portrait of the global risk society. Furthermore, an attempt is made to outline future risks and uncertain life situations, as they are produced in the era of genetic engineering, artificial intelligence/algorithms/big data, humanoid robots, space colonization and the metaverse. Special focus is given to the critical social transformations taking place through recent techno-scientific developments, through which the boundaries between the physical, virtual/digital, biological and social worlds become fluid and unpredictable.