SOC4052 - Changing Contexts for Sociology

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate comparative understanding of 'classical' sociological concepts and theories and those of the present day;
Demonstrate an ability to apply sociological concepts and categories, on the broad scale such as gender and class, and on the small scale, such as style or material culture;
Explain the role of technology in contemporary global culture;
Demonstrate an ability to present ideas and arguments through appropriate media.

Content:

The module introduces students to contemporary sociological theory and its ability to analyse contemporary social problems. Such themes will include consumption and waste, environmental issues, technological changes, surveillance and society, networked protests, the rise of the internet and social media.

The module will also introduce a comparative aspect that seeks to understand the development of sociological theory and the role of clasical analysis by theorists such as Marx and Adorno, alongside the more recent work of sociologists such as Garfinkel, Giddens, and Bauman. The basic aspects of the thought of these thinkers will be presented through pre-prepared summaries, extracts, and resources.

Through such comparative analysis students will gain an survey of the range of sociological theories and applications, but also the ongoing development of sociological theory.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The module will be structured around student-led inquiries. Key information will be presented in a series of short video-lectures, made available to students before the sessions via the University's Virtual Learning Environment (Moodle). The sessions will be conducted as seminars and workshops. They will then propose their own contemporary items for analysis and there will be appropriate support for identifying more 'classical' analogues. There will be formative assessment to support student preparation for both assessments.

Seminars/workshops
Hours: 40
Intended Group size: 30

Guided independent study
Hours: 160

Further details relating to assessment
Assessment 1 - Directed activities: these consist of weekly tasks that must be completed and submitted for inspection at timetabled sessions each week. The assessment will be assessed on a pass/fail basis with a pass requiring at least 75% of all weekly tasks to be completed successfully. A pass will lead to the full award of 10% towards the final module mark. A fail in directed activities will contribute 0% to the final mark.

Assessment 2 - Report: this report is an exploration of a particular topic encountered on the module. Each week of the module will allow students to engage with sociological theory as well as contemporary cases of particular events. In the report the students will examine one of these cases in relation to relevant and appropriate sociological theory. Full guidance and support for this assessment will be given in the module handbook and in the seminars.

Other relevant matters
In this module, students will be introduced to the contemporary forms of sociology explored in more specific detail in the follow-up module SOC5012 Reimagining the Global.

Assessment:

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Robert Thornton-Lee
Level - 4
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 4S2

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