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 examines the history of sociological thought through comparative analysis of everyday items from the C21 and either the C19 or early C20. Example items include a piece of popular music; an image, or a technological gadget. These items will be explored in terms of the prevailing social conditions for their production, marketing, distribution, consumption, identity politics, social networks, gender, and class. The comparative aspect will illustrate the basic points of classical analyses, such as those of 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 enquiries. 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. The students will be taken through a sample item-analysis. 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 is a comparative analysis of a cultural product from the late-C19 or early C20 and a similar version of that product from contemporary culture. Full guidance and support for this assessment will be given in the module handbook and in the seminars. A sample report will be demonstrated and there will also be a formative opportunity for a similar report before submission.

Assessment 3 - Group presentation. In groups of 3-4, students will identify an aspect or item of contemporary culture for analysis and receive guidance on selecting appropriate critical support for the analysis of that aspect/item, as well as in the basic methods of presentation (PowerPoint, Prezi, &c).

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 SOC 5082 Recent Developments in Global Sociology, and also in the cultural sociology modules in this programme: SOC 5032 Politics, Culture and Everyday Life, and SOC 6052 Performance, Culture and Communication.

Assessment:

001 Directed activities Mid semester 10%
002 Report 2000 words mid semester 45%
003 Group presentation 10 minutes end of semester 45%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Dr. Anna Piela
Level - 4
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 4S2

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