Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Unit Catalogue 2010/11 |
SP10044: Introductory sociology B |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Certificate |
| Period: | This unit is available in... |
| Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW 100% |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations) |
| Requisites:
| Before taking this unit you must take SP10043 |
| Description:
| Aims: The aims of the unit are to: i. help students appreciate and identify the distinctions and relationships between the conceptualisation of societies and their problems by classical sociologists (such as Marx, Weber and Durkheim) and modern sociology (e.g. by Parsons, Goffman and Habermas); ii. introduce students to some of the key concepts and theories shaping contemporary sociological analysis iii. introduce the relationships between sociological thinking and its applications to specific contemporary social issues. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit the students will be better equipped to: * Identify and describe key classical, modern and contemporary sociological theories and concepts * Identify and describe key differences between their various conceptions of society and its problems * Reflect critically upon the use and limitations of sociological concepts and theories * Apply sociological concepts and theories to contemporary social issues and problems. Skills: Intellectual Skills * Knowledge of key ways in which theorists have attempted to understand 'society' (as body, as machine, as competing interests, as symbolic codes) * Knowledge of the fundamental concepts of sociology * Knowledge of the theoretical basis of sociological perspectives * Knowledge of historical and contemporary perspective of sociology * Knowledge of the relationship between sociology and other cognate disciplines * Knowledge of social processes (e.g. poverty, crime, unemployment, health) * Knowledge of key debates around identity formation Transferable/Key Skills * To think creatively and analytically. * To communicate an argument. * To evaluate others' arguments and research. * To critically evaluate and assess research and evidence as well as a variety of other information. * To gather information, data, research and literature from a number of different sources (i.e. library, web-based, archives etc.). * To synthesise information from a number of sources in order to gain a coherent understanding. * Revision and Examination skills * Understanding of how to apply knowledge and concepts from across various social sciences disciplines * Study and Learning skills (note taking, avoiding plagiarism, using the library, gathering and using information, constructing a bibliography, referencing) Content: Teaching and learning are divided into two related stages. The first overviews types of classical and modern sociological theory of the nature of society and its typical social relations, institutions and actions. Theories of society as variously: Body, Machine, Competing Interests Symbolic Codes, Anti-Society The second part relates key aspects of these conceptions to contemporary social problems: Crime; Health, Illness and Environment; Poverty and Wealth; Race, Gender and Identity; The Future of Society. |