Introduction to Sociology Course Descriptor

Course Summary

This course examines the key concepts, theories, methodologies, and interventions of the field of Sociology. Sociology is the scientific study of the patterns of behaviour, institutions, and systems that shape social life. Together, these encompass the collective forces that shape human behaviour and our individual lives, and that influence how we see and encounter the world. Sociologists aim to understand what these forces are and how they are created, explain their effects, and make predictions about future behaviour. Sociology was founded in part with the study of inequalities, or what sociologists sometimes call social problems. For example, sociologists have examined such questions as how race, gender, and class shape identities and social conditions; how people try to influence the outcome of face-to-face interactions; and how the system of industrial capitalism came to dominate the world.

Course Aims

The course aims to 

• Provide an introduction to the field of sociology
• Improve critical thinking skills
• Improve analytical writing skills

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Professional Skills

Teaching and Learning

Teaching and learning strategies for this course will include: 

Indicative contact hours: 36 hours, typically to include interactive group teaching, co-curriculars, individual meetings, and in-class presentations and exams. 

Course information and supplementary materials are available on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

Students are required to attend and participate in all the formal and timetabled sessions for this course. Students are also expected to manage their directed learning and independent study in support of the course.

Assessment

Formative

Students will be formatively assessed during the course by means of set assignments. These do not count towards the end of year results, but will provide students with developmental feedback. 

Summative

The examination will consist of a number of questions from which the student will have the choice of answering a specified number.

Feedback

Students will receive feedback in a variety of ways: written (including via email correspondence); oral (within office hours or on an ad hoc basis) and indirectly through class discussion.

Feedback on examinations is provided through generic internal examiners’ reports and are made available to the student on the VLE. For all other summative assessment methods, feedback is made available to the student either via email, the VLE or another appropriate method.

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.

Books 

A Sociology Experiment, https://www.sociologyexperiment.com

A. Giddens and P. Sutton, Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press. 2017.

N. Abercombie. Sociology: a short introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press. 2004.

Indicative Topics

• Our sociological imagination
• Understanding social theory
• Social structure and individuals
• Social class and poverty
• Gender and sexuality
• Race and racism