Introductory description

The aim of this core module is to enable students to: 
-Understand the distinctive features of Sociology as a critical discipline and approaches to social analysis associated with it; 
-Develop understanding and critical awareness of major classical and contemporary sociological perspectives and traditions, and the social contexts in which they emerged; 
-Apply their knowledge of major sociological perspectives and traditions critically to contemporary sociological contexts, drawing on appropriate studies and research evidence. These aims need to be understood as complementary to those which will be achieved through Researching Society and Culture. Thus while Sociological Perspectives (SP) will link theory to research evidence and social contexts, Researching Society and Culture (RSC) will ensure students understand the linkages between research and theoretical starting points, and the way this is reflected in different substantive areas of analysis.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The following is an indicative list of topics. Each college within the partnership has autonomy as to how this is interpreted across Year 1 and Year 2 (CE11A and CE11B):
Part One; Sociology in Context – Past, Present and Future. This will consist of lectures introducing students to the distinctive nature of sociology inquiry and research, including common features and diverse perspectives. This will involve introducing students to a historical overview and key debates, including epistemological starting points. Seminar discussions will consist of close reading of a sociological study set in its theoretical and social context, with production of written materials and a shared group podcast/webpage. These will also address key professional skills such as use of physical and virtual library, group working, and presentational skills.
Part Two: Sociology and the Birth of the Modern World. This will set the development of sociological forms of thought against the development of modernity, and focus centrally on the approaches to industrial capitalist modernity, the nation state and mass political participation, of classic theorists such as Marx, Durkheim, Weber and de Tocqueville. It will involve close reading of classic theorists, discuss research informed by such perspectives, and assess their continuing contemporary relevance.
Part Three: Sociologies of Modernity and Beyond. This will focus on the changes that have occurred in the modern world since the time of classic sociological theorists. It will introduce students to the work of a range of selected sociologists that have sought to interpret such changes, and the problems and issues thrown up by classical sociological theorising. It will engage with these questions and issues by dealing with a selective range of concrete issues and theorists. It will start by examining the ways in which these started to be tackled by theoretical and research traditions such as the Frankfurt School and its continuing influence through the work of Habermas, and the Chicago School and its influence on sociologists such as Becker and Goffman. It will move on to examine more recent forms of critical sociology represented by the work of the most influential commentators such as Foucault, Bourdieu, and debates around ‘social structuration’ and ‘risk’ developed by Giddens. The module will conclude with a critical review of ‘malestream’ sociology as represented by feminist and queer critiques, postcolonial analysis and the more general challenge associated with a ‘cultural turn’ in sociological theorising. As with Part One, there will be an emphasis on textual reading, discussion of applications in relation to macrosocial themes concerning the changing nature of modernity and global capitalism, and sociological research applications in thematic areas such as the workplace, political life, family and intimate relations, and crime and deviance.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand the key features of sociology as a distinctive and critical subject and analyse how these are applied by a leading sociological practitioner.
• Develop understanding and critical awareness of a range of major classical and contemporary sociological perspectives and traditions, and the social contexts in which they emerged.
• Apply their knowledge of major sociological perspectives and traditions critically to contemporary sociological contexts, drawing on appropriate studies and research evidence.

Indicative reading list

Anderson, Benedict 2016. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso
Callinicos, A. 2007. Social Theory: A Historical Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press
Giddens, A. 2013. The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press
Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels 1998. The Communist Manifesto. London: Verso
Marx, Karl 1960 [1844] Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Lawrence and Wishart: London. Chapter 1, ‘Wages of Labour’
Parsons, Talcott 1971. The System of Modern Societies. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
Korgen, K. O. et. al (2017) The Cambridge handbook of sociology, volume 1: core areas in Sociology and the development of the discipline. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Korgen, K. O. et. al (2017) The Cambridge handbook of sociology, volume 2: specialty and interdisciplinary studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ritzer, G., Stepnisky, J. (2018) Classical sociological theory. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications
Ritzer, G., Stepnisky, J. (2018) Modern sociological theory. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications Sassen, Saskia 2016. Global networks: linked cities. London: Routledge
Stones, R. (2017) Key sociological thinkers. London: Palgrave
De Tocqueville, Alexis 1998 [1831] Democracy in America various imprints
Weber, Max 1905 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Charles Scribner
Williams, Eric 1994 [1944] Capitalism and Slavery. London: University of North Carolina Press

Subject specific skills

Understand the key features of sociology as a distinctive and critical subject and analyse how these are applied by a leading sociological practitioner.
Develop understanding and critical awareness of a range of major classical and contemporary sociological perspectives and traditions, and the social contexts in which they emerged.
Apply their knowledge of major sociological perspectives and traditions critically to contemporary sociological contexts, drawing on appropriate studies and research evidence.

Transferable skills

Students will develop key skills such as teamwork and use of IT, and develop cognitive skills such as critical analysis and testing of theories. This will lay the foundations for research awareness and academic writing that will develop competency in key professional skills.