The following list is only indicative and will be annually updated according to changing requirements.

• What is theory
• Whose knowledge counts?
• What role did modernity and colonialism play in the development of sociology 
• Conflict theories
• Functionalism
• Bureaucracy, rationalisation and McDonaldisation
• Symbolic Interactionism
• Individualisation and Risk Society
• Theorising inequalities
• Postmodernity 

Rationale: The module is designed to provide an introduction to some of the key theoretical and methodological perspectives central to Sociology. The analysis of these perspectives will be related to contemporary times and events and explored to develop an understanding of the practical utility of “Sociological Imagination” to approach the study of society. The emphasis throughout will be on how “Sociological Imagination” provides a critical and analytical tool to interpret social phenomena and challenge dominant or conventional understanding of them.

Aims:

1. To provide a basic understanding of the perspectives which are central to contemporary sociology.

2.  To facilitate application of these perspectives to the study of the social structure of the contemporary world.

3. To make evident the role of modernity and colonialism in the development of sociology as a discipline and how this legacy is dealt with in sociology today.

The module provides students with a grounding in basic concepts in sociology and demonstrates the breadth of sociological investigation in contemporary society. These content-oriented elements are combined with the simultaneous development of the necessary practical and academic skills in order that students can themselves engage with the sociological understanding of the relationship between self and society.

Block 1 Introductory themes

• What is Social Science?
• What does social science do, and how does it do it?
• Social identities - individual and collective
• Social divisions - diversity and inequality

  Block 2 Thematic Applications of Social Science (illustrative content only)

• Education
• Work and Leisure
• Consumption
• Body, Health and Medicine
• Culture, Knowledge and Belief
• Impairment, normalcy and disability
• Cities and Communities
• Sociology and Sustainability debates
• Power and protest

  The following study skills sessions are embedded within the module, commencing at week 1

• Study skills audit
• Reading
• Information retrieval
• Note taking
• Essay planning
• Essay writing
• Referencing

The module is designed to give students a broad thematic introduction to key problems and issues in understanding contemporary society, whilst simultaneously building the study skills necessary for HE. Thus it provides a necessary basis for moving on to levels five and six. The content corresponds to the thematic and topical approaches within the subject benchmarking and introduces students to the potential breadth of the discipline, whilst providing an understanding of the particular qualities of the programme. Practical study skills sessions are embedded within the lecture series. The module provides a platform for all Social Science students to build upon and to understand the application of social scientific principles to particular cases, concepts and events, anticipating the development of more independent analysis, particularly in relation to third year dissertations.

Block 1: Origins and underpinning ideas

• Emergence of Industrial Society
• Political Discourse
• Welfare and Inequality
• Components of Welfare: Housing, Health, Education and Labour
• Liberal Solutions
• Public health, Private concerns
• Women, Children and Work
• Philanthropy
• The War Economy and Welfare
• The Beginnings of State Intervention

Block 2: Late 20th century

• Formation of the Welfare State 
• Welfare state and limitations of State provision
• Breakdown of consensus
• Privatisation and Free Market solutions
• The search for a 'third way'

[N.b. these themes are broadly indicative of module lecture content]

This module is a core module in the Sociology programme. It provides an historical background to the development of the welfare state, including its foundation and subsequent development under the market rationale. The module introduces a broad-based theoretical framework, which prepares students for more specialised study in subsequent years of the course.

• To locate the development of social policy within the context of major social, economic and political changes occurring during the nineteenth, twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. 
• To introduce the main traditions of sociological thought influencing the development of social policy during this period. 
• To develop a basic understanding of a range of theoretical perspectives drawn from sociology and politics. 
• To apply these theoretical perspectives in the critical analysis of historical welfare policy developments.
• To examine the changing role of the state in welfare policy and provision.

Part A:      

Preparation for Experiential Overseas Learning will take place at the university of Chester during level 5 and will include:  

• The multiple facets of Global citizenship
• Ethical engagement and practice
• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Intercultural communication

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Theories and models Intercultural competence
• Theories and models of Integration and Multiculturalism

• Critical thinking skills and models of Reflection
• Experiential learning models
• Self-directed experiential learning

Personal and placement-related skills

• Enhanced independence
• Improved command of multicultural behaviour
• Increased knowledge and confidence in their individual facets of personal identity
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development
• Team building and team work

Part B:            Overseas

Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours 

The purpose of this module is to enhance students’ prospects of completing an overseas placement to the best of their ability consequently it aims to:

• To equip participants with appropriate knowledge and skills to study or work in a different cultural, linguistic and/or social environment; enhancing ethical, cultural and intercultural awareness.
• To enhance students understanding of the ethical issues related to living and working abroad.
• To increase students Global Citizenship skills
• To provide an opportunity for students to reflect critically on their experience of living and learning within an unfamiliar culture, to their 'home' culture or ethnic group.

To challenge students to learn about themselves as global citizens in terms of life skills, career choices and academic development outside the classroom.

Preparation for the year abroad will take place in Chester during level 5 and will include:

• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Host-country orientation, study methods– economic, political and social reality of the country
• Orientation specific to exchange – health, education, gender issues
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Practical matters relating to living and studying in the wider world

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Critical thinking skills, experiential learning       and models of reflection

Personal and placement-related transversal skills

• Effective self-motivation and independent resourcefulness
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development

Whilst abroad:

Students will undertake study at one of UoC’s partner universities; it is expected that students will choose a series of modules at the university abroad, which equal a full-time study load. This must be agreed by the host institution and the International Tutor. Students must supply details of their courses/modules on a learning agreement within 4 weeks of arrival at the host university, note students who fail to supply this within 4 weeks may have the opportunity withdrawn.

1. To experience academic life in country outside of the EU, enhancing cultural and intercultural awareness and increasing transversal skills.
2. To reflect on the impact of the experience in their destination on one’s own personal, academic and professional development.
3. To engage with the experience of study at a partner university to gain extensive first-hand knowledge and understanding of the relevant society from the perspective of the resident.
4. To further develop independent learning techniques.
5. To foster critical evaluation.

• Foundations of research - ontology, epistemology, methodology
• Philosophy of the Social Sciences - Positivist, Interpretivist and Critical Philosophy.
• Methodology of the Social Sciences - Qualitative, Quantitative and Participatory Action methodologies.
• Ethics of the Social Sciences.
• Research Design in the Social Sciences - developing research questions; objectives, aims and hypotheses, literature review, sampling, correlation.
• Research Methods in the Social Sciences - archives, documents, surveys, observation, focus groups, interviews, ethnography, visual methods, evaluation research, PAR, dialogue.
• Analysis - statistics; contextual, content, narrative and discourse analysis; triangulation; implementation.
• Writing and dissemination of research.

This module is designed:

• To introduce students in the Social and Political Sciences to the foundations of social scientific enquiry.
• To enable such students to distinguish between, and to apply, a variety of ontological, epistemological and methodological approaches.
• To enable students to assess the strengths, weaknesses and 'fitness for purpose' of research methodologies and methods.
• To enable students to understand the significance of, and to choose between, the methods of the social sciences in a variety of contexts.
• To make students aware of the significance of ethical practice when planning and conducting research.
• To enable students to choose between different forms of research analysis.
• To enable students to critique research and to select different forms of research design.

This module explores the significance of race in the making of the modern world. The module begins by covering the development of modern ideas and theories of race, reading these against the social changes associated with processes of nation-state formation, colonialism, industrialisation and the transition to capitalism. The second half of the module explores issues in the politics of race today. Perspectives from critical race theory, sociology, political theory, history, anthropology and political economy are drawn upon in order to interrogate and problematize transformations in racial thinking and racial politics in the modern world. Illustrative module content includes:

• Modernity, enlightenment, and race
• Whiteness
• Nations, nationalism, and race
• Theories of race and racism
• Intersections of race, class, and gender
• Human rights, citizenship, and race
• Borders and migration
• State racism and popular racism
• The post-racial
• Anti-racism and social movements

The aim of this module is to enable students to reflect critically on the role which race has played, and continues to play, in the shaping of the modern world. As such the module aims to:

• Introduce students to the critical study of race and racism
• Facilitate critical reflection on the relationship between the social changes associated with modernity and the development of modern ideas of race and racial practices
• Critically analyse contemporary transformations in the politics of race and racism
• Enable the development of research, writing and analytical skills commensurate with level 5 study

This module equips students with the theoretical tools to critically analyse the political, social and cultural construction of the body. Focusing on the body as both a product of culture, and a material, lived reality, the module gives students the tools to apply sociological theories of embodiment to a range of contemporary bodily experiences and practices.

The module gives students an understanding of how bodies are understood, categorised and regulated in contemporary Western societies, and how power operates through such processes. It begins by putting Western constructions of the body in context, with reference to classical philosophical ideas of embodiment, and their influence on the biomedical model of health. The module then illuminates the emergence of the body as an object of increasing sociological study and debate since the late 20^th Century, particularly the notion of the body as a social and cultural construct. This provides the theoretical foundations for critically interrogating the categorisation and regulation of bodies, with reference to literature and topics including gendered, racialised and disabled bodies. This enables an understanding of how power operates through processes of bodily regulation and categorisation.

The second term focuses more specifically on various contemporary bodily practices and experiences in our neoliberal consumer culture, and how ‘ideal’ bodies/ bodily practices are produced (and/or resisted) through digital and media culture. This includes exploration of topics such as diet and fitness culture, the beauty industry, cosmetic surgery, reproductive bodies and sex education. In doing so, the module encourages students to critically interrogate notions of bodily autonomy, agency and self-discipline, using theory. For each topic covered, students are encouraged to apply key concepts from the academic literature to their own relevant examples and analyses of contemporary representations and discourses of the body. The module enables students to critically engage with issues that are relevant to their own embodied experiences, and to the lived realities of bodies in society today.

• To give an overview of how the body has been understood and debated as a social construct in classical and contemporary sociological theory.
• To explore the many ways in which power is enacted in and through bodies through forms of social regulation and categorisation.
• To critically interrogate notions of bodily choice, agency, self-discipline.
• To examine the ways in which bodily autonomy and self-determination are unequally distributed according to power, and to understand feminist approaches to sexual and reproductive rights and justice.

This module builds upon knowledge and understanding about sociological theory obtained to date. Key to the module is theoretically informed debate on contemporary social issues, applying theory to 'real life' situations. 

The approach to theory in this module is explicitly anti-canonical, which means it aims to encourage thinking theoretically and working with concepts/problems, rather than learning theologically about sociological thinkers, even if they are made a little more diverse than before. Theory here is understood as

1) a language for making sense of social reality that has some rules and procedures (but which are not fixed).

2) Theory is also a practice: it is about engaging with the concepts in the language of theory and applying them to 'real life' situations.

Indicative content includes:

Block One: theoretical and applied groundings

• What is Social Theory
• Ways of using theory
• Applied theories
• Critical theory

Block two: Theorising contemporary social issues

Themes explored may include topical issues such as:

• Mobilities
• Globalisation
• Status and social class
• Decolonisation

To provide an overview of debates within social theory and how they relate to wider social issues beyond the sociology classroom, in order to prepare students for a wide variety of roles after graduation.

To develop the students' capacity for critical thinking, to be able to articulate such thinking and to reflect critically on real world issues.

To enable students to understand how theory relates to research and to be able to apply and develop theories within their own research.

Pre-placement:

• Structured approaches to researching, selecting and securing a suitable work placement relevant to the student’s interests and career aspirations*.
• Writing an effective CV. Constructing a letter of application.*
• Interview skills.*

 *Note: Students are required to undertake these pre-placement tasks during term 1 level 5, as part of the placement acquisition process and will be supported by the Work Based Learning team and the Careers and Employability department.

 Induction Programme and Placement:

• The organisational context: research-informed analysis of the placement organisation’s aims, structure, culture.
• Self- assessment of needs: identification of the range of transferable skills, competencies and attitudes employees need and employers expect graduates to possess. (Employability Skills: e.g. verbal and written communication, analytical / problem solving capabilities; self-management; team working behaviours; negotiation skills; influencing people; positive attitude, resilience, building rapport).
• Devising a strategy for integrating into the workplace and work based teams
• Completion of online assignment tasks covering sourcing and obtaining placement; health and safety procedures in general; general workplace integrity; placement requirements. 

During and post-placement: Learning effectively in and from the workplace:- 

• Devising and implementing strategies to improve own approach and performance
• Critical analysis/evaluation of approach to skill development and performance in the workplace;
• Influencing the Placement Provider’s appraisal;
• Devising an action plan to develop gaps in transferable skills based on the placement experiences;

This module aims to enhance students’ prospects of gaining graduate level employment through engagement with a University approved work placement**, which will enable them to:

• Develop their understanding of workplace practice and lifelong learning;
• Enhance their work readiness and employability prospects through development of transferable skills;
• Take responsibility for their own learning and acquisition of workplace employability skills;
• Articulate, in writing, their employability skills.

This module builds upon knowledge and understanding about sociological theory obtained to date. The module is designed to enable students to select, critically evaluate and apply sociological knowledge to key contemporary issues and inequalities in capitalist society. The module facilitates theoretically informed debate and reflection on such issues.

The module will include discussion of:

• The role and value of social theory
• The application of social theory to issues, including:
• The experiences and transformations of work
• The provision of welfare
• Contemporary debates in policy and practice, including in relation to employment, underemployment and welfare provision

Advanced Social Theory aims to:

• Enhance recognition and critical reflection of the role and value of social theory
• Facilitate the application of sociological theories and concepts to contemporary social concerns and debates
• Help students to understand and critically evaluate contemporary debates in policy and practice, linking them to theory
• Enable a critical understanding and appraisal of competing sociological perspectives and evidence
• Develop the students' capacity for critical thinking and reflection, and ability to articulate this
• Strengthen students’ awareness of the contemporary employment landscape and their development of employability skills

The module covers the broad field of social movement studies as a means of understanding processes of social change. It develops skills of individual research topic development and negotiation as a means to defining assessment tasks.

The content is divided between core content, introducing the key ideas and theoretical concepts, and acase studies to demonstrate the application of those ideas in practice. Together these enable students to define and undertake their own assessment task.

Core concepts

Introducing social movement theories; Mechanisms of social change; Social changes and historical contexts 

Case studies (indicative only)

Occupy; Alter-globalization movements; Arab spring; Women's movement, Gay and lesbian movement 

The aims of the module are twofold. Firstly, it introduces students to the mechanisms through which social and political change are made. These build on themes introduced at levels four and five, specifically the understanding of structure, agency and inequality. Second, the negotiated title assessment develops decision making and negotiation skills, alongside the capacity for independent study.

This module introduces students to the sociology of consumption and encourages critical consideration of the rise and continued predominance of consumer culture in our everyday lives, and its implications.

The module situates mass consumption historically, tracing expansion of the consumer society in Western capitalist economies during the twentieth century, and exploring the impacts of subsequent developments, such as globalisation, neoliberalism and technological advancements. It introduces students to various theoretical approaches within the sociology of consumer culture. This includes critical theory, contrasted with more symbolic approaches to consumption (Veblen’s concept of conspicuous consumption, postmodern perspectives, and Bourdieu’s ideas on class and taste).

The module then encourages students to engage with theories and debates surrounding key topics within the sociology of consumption, including advertising, consumer sites, spaces and experiences, brands, identity, social exclusion, credit and debt, fast fashion, consumer resistance and sustainable consumption, and happiness and satisfaction. Students are encouraged to apply their own critical reflections, observations and experiences in their evaluation of each of the topics covered. Students are encouraged to critically consider the wider implications of the prominence of consumer culture, globally, environmentally, socially and individually.

Throughout the module, students are encouraged to reflect upon the significance of consumerism in everyday life, and the level of agency consumers have, by applying theoretical ideas to everyday examples and experiences. This is done in workshop discussions as well as the assessments. 

This module aims to facilitate a critical exploration of the significance of consumerism in everyday contemporary life, by applying sociological approaches and ways of understanding consumer culture to everyday examples.

It will provide students with a range of transferrable skills, including the ability to select, summarise and reference various types of literature, and evaluate competing perspectives and ideas. Furthermore, the module teaches students to apply theoretical concepts to practical examples, to communicate their ideas verbally in weekly workshop discussions and group activities, and articulate their ideas via written coursework.

This module explores the role that social scientists can play in communicating and raising awareness of key contemporary sociological, criminological and zemiological issues to the wider public. Students are encouraged to consider the role of social science beyond the university, and its potential to engage the public and contribute to social change.  

Attention is given to the role of power in how claim-makers can influence the framing of social issues as legitimate or illegitimate, and the differential levels of importance ascribed to issues pertaining to social and criminal (in)justice. This will be explored by considering narratives, debates and responses to key contemporary social issues. 

Within the module, students will also engage in discussion regarding the challenges associated with a move towards a more ‘public social science’ and will consider the arguments for making social science research more accessible to those outside of academia. They explore perspectives on social scientists’ social and political responsibilities to engage with, co-learn and educate wider communities. Students will critically consider their own roles and responsibilities as potentially informed advocates for progressive change on key social and political issues, on behalf of and in collaboration with marginalised groups. Through formative activities and summative assessments, they enhance their skills in communicating knowledge and alternative ideas to a range of audiences in an accessible way. 

The module is designed to develop students’ key skills as they assess contemporary and future aspects of sociology and criminology. The module will also help to develop students' critical thinking, as it will encourage them to consider complex and nuanced issues and debates, implications for social justice, and the potential for positive social change. Communication skills are also integral to the module, as students will be required to present academic ideas to different audiences.  

• To encourage understanding of ‘public social science’ and its potential value in engaging with wider audiences to inform public narratives and promote positive social change. 
• To help students develop a critical understanding of the role of power in determining how contemporary and emerging social issues and inequalities are framed and responded to within policy, media and public discourse. 
• To encourage an appreciation of the interdisciplinary relationship between sociological and criminological issues. 
• Explore the future of ‘public social science’ and the role that social science can have in engaging with wider audiences to inform and promote social justice narratives

Content will vary according to individual dissertation proposals

The Dissertation is designed to provide an opportunity for sustained and independent study in the final year of social science programmes. It intends to develop knowledge of, and critical insight into, a topic of the student's choice within the subject area under study. Students are enabled to undertake first-hand enquiry and encouraged to develop an analytical and reflective approach to the subject identified for study. The module aims to encourage the articulation of a critically informed perspective on the subject being studied. It also intends to enable the production of a coherent document of rigorous academic standards.