Sociology Option Modules Information
Year 3 (Level 6)
October 2015
Year 3 Sociology Module Information
Learning Framework Module Code
Barred with
SOC3700
Media, Communication, Society
(30 credits)
SOC3600
Module aims:
This module develops students’ critical
understanding of media, communication and society. In
particular, it explores different aspects of the development of
media and communication within a ‘networked’ global world;
media institutions and the economic, political, cultural and
social consequences of media concentration and
convergence; media audiences and effects; media as a
institution and instrument of state and state policy; and
various issues and debates related to the role of the media in
societies. The module also looks at the development of new
media technologies as providing alternative and oppositional
opportunities and perspectives; as an ‘autonomous’ public
sphere; as a key mobilising resource used by collective
movements and protest groups to challenge dominant
ideological and hegemonic representations and ‘common
sense’ understandings of the world. This module will be of
interest to any student interested in examining the role of
different media and media institutions in a transnational
communicative world.
SOC3616
Module aims: This module aims to critically explore and
understand violence in all its angles and meanings and from a
global perspective: from personal violence (domestic violence
and gender violence, for example) to systemic violence
(violence perpetrated by the state and its apparatus), from the
street violence of riots and political radicalism to the “inherent
violence of globalisation, capitalism, fundamentalism and
language” to use SlavojZizek’s words. Students will be
offered the opportunity to develop a critical knowledge of a
number of issues related to violence and to locate them both
within a national and a global perspective.
Coursework – 100%
Tutor: Sue Mew
SOC3701
Violence and Society
(30 credits)
Coursework – 100%
Tutor: Dr Nicola Montagna
SOC3720
Diversity and its Discontents
(30 credits)
Coursework – 100%
Tutor: Dr Jon Mulholland
SOC3703
Social Movements, Conflict and Change
(30 credits)
Module aims: Many contemporary nation states are
increasingly characterised by diversity, to the point of being
commonly referred to as ‘cosmopolitan’. Such diversity may
be presented as threat and/or opportunity, depending on the
nature and extent of that diversity, and on the standpoint from
which the diversity is being judged. This module seeks to
explore some of the most significant dimensions of diversity,
as experienced within the late-modern era. In so doing, it will
examine the nature, dynamics, effects and conflicts
surrounding these diversities, and consider both the
commonalities and differences associated with them. The
module will adopt a comparative approach, examining the
varied ways in which diversity becomes significant in different
national contexts.
Module Aims:
This module provides students with the
knowledge and skills to develop an in-depth understanding of
the sociology of contentious politics. The emphasis of the
module is on the social context in which social movements
Coursework – 100%
Tutor: Dr Emma Dowling
SOC3740
Gender, Sexuality and Society
(30 credits)
Coursework –100%
Tutor: Dr Erin Sanders-McDonagh
SOC3750
Diasporas
(30 credits)
Coursework – 100%
Tutor: Dr Anastasia Christou
SOC3760
Sociology Dissertation
(30 credits)
7,500 Word Dissertation – 100%
Tutor: Sue Mew
arise to articulate and address the problems and conflicts of
their time. Students will be introduced to the main theoretical
and conceptual approaches to the study of social conflict and
social change in an historical context, as well as the
epistemological and methodological issues that pertain to the
study of social transformation. The module culminates in a
focus on the contemporary context of the global financial
crisis and the social conflicts that have arisen in its wake.
Module aims: This module explores gender and sexuality
studies and relates theoretical debates to contemporary
issues around this area. Drawing upon a range of theoretical
frameworks, and the ways in which gender and sexuality
have been positioned within the social sciences, this module
will begin by exploring the history of feminism and its impacts
on gender and sexuality studies, and continue looking at
specific examples of issues related to gender and sexuality
on a national and international level. Specifically, the module
aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of
gender and sexuality studies, recognizing the important role
that gender and sexuality have in regulating social life and
beliefs.
Module aims: This module will critically examine theoretical
understandings of Diaspora, its relationship with associated
ideas
such
as
migration,
cosmopolitanism
and
transnationalism, and its significance as an analytical tool for
understanding modern social and cultural formations. It
centres on the analysis of the cultural and social
concomitants of transnational migration and Diaspora in the
post-colonial world. Whilst issues such as globalisation, the
international division of labour and the state remain important
to this, the emphasis throughout the module is upon the lived
experience: the ways in which different people experience
and make meaningful migration, displacement, and
difference. Here, 'home', 'belonging' and 'identity' are key
phrases. Crucially too, we shall be investigating the
implications of large scale movement for academic as well as
more popular understandings of 'culture.' Theoretical
perspectives on migration and migrant communities have
changed radically in the last twenty to thirty years, moving
from consideration of ‘assimilation’, ethnic minorities and
multi-culturalism, to contemporary debates concerning
cultural hybridity, ‘borderlands’ and the trope of ‘mobilities’
Module aims: This module aims to synthesize learning from
students’ undergraduate Sociology programme of study
providing an opportunity for students to study independently
and investigate a topic in depth. It fosters academic curiosity,
an inquiry based approach, the employment and application
of research knowledge and skills thus facilitating the
development of a higher level of theorising. Students will
select a topic of personal interest they wish to study in-depth
and will manage their own learning during this module, with
the support of an allocated supervisor for this period of
independent study.
LAW3330
Integrated Learning and Work Placement
(30 credits)
Reflective Diary 30%
Critical Report 70%
Tutor: Dr. Angus Nurse, Emma Dowling
CRM3590
IPL3003
Placement learning aims to link academic learning to a
placement organisation providing an opportunity to apply,
consolidate and develop skills and knowledge from University
to the placement and future employment. This practical
experience module provides the means for students to link
academic work with the 'real world' situation in order to
conceptualise the meaning of theory in the wider world
context. This module facilitates the embedding of transferable
and graduate skills necessary for future career paths and
employment. It is envisaged the student will reflect upon
areas of knowledge relevant to the placement learning
experience and develop personal knowledge through a
review of their learning. The placement learning experience
provides students with the opportunity to enhance their skills
of self expression, communication, self reliance and cooperation. Students will also engage in risk assessment.