Download 2017 Syllabus - University of Sussex

2016-2017
Introduction to Sociology
Category: Sociology
Code: IS 234
Level: 4
Credits: 15
Teaching Pattern
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Lecture
2 x 1hr
2 x 1hr
2 x 1hr
2 x 1hr
Seminar
2 x 3hrs
2 x 3hrs
2 x 3hrs
2 x 3hrs
Workshop
1 x 1hr
1 x 1hr
1 x 1hr
1 x 1hr
Tutorial
1 x 20mins
*in addition to the above formal teaching sessions you will be expected to do approximately 114 hours of
independent study over the 4 weeks.
*Additional Field Trip fee of £50.00
Outline
Sociology focuses on the systematic study of human societies, particularly modern industrial societies, by
exploring social interaction, social structures and social change.
Sociology as an academic discipline has its roots in attempts to understand the profound social, economic
and political changes associated with industrialisation, initially in Europe and later in North America and
other parts of the world. Studying sociology will help you to step outside your taken-for-granted
assumptions about your social world, and to challenge your ideas about what constitutes ‘natural
behaviour’.
Topics covered include the sociological perspective; bases of social interaction in culture; socialisation and
social identities; major social institutions and their social structures; social inequalities and social change.
Assessed Learning Outcomes
1
SUMMER Session 1
Describe and examine a range of key concepts and theoretical approaches within sociology and evaluate their
use.
Examine the relationships in levels of sociological analysis, especially between individuals, wider groupings
and societies.
Present ideas and arguments on the causes, processes and impact of social change based on the module
material and field trip observations.
Contacts
Kevin McCormick
University Library
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SUMMER Session 1
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: [email protected]
Phone: 01273 678163
Indicative Reading List
Our reading starts for the Module starts from The Module Handbook and The Module Reader. The Module Handbook
offers an outline of the course, an introduction to each of the eight topics and guidance on further reading. The Module
Reader will provide at least one reading (for example, a journal article or a book chapter) related to each topic in order
to provide some readily available reading to enrich the lecture and aid preparation for our seminar discussion. But
additional reading recommended in The Module Handbook will be essential to support essays and presentations.
There are no books or reading required for purchase. There is no single textbook that is required for purchase,
although you might a textbook very useful either for a preview of module issues or for reference during the module.
Textbooks can be roughly distinguished into either short or long textbooks. The short textbooks can be very
stimulating and entertaining, but not necessarily cover the range of our topics. The long comprehensive textbooks are
very useful, but their coverage is more suited to a semester or a year long course.
Pre-module Reading
If you want to sample some Sociology before signing up to this module, you might dip into one of the short textbooks
that give a taster of Sociology. Typically less than 200 pages long, they can be read over two or three evenings. They
are written with a bold and persuasive style and reflect the author’s interests and experience. They are aimed to
demonstrate the value of Sociology as a perspective for understanding the modern social world. They set out the
author’s view of the character of Sociology as an intellectual discipline, how the discipline developed, what and how
sociologists study social life.
Bruce, S. (1999) Sociology: A Very Short Introduction.
.
Bauman, Z. & May, T. (2001) Thinking Sociologically. Second edition
.
Albrow, M. (1999) Sociology: the Basics
Jenkins, R. (2002) Foundations of Sociology: Towards a Better Understanding of the Human World
Reference books
There are also some very large and comprehensive textbooks. Typically these blockbusters are over 1,000 pages in
length and they are intended as both introductions and reference books for courses that run over one or two
semesters. Since they try to be comprehensive in coverage, they will take you into topics beyond the scope of our
module, and since they are trying to be balanced in approach and cover topics beyond the author’s specialist research
interests they are likely to be less exciting to read than the short textbooks.
The text by Giddens was intended for British and North American markets and was written by a major contemporary
social theorist. Like many of the large textbooks it has been translated into several languages. The text by Macionis
and Plummer is a European adaptation of the framework of an American text (Macionis) by a British sociologist
(Plummer). Fulcher and Scott provide a very sound grasp of theoretical perspectives and empirical material drawn
largely from Britain. Cohen and Kennedy try to emphasise the global dimensions of human societies and their
interdependence.
Giddens, A. (2009) Introduction to Sociology 6th edition.
Macionis, J. & Plummer, K. (2002) Sociology: a Global Introduction
Fulcher J. & Scott, J. ((2011) Sociology. 4th edition
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SUMMER Session 1
Cohen, R. and Kennedy, P. (2000) Global Sociology
.
Module Reading by topic
The listed books below give an indication of a range of sources on which we can draw. The Module Handbook will
give more precise references to particular chapters for reading during the module.
1. Sociological Perspectives
This topic introduces the historical development of Sociology as an intellectual discipline, claims for it as a science,
and its relations with other social science disciplines. Sociology as an intellectual discipline continues to merit attention
because it continues to introduce us to the diversity of human societies, because it offers the opportunity to think
beyond the constraints of our everyday assumptions and because it offers us opportunities to conceive of alternative
futures.
Giddens, A. (1986) Sociology: A brief but critical introduction. (Ch.1 ‘Sociology – Issues and Problems’ pp. 1-22).
Mills, C. Wright. (1959) The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press. 1970 edition. (‘The Promise’)
2. Research and Methods
This topic continues the discussion of Sociology as a social science and the relations between theory and method.
Everyday life in Brighton and London will give you opportunities to be reflexive and develop your sociological
knowledge and skills.
Bryman, A. (2001) Social Research Methods
Matthews, B. and Ross, L. (2010) Research Methods: A practical guide for the social sciences.
Fox, K. (2004) Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour.
3. Social Interaction, Socialization and Social Identities
These three terms are important in exploring how social life is possible: social interaction (how social encounters are
organised); socialization (how values, norms and roles to guide social interaction are learned) and social identities (the
social labels by which we claim or acknowledge differences or similarities between ourselves and others).
Scott, S. (2009) Making Sense of Everyday Life.
Wells, K. C. (2009) Childhood in a Global Perspective.
Cohen, R. (1994) Frontiers of Identity: the British and Others.
4. Culture
This topic introduces one of the central concepts of Sociology and how sociologists use it to refer to the stock of
material and non-material ‘recipes’ which we learn to cope with social life, and moves on to examine the concepts of
national culture and national identity and how they are discussed in relation to migration.
Watson, J. L. (1997) ed. Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia.
Rex, J. (1996) ‘National Identity in the Democratic Multi-Cultural State’, Sociological Research Online, 1, 2.
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SUMMER Session 1
Cohen, R. and Kennedy, P. (2000) Global Sociology (ch. 19 ‘Identities and Belonging’).
5. Social Institutions: From Families to Intimate Relations?
‘Social institutions’ refer to aspects of social life that are regulated by relatively well established, relatively wellestablished, readily recognised and relatively stable social norms. These characteristics suggest that ‘social
institutions’ have been important in regulating key aspects of social life. Examples of social institutions include: family;
education; religion; economy and work; government; and, health care. Although social institutions are relatively wellestablished and relatively stable, they do undergo change. Families have been exhibiting a great deal of change and
attracting much public and political debate. These debates have prompted some sociologists to set discussions of the
family within a wider framework of ‘intimate relations’, while others emphasise the continuing importance of families for
the primary socialization of children.
Chambers, D. (2012) A Sociology of Family Life: Change and Diversity in Intimate Relations.
Cheal, D. (2008) Families in Today’s World: A Comparative Approach.
Morgan, D. H. (2013) Rethinking Family Practices.
Jamieson, (1997) Intimate Relations.
6. Crime and Deviance
Where deviance is a very broad term covering a range of conduct that infringes social norms, ‘crime’ is a narrower
term referring to behaviour that breaches the criminal law. While there is some overlap between the two terms, there
are some differences in theory and method. Sociological approaches to these phenomena can be compared to the
approaches of biologists and psychologists. What is regarded criminal or deviant varies across societies and over time.
Such variations prompt questions about who sets definitions and the distribution of power in societies. There are also
variations in the distribution of criminality and deviance across the social divisions of society by social class, gender
and ethnicity.
Becker, H. S. (1963) Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance.
Cohen, S. (1972) Folk Devils and Moral Panics.
Croall, H. (2011) Crime and Society in Britain.
Cavadino, M., Anspach, D. and Dignan, J. (2006) Penal Systems: a Comparative Approach.
7. Social Inequalities
Social inequalities influence ‘life chances’, that is the opportunities to acquire income, education, housing, health and
other prized material resources. Sociologists have tended to discuss social inequalities in terms of ‘social stratification,
where they refer to people who share common characteristics and are ranked in relatively stable hierarchy. Historically,
sociologists have identified four systems of stratification: slavery; caste; estates; and, social class. While debates
about the nature, extent and significance of ‘social class’ formed the core of class analysis in twentieth century, some
analysts have argued that inequalities based on social class has lost their significance. Yet, widening economic
inequalities and their alleged implications for the health of nations have animated political debate in the UK.
Devine, F. (1997) Social Class in America and Britain.
Crompton, R. (2008) Class and Stratification.
Payne, G. (2006) Social Divisions.
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SUMMER Session 1
Connell, R. (2009) Gender in World Perspective.
Wilkinson, R. and Pickett, K. (2010) The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone.
8. Social Change and Globalization
While we shall have traced the roots of Sociology as a way of looking at society and social life back to the profound
social changes initiated in Europe by the British Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution, some sociologists
have argued that we have been living through equally momentous changes in the contemporary world. They point to
‘globalization’ and the important changes our sense of time and space in the globalised world. Yet there are many
debates about whether globalization is really such profound change, when it began (if it ever began), what its
dimensions and whether it is to be evaluated positively or negatively.
Martell, L. (2010) The Sociology of Globalization.
Bauman, Z. (1998) Globalization: the Human Consequences.
Beck, U., Sznaider, N. and Winter, R. eds. (2003) Global America? The Cultural Consequences of Globalization.
Held, D. and McGrew, A. G. eds. (2003) The Global Transformation Reader: An Introduction to the Globalization
Debate.
.
Cohen, R. and Kennedy, P. (2013) Global Sociology.
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SUMMER Session 1