Sociology Level One Modules 2021-22

Sociology Level One Modules 2021-22
   • Foundations in Social Theory
   • Social Issues and Social Problems
   • Comparing Cultures
   • Sociological Practice – Becoming a Social Scientist
   • Critical Thinking

Foundations in Social Theory (30 credits)
Welcome to the module Foundations in Social Theory. The aim of the module is to help you
to develop sociological knowledge and understanding that can be applied to analysis of real
world social institutions and processes. This module also provides an opportunity to
investigate the theories (and ways of theorising) that sociologists have developed to support
their systematic and rigorous analysis of social life. Sociologists develop theories about
social life from the findings of their investigations and observations e.g. theories about
crime and criminality, policing and punishment, social divisions and inequalities and
technological change and globalization. As members of social groups and communities,
everyone develops theories to help them to make sense of everyday life, but often without
awareness they are actually ‘theorising’. Sociologists, on the other hand, develop and
deploy theories quite deliberately, in systematic and rigorous ways, in order to understand
and explain how social life ‘works’ i.e. seeking to investigate the co-ordinated and patterned
interactions that constitute social life.

         The content of the module engages directly with the work of key figures and major
schools of thought that have contributed to the development of the discipline. Together, we
will reflect on the works of the ‘Founding Fathers’ of Sociology such as Marx, Weber and
Durkheim, as well as covering more recent theoretical perspectives such as feminism and
symbolic interactionism. We understand that theorising social life can be intellectually
challenging, so we have adopted the innovative teaching approach known as ‘enquiry based
learning’ to support the development of your own ‘sociological imagination’. This approach
to learning will provide you with opportunities to work collaboratively as well as individually
as you investigate the relevance of social theory to the understanding of social life.
Some of the key ideas associated with the ‘Founding Fathers’ are introduced in these short
videos offered by ‘The School of Life’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSQgCy_iIcc
Karl Marx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICppFQ6Tabw
Max Weber
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9W0GQvONKc

Emile Durkheim

Recommended books

ONE of the following:
    •   Allan, K (2013) Explorations in Classical Sociological Theory: seeing the social world
        (3rd edition) Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
   •   Dillon, M (2020) Introduction to Sociological Theory (3rd edition) Oxford: Wiley-
   Blackwell (e-book).

William Hill (Module Leader)

Social Issues & Social Problems (30 Credits)

Studying Social Issues and Social Problems will involve thinking about current social issues
and policy responses that affect our everyday lives. Together on this course we will
investigate just what makes a social issue a ‘problem’ in the first place, and who gets to
decide. For example, why are "teenage mothers" seen as a problem, who are "hoodies",
why did the term "chav" get taken up and accepted so widely? Why during the lockdown of
Summer 2020 were Black Lives Matters protestors condemned for not socially distancing,
while the Government remained silent on crowds at Southend beach or queues outside
Ikea?

Lots of patterns and problems are observable in the society around us, why do only get
some things get picked up by political agendas, why are other important issues ignored or
misrepresented? What do you think are the most important issues that Government and
civil society should be addressing? What should be the solutions to global social issues like
climate change, war and militarism, migration? You will have opportunities to evaluate
current policies and think about how they could be improved; what would you do differently
to address homelessness, sexism, urban protest, racist attacks or child abuse? This module
will introduce you to some of the key Sociological perspectives on such issues and show you
how Sociological research and theory has made a real difference to our lives in the UK and
internationally. Together we will learn to analyse Sociological theories that can give a name
and meaning to the patterns and trends we see around us, and give us understanding about
why human societies act and respond in the way they do, from the individual level to the
whole community.

If you want to get started with some background reading in preparation for when you join
us, you could read this online article about the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in

Bristol. We will study protest on this Module, and why some actions are seen as acceptable
and others not.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/08/edward-colston-statue-history-
slave-trader-bristol-protest

Recommended books

   •   May, M. et al (eds.) (2001) Understanding Social Problems. Oxford: Wiley.
   •   Dean, H. (2019) Social Policy. (3rd. ed) Cambridge: Polity. (e-book)

Dr. Finn Mackay (Module Leader)

Comparing Cultures (30 Credits)

Many of us living in Western societies tend to take for granted the way in which we live our
lives – the mass availability of media, shopping, fashion, clubbing, even celebrity culture,
personal technologies, Premier League Football and Pot Noodles! Lockdown and the
coronavirus, however, have recently brought these notions of what we see as normal into
sharp relief. It has given us some critical distance to begin to understand how our Western
world works. Not only have we have tended to see these lifestyles as “normal” and
“natural”, we also often make assumptions that the rest of the world is like us – sharing, for
example, similar values, beliefs, lifestyles, attitudes and experiences. Whilst Western
lifestyles and ways of doing things – what we might term Capitalism - are spreading to the
furthest corners of the globe – a process known by social scientists as globalization – it is far
too simplistic to say that other cultures are (becoming) like ‘us’ or even want to be like ‘us’.
BREXIT has brought these issues into an even sharper focus. So, to a certain extent, have the
protests around discrimination and Black Lives Matter. There is a global diversity of voices
and cultures all requiring understanding, recognition and equality.

One of the most shocking events of recent years has been 9-11 and its aftermath – the
profound anti-Islamic sentiment, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and terrorist atrocities in
Manchester, London, Paris and Nice among other places. Events such as these demonstrate
radically different ways of thinking by the sides involved, but also the ways in which the
West views itself as superior – a process that social scientists have termed Orientalism.
Television news footage of these wars - and phenomena such as the African famines - also
demonstrates the fact that people live radically different lives in different parts of the world.
Those of you who might have been travelling, come from, or have visited other cultures, will
have direct experiences of these different lifestyles.

This prompts us to ask important sociological questions: Are such peoples more ‘primitive’
than us? Think of Hunter-Gatherer societies for example. Are our Western lifestyles really
superior? Is science a ‘better’ way of thinking about the world than magic, myth or religion?
How can we understand these other cultures? Such issues raise questions about what it is to

be human, and how do different societies mould our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and
behaviours. Similarly, the recent catastrophes of Hurricane Katrina, the Haitian earthquake,
the floods in Pakistan, the Asian Tsunami, and Covid-19 have forced us to rethink relations
between the West and other cultures.

This module attempts to examine some of these issues by looking at examples drawn from
two similar disciplines: sociology – the study of social life and social change - and social
anthropology – the comparative study of humanity in different societies.

Have a look at this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF51Ma1Voo4

An important way of approaching these issues is, therefore, comparison. Comparative
Sociology is built around two major types of comparison. Firstly, comparisons across time,
that is historical comparison. How has our society changed over time? Secondly, cross-
cultural comparison. That is how does our society compare to other societies existing now,
especially indigenous societies who are often radically different from ourselves, with very
different experiences, beliefs, values and cultures.

         We begin the module by looking at how sociology was developed in a world where
the West was coming into close contact with ‘other’ peoples for the first time in a period of
rapid social change, and the way that this has affected the way in which one still thinks
about other cultures today. We will then go on to look at the ways in which different people
live in different cultures, examining both differences and similarities, and the ways in which
we might seek to research and understand these differences. In semester two, we discover
the ways in which individuals in different cultures think differently by examining the
continuing importance of magic, myth and ritual to such societies, and, indeed, to our own.
The module concludes with a look at the ways in which processes such as colonialism,
economic development and globalization may have harmed indigenous peoples and the
environments in which they live, such as the Amazonian rainforests, the Australian outback
or the Southern African deserts.

It begs the question how different or similar are other peoples at other times and in other
places?

You can discover more about the module by watching this short video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7FYq2Caocg

Recommended books

Textbooks: Either

* Eriksen, T.H (2015) Small Places, Large Issues: A Introduction to Social and Cultural
Anthropology (4th ed) London: Pluto Press. (e-book)

Or

* Hendry, J (2016) An Introduction to Social Anthropology (3rd. ed.) Sharing our Worlds. 3rd
Ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Novels: If you enjoy ‘fiction’ these might be different ways into the module’s content:

   •   Joseph Conrad (1994) [1899] Heart of Darkness. London: Penguin Classics
   •   Jim Crace (2008) [1986] Continent. London: Picador.
   •   Daniel Pinchbeck (2010) [2002] Breaking Open the Head. New York: Flamingo.

Similarly, this series – which wears its flaws upon its sleeve - might be of interest:

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/extreme-tribe-the-last-pygmies

Dr. Dave Green (Module Leader).
Sociological Practice – Becoming a Social Scientist (15 credits)

         Welcome to the module Sociological Practice - Becoming a Social Scientist which
aims at helping you develop and use your ‘sociological imagination’ and your research skills
to examine contemporary issues and problems, particularly how best to frame and design
possible research projects. This is one of the ways the term practice can be understood: it is
about linking theory and research to lived experience and contemporary issues. Sometimes
that means looking closely at what is taken-for-granted and rendering it strange and
extraordinary, the better to understand why things are the way they are. Good powers of
observation, interest in the world and the commitment to challenge one’s assumptions are
fundamental. Knowing how to design a piece of research that might help to shed light into
contemporary issues is a fundamental skill not only for any social scientist, but an invaluable
skill for future employment. Being able to present one’s work to others, whether in a team
and in person or in writing is also something that will be practiced over this one semester
course. As in the term 1 module on Critical Thinking a focus on practice fits in really well
with the ‘real world’ applied approach to the discipline that is characteristic of Sociology at
UWE.

       In advance of the module, you may wish to browse this internet site on ‘Applied
Sociology’:
http://sociologyatwork.org/about/what-is-applied-sociology/

       Then you could try to think of how something in your own experience might be
thought about in that way. For example, how many of your friends come from a traditional
nuclear family of mum, dad and two children? Maybe most of them do, if so how does that
compare with current statistics? How has that affected their lived experience of family?
Would you know how to find out about that? How does that lived experience compare with
those of other families, both in our time and in the past?

This module is focused on preparing you to do active research in relation to
contemporary issues, but it will help you to further develop and apply the critical thinking
skills and subject knowledge acquired in term 1, building the foundations for you to succeed
in level 2 and 3 in relation to individual research project work that will be the most
important work you will carry out towards the end of your degree studies.
Recommended books:
   •   Gilbert N. and Stoneman P. (2016) Researching Social Life (4th edition) London: Sage
Alongside the above, these books will be useful:
   •   Dillon, M (2014) Introduction to Sociological Theory (2nd edition) Oxford: Wiley-
       Blackwell
   •   Fulcher, J and Scott, J (2011) Sociology (4th edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press

Dr. Lita Crociani-Windland (Module Leader)
Critical Thinking (15 credits)
       This module is designed to help develop your critical thinking capacity as essential to
doing well at university level. To do well at this level of study you’ll need to be a good
observer, a good thinker and someone who does not take things at face value. You will need
to understand how these capacities will help you in analysing complex social issues, which is
what critical thinking is about when applied to sociological study.
         The term critical thinking and its practice has a long philosophical tradition, which we
will introduce you to before focusing on the main topics of inequalities and diversity (class,
gender, ethnicity, sexuality and disability), as key aspects of sociological and criminological
study. Such issues and an understanding of how they influence our lives, how we might be
subject to discrimination or advantage and how that might colour our views for example,
are going to be crucial to future work practice as well as academic success. Generally, the
better able we are to develop and use our critical and reflective skills the better we will be
at analysing and understanding the complexities of social systems and structures.
       The title of the module may trick one into thinking this is a module dealing with
abstract ideas, but that would be a mistaken assumption, as the focus will be mainly
applied, both in terms of workshop activities and assessment, which is designed to cater to
Sociology students’ interests by offering a choice of real-life situations for students to
analyse and research.
The following link is to a short video by the author of our key text: Tom Chatfield.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY-CMrGp9Xs
There are more and longer videos on critical thinking by Tom Chatfield and many other web
resources you could look at before we get going with the module.

Recommended book

•   Chatfield T. (2018) Critical Thinking: Your Guide to Effective Argument, Successful
       Analysis and Independent Study. London: Sage

Dr. Lita Crociani-Windland (Module Leader)