SOCIOLOGY

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr C Wright

Pre-requisites

None.

Overview

This course is intended as students' initial introduction to sociology and is aimed at students with no previous background in the discipline as well as students who wish to refresh their knowledge of sociology. It deals with the basic building blocks that form the relationship between individuals and society. Students will be introduced to several substantive topics to illustrate the arguments, based around some of sociology's classic studies. Such topics may include

• What is society?


• Do people have biological instincts?


• How is society reproduced across the generations?


• The sociological imagination


• Culture, socialisation and learned behaviour


• Gender and sexuality

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (30%), tutorial participation grade (10%), examination (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%), where the tutorial participation grade was a pass.

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr R C Guilianotti

Pre-requisites

None.

Overview

This course introduces students to the study of the major social institutions of contemporary societies, such as the mass media, belief systems, government, bureaucracy and the economy. It considers what effects social institutions may have on the lives of individuals and groups, and how institutions are subject to social change. The course also illustrates the range of ways sociologists have developed to understand and research the nature of social institutions and their functioning.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (10%), tutorial participation grade (10%), examination (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%) where the tutorial participation grade was a pass.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr D L Gimlin

Pre-requisites

Passes in both level 1 Sociology courses.

Overview

This course aims to extend students' knowledge of sociology from that gained during the first year by addressing how sociologists identify and conceptualise issues and how they design and conduct their research. In this course, we consider the social nature of micro-level issues and their relationship to wider, macro-level cultural and structural forces. We explore the way that 'personal troubles' can be connected to 'public issues', a core endeavour of sociological thought and research. Themes covered on the course may include the body, emotions, sex and intimacy, gender, the life course, therapeutic culture, friendship and loneliness, and consumption.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (30%), tutorial participation grade (10%), examination (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%), where the tutorial participation grade was a pass.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr K O'Reilly

Pre-requisites

Passes in both level 1 Sociology courses.

Overview

This course introduces students to various ways sociologists identify and conceptualise particular research issues, and how they go about researching and gathering data upon those issues. The course concentrates on how sociologists have connected large-scale social and cultural structures, transitions and social processes with the experiences that particular individuals and groups have of them at the grass-roots level of social life. Themes covered may include Europe, class, the state, gender, ethnicity, religion and culture.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (30%), tutorial participation grade (10%), examination (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%), where the Tutorial Participation Grade was a pass.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor S Bruce and Dr B Brasher

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 or above.

Overview

The central concern of the course is the place of religion in the modern world. Various aspects of modernity that have undermined the plausibility of the supernatural are examined, as are the ways in which religion remains a powerful force for aiding cultural transitions and the defence of ethnic identity. Although the substance of the course is the sociology of religion, it is designed to teach students basic sociological ideas.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: Examination (100%) unless candidate opts to carry forward in-course assessment grade.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr D Inglis

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 and above who have achieved 100 credit points from level 1 and 2 Sociology courses.

Overview

The course aims to give students an understanding of what constitutes core sociological ways of theorising and researching specific aspects of social life. It considers the similarities and differences between the theoretical and methodological orientations, and their relevance today, primarily by studying the ideas of the classical sociologists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (40%), examination (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%) unless candidate opts to carry forward in-course assessment grade.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor B Hayes

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 and above who have achieved 100 credit points from level 1 and 2 Sociology courses.

Overview

This course introduces modes of explanation used in social sciences. It demonstrates the variety of data collected and the methods of data collection used in both quantitative and qualitative research. It also covers some elementary methods of data presentation and statistical analysis.

Structure

Three lectures each week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (weeks 1-6) (60%) and Class Test (weeks 7-12) (40%). Each element must be achieved.

Resit: Examination (weeks 1-6) (60%) and Class Test (weeks 7-12) (40%). Each element must be achieved.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr C Wright

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 and above who have achieved 100 credit points from level 1 and 2 Sociology courses.

Overview

The course examines the relationship between the process of social modernity and the development of social theory and research. It draws attention to the influential social theories that emerged in the late twentieth century in the context of debates about the the nature and possible futures of modernity. It also examines the distinctive research agendas generated by these theories. Topics covered may include surveillance, welfare policies, popular culture, industrial organisation. Particular but not exclusive attention is paid to relatively contemporary debates over the issue of 'late modern' or 'post-modern' forms of social order that may be located within a global context.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (40%), examination (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%) unless candidate opts to carry forward in-course assessment grade.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr B Brasher

Pre-requisites

SO 3517.

Overview

In this part of the project, students analyse the material collected and, with guidance from a member of staff, write the final report. The techniques of analysis will vary with the nature of the research problem but all students will be guided in the arts of critical analysis, report planning, and report writing. As in part I, particular emphasis will be given to helping students develop their own skills.

Structure

Two-hour workshop, individual supervision.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: project report (100%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr R Giulianotti

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

This course examines the social and sociological debates surrounding sport and leisure in traditional and modern societies. The major issues explored are conflict and violence; ethnicity and racism; globalisation and cultural identity; the role of the media; and the body and consumer culture.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture, 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor R Robertson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

The course deals with globality and modernity. The issue of globality has arisen primarily in the context of the debate about globalization and in the increasingly common talk of us now living in a ‘global age’. Modernity is a pressing theme in sociology and in this course there will be an emphasis on the various forms of modernity and the changing global context in which they are arisen. While there will necessarily be considerable discussion of macro-sociological topics, attention will also be paid to everyday social life in a variety of settings.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt:Examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr B E Brasher

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

This course critically examines the concept of E (electronic) society, with a particular focus on new forms of community associated with computer-mediated communication and the contributions of the Internet to inter-personal relationships. Key topics are the Internet/WWW as public sphere, identity and deception in cyberspace, and online religion, ritual and spirituality.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr D Gimlin

Pre-requisites

Available only to Senior honours students.

Notes

This course will be available in the first half-session of 2005/06 as SO 4025.

Overview

This course examines activities intended to alter the form and functioning of the human body. Drawing upon case studies of various types of 'body work', the course will address the following topics: the influence of class and other forms of stratification on the ways people develop their bodies and on the symbolic value attached to particular bodily forms; the role of 'body experts' in shaping understandings of legitimate vs illegitimate body practices; the body's implication in the buying and selling of labour power; and the means through which physical capital is converted into other resources and rewards.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor J Brewer

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Co-requisites

This course will be available in the second half-session of 2005/06 as SO 4526.

Overview

The course addresses communal violence and its resolution from a sociological perspective. It focuses on sociology's contribution to understanding peace processes as it contrasts with governance and human rights approaches that normally dominate the literature. This involves analysis of the different types of post-violence society and the different ways in which peace can be achieved, with attention being focused on post-violence societies based around negotiated peace settlements. The course explores the sociological features of peace accords and of post violence adjustment problems and draws heavily on the experiences of societies like Northern Ireland, South Africa, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and various South American countries.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor A Blaikie

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

This course examines questions of national identity by asking what constitutes Scotland as a nation. The origins of myths surrounding community, egalitarianism and difference from England are explored in relation to the diverse experiences of economic development, and decline, sectarianism, political allegiance, tourism and heritage.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr R Wilkie

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

The course begins with an examination of the sociological concept of gender and the importance of representation in the production of gendered meanings. It explores how femininity and masculinity are constructed and represented in relation to other identities such as those based on ethnicity and class. Attention is also given to the links between gender and politics, and knowledge and power.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr D Inglis

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

This course examines how cultural issues can be investigated sociologically. It introduces students to the main range of theoretical approaches to the sociology of culture, including classical Marxist and neo-Marxist paradigms such as those of Gramsci and the Frankfurt School, semiotics, culturalism, and the ideas of Pierre Bourdieu. It also offers students the chance to explore sociological viewpoints on the nature of artistic creation and other forms of cultural activity. A particular feature of the course involves analysis of what the terms ‘high culture’ and ‘popular culture’ may mean, and the stakes that are involved in their use in different social contexts. The relations between social groups, forms of power and modes of cultural creation, dissemination and consumption are explored and reflected upon.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%), and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor S Bruce

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Notes

This course will not be available in 2005/06.

Overview

This course examines the many ways in which politics and religion interact in the modern world in order to address the big issue: do particular religions generate particular kinds of political movements and regimes? Key topics are the place of religion in nationalist and ethnic identity politics; Catholicism and fascism in the 1930s; the influence of religion on voting patterns; the rise of fundamentalism; state responses to new religious movements; and religion in progressive politics (such as the US Civil Rights movement).

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 written examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor C Wallace

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

The course considers European Societies from a sociological perspective, addressing the social issues and social processes that affect Europe. Topics that are normally only addressed as national issues such as work, family, and religion are examined at the European level. The course will address how the widening and integration of Europe has raised issues such as nationalism, xenophobia and migration. The course begins by introducing various theoretical concepts which provide a framework for the course and are then developed through the more substantive topics which may include the history of European Societies, family patterns in Europe, employment and welfare in Europe, xenophobia and racism.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: in-course assessment (40%), examination (60%).

Resit: Examination unless candidate opts to carry forward in-course assessment grade (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr C Wright

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

The course shows how members of particular social groups seek to exercise control over the work environment and how they together make sense of work experience. Central issues are the manner in which work is central to both personal identity and social standing. The course also shows how the distribution of social power is crucially affected by the organisation of work. Topics covered include the exercise and legitimation of managerial control, the role of trade unions and the significance of informal work organisation, the sources of gender inequality at work, the nature of skill and the experience of unemployment, and the nature of producer co-operatives.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.