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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Centre for Open Learning : Social and Political Science

Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Sociology and Social Research (LLLJ08004)

Course Outline
SchoolCentre for Open Learning CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryHow do we relate to society? How are differences between people in society produced, and in what ways do these lead to hierarchies of (self-)worth? To answer these questions, this course will discuss sociological perspectives on key contemporary issues such as systemic racism, sexuality, populism, and climate change. You will also gain familiarity with key research methods that sociologists use to explore these issues.
Course description Academic description: The course explores sociological perspectives on the interrelation of social selves and social worlds, and on identities and social difference. It introduces you to key sociological theories and research and uses these insights to a) discuss sociological concepts such as gender, class, racialisation, and nationalism, and to b) familiarise yourself with core research methods, such as discourse analysis and ethnography, and the principles of research design in the social sciences. Throughout, you will have the opportunity to engage with a range of sociological research in and from differentparts of the world.

Outline content: The course is divided into two parts. The first part addresses different dimensions of the social self and the embeddedness of the self in social worlds. We will look at how people shape and are shaped by class, social institutions such as marriage and the family, and how even nature is shaped by the interrelationship between the self and social worlds. The second part focuses more closely at the processes involved in the production of identities and difference. We will look at racialisation, patriarchy, and populism, but also at the processes through which minorities have contested hierarchies based on identity and difference. At different intervals, the course introduces core social research methods, e.g. ethnography, and you will have the opportunity to practice research techniques in groups.

Student learning experience: The course is intended to gradually build up a richer understanding of the different dimensions to, and the relationship between, key social processes and concepts, such as racialisation and nationalism, class and gender. Sessions will combine elements of lectures with tutorial-style discussion and group work. Activities, such as analysis exercises and essay writing, will help develop your abilities in critical reflection and argumentation, while discussion will develop skills in working constructively with others and oral presenting of ideas. In addition, there is a formative assessment to write an essay plan, which is designed to prepare and support you in meeting the requirements of the summative assessment, a 2,500-word essay.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of key sociological concepts in relation to the social self and the social world, and the social construction of identities and difference
  2. Apply such concepts in analysing contemporary social issues such as educational inequality, homophobia, institutional racism, and populist nationalism
  3. Critically compare the theoretical frameworks and research findings of different social scientific studies
  4. Examine the relationship between methods, evidence, and argument in reports of sociological research
  5. Construct arguments deploying evidence from sociological research and theory
Reading List
Essential:
Lawler, S., 2013. Identity: Sociological Perspectives. Cambridge: Polity.
Walliman, N., 2010. Research Methods: The Basics. London: Taylor and Francis.

Recommended:
Bhambra, G., 2014. Connected Sociologies. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Eriksen, T.H., 2015. Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology. 4th edition. London: Pluto Press.
Mills, C. W., 2000 [1959]. The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills - critical thinking
- comprehension of texts
- ability to write in a clear and well-structured way
- ability to develop arguments
- collegial working
- contributing constructively to discussion and debate
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserMr Gisli Vogler
Tel:
Email: gvogler@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Kameliya Skerleva
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email: Kameliya.Skerleva@ed.ac.uk
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