Component

MA Public Opinion and Political Behaviour
BA Sociology options

Year 2, Component 05

Option(s) from list
CS202-5-SP
The Politics, Ethics and Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence
(15 CREDITS)
EC205-5-AU
Poverty, Community and Development: Workshop
(15 CREDITS)

This module offers you an opportunity to explore, develop and apply an interdisciplinary set of theories useful for understanding and acting within the professional and academic field of community and regional development. The module takes you through what the nature of community groups are, the structures of power in society; the function of non-profits and community organizations; the networks that tie community groups to each other; and how students can work together to make a difference at the local level engaging with these actors and networks. Four development streams are explored in depth: urban poverty and ecology, rural poverty and sustainable agriculture, food insecurity, and health and poverty. You will follow a specific stream you are interested in and go in depth into understanding both the theoretical and practical solutions and obstacles to having a positive impact on a community in this area. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.

EC206-5-SP
Poverty, Community and Development: Community Project
(15 CREDITS)

This module is an opportunity for students to explore, develop, and apply an interdisciplinary set of theories useful for understanding and acting within the professional and academic field of community, regional and global development. Acknowledging that there is a natural desire to have a positive impact on our community, the module tasks students with working on a project that can address problems in the local community, while learning about how these challenges affect communities across the globe. In practice, the module takes students through what the nature of community groups are, the function of non-profits and community organizations; the networks that tie community groups to each other; and how students can work together to make a difference at the local level by engaging with these actors and networks.

SC201-5-FY
Power and Agency in a Global World
(30 CREDITS)

Want to study sociological classics? Wish to read and interpret original texts by Marx, Durkheim and Weber? Then study a selection of the contemporary writers who followed? We look at classic and modern thinkers, carrying their ideas into new contexts and inverting approaches to social understanding.

SC202-5-AU
Researching the Real World: Quantitative Approaches to Studying Crime and Society
(15 CREDITS)

This module provides 2nd year students with the tools to put into practice what they have learned in their first year methods module(s) using computer software to analyse data, both qualitative and quantitative. With these foundational skills, students can then specialise in the spring term by choosing either qualitative (SC203) or quantitative-based (SC208) methods modules.

SC203-5-AU
Researching the Real World: Qualitative Approaches to Studying Crime and Society
(15 CREDITS)

What methods are used in carrying out empirical sociological research? How do you critically analyse approaches to social research? And what are the skills required to undertake such research? We introduce the statistical foundations for empirical research and methods of analysis for qualitative data, building practical skills for your final-year project.

SC205-5-FY
Policing, Punishment and Society
(30 CREDITS)

What is wrong with using punishment as a criminal justice institution? How is punishment a social phenomenon? What are the formal elements of punishment? And how does punishment fit into our wider social world? Study the problem of punishment in a philosophical, social and contemporary context.

SC207-5-AU
Introduction to Social Data Science
(15 CREDITS)

With research methods rapidly changing in response to the large-scale generation of data within society, Social Science needs to ensure it is engaged with new digital methods to both benefit from them, and to shape them. In this module students will learn to combine their growing knowledge about society, social processes and research design, with powerful tools to both draw on and analyse the vast amounts and forms of new social data in a way that is With research methods rapidly changing in response to the large-scale generation of data within society, Social Science needs to ensure it is engaged with new digital methods to both benefit from them, and to shape them. In this module students will learn to combine their growing knowledge about society, social processes and research design, with powerful tools to both draw on and analyse the vast amounts and forms of new social data in a way that is critical, ethical and valuable.

SC208-5-SP
Quantitative Research: Crime and Inequality Across the Life Course
(15 CREDITS)

How does stratification lead to inequality in education? Is there social mobility between generations? Do early life experiences influence your later choices and decisions? Examine sociological empirical research on class, gender, and racial inequalities across the life course. Engage with the evidence to formulate your own research questions and hypotheses.

SC213-5-AU
Social Psychology (Sociology): Crowd Psychology and the ‘Psychosocial’
(15 CREDITS)

Social Psychology is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of Sociology and Psychology, which is concerned with the interrelations among individual, groups, and society. More specifically, it studies how individuals interact with one another, the way individuals influence social groups and vice versa, as well as the dynamics of intergroup relations. The course will provide an introduction to a number of theories and themes in sociological social psychology that link the wider social structure with individual personality and conduct. Its aim is to provide an overview of the principle theoretical approaches to social psychology and how they may be applied to the understanding of social life.

SC233-5-AU
Race, Class and Gender
(15 CREDITS)

What are the problems with class analysis? And how can you understand citizenship rights? Are they useful for analysing inclusion and exclusion, how do they relate to gender, and where does migration fit into the picture? Build your understanding of race, class and gender by learning more about how these concepts relate to social inequality, rights and identity.

SC290-5-SP
Social Data Science: Uncover, Understand, Unleash
(15 CREDITS)

This module provides a broad overview of health systems in the UK and abroad, and a discussion of public health and how medical sociology informs public health. Topics covered will include, but will not be limited to: - the design and history of the UK medical system - the role of professional organizations in medicine and how doctors are socialized into their roles - how patients experience illness, health policy and health equity, medical technology and digital health - medical advocacy and activism - mental health policy and treatment - mental illness, crime and the prison system - disability - reproductive health - alcohol and drug use - the anti-vaccination movement - STIs, HIV and AIDs - global pandemics

SC291-5-SP
Sociology of Sexualities
(15 CREDITS)

How have lesbian and gay lives developed since the 1950s? What key films provided a visual culture for such change? And what are the recent developments in queer theory? Study the issues raised and analyse the sociologically significant developments in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives.

SC364-5-FY
Mass Media and Modern Life
(30 CREDITS)

What impact has the printed press had on our social and cultural life? What about radio, cinema, TV and recorded music? And how important is all this in the light of new technological advancements? Examine the development of our mass media culture, from the nineteenth century to the present day.

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