BA (Hons) Sociology

What is Going on? Making Sense of the 21st Century

This module invites you to engage in an investigation of contemporary global events by using current news stories as primary catalysts for academic inquiry.

Rather than viewing headlines in isolation, you will learn to deconstruct media narratives and breaking events through a diverse range of academic frameworks and multidisciplinary perspectives.

By bridging the gap between immediate current affairs and theoretical study, the curriculum explores how interconnected themes—such as neoliberalism, the climate emergency, and the rapid evolution of technology—manifest as live, unfolding issues in today’s social and political landscape.

You will develop the analytical agility to look beneath surface-level information and recognise the deeper ideological and economic shifts that drive 21st-century discourse.

The curriculum creates a space to make sense of the “now,” where unfolding phenomena, including modern “culture wars,” globalization, and changing class dynamics, are interrogated through various scholarly lenses.

By contextualising real-world incidents within competing academic perspectives, you will explore the highly contested nature of citizenship, power, and belonging.

This approach will equip you with the critical reasoning skills necessary to synthesise complex information and evaluate the most pressing, often chaotic issues of the modern age.

Ultimately, the module empowers you to transform your bewilderment at the daily news into a sophisticated, academic appreciation of the systemic forces shaping the world around you.

Truth, Post-Truth and Ignorance

This module investigates if and how one can know the truth in a society where social media shapes the perspective of many people.

Is truth something that can be measured? Is there reality beyond the material world? Or a reality beyond the world we experience?

The module begins by reflecting on contemporary culture’s questioning of knowledge in social media, film/TV and politics.

You will investigate the implicit epistemologies at work in these areas in order to understand how popular views of knowledge support particular ethical and political views.

This module aims to give you an understanding of key epistemologies with an emphasis on social epistemology and its ability to explain the world today. 

Structures and Systems of Inequality

The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of core sociological concepts, theories and debates around social divisions, identity and inequalities.

It will help you develop critical thinking through linking theoretical and empirical work and demonstrating how sociology can inform and address the existence of inequalities. 

Drawing on classic sociological theory, the module focuses on the relationships between social class, race, gender and inequality.

Beginning with a detailed analysis of the various definitions of social stratification and inequality, we will look at their impact, both on the life chances of individuals and the wider consequences for society as a whole.

The perspectives on inequality of foundational theorists in social structure, class, race and gender will be examined, and their relevance to contemporary society considered. Consequently, you will not only obtain an understanding of inequality, but also achieve an insight of the extent to which this inequality is constitutive of the structure of society itself.  

Being Human

This module invites you to engage in a profound inquiry into the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

By positioning humanity at the intersection of nature, culture, and individual agency, you will explore our unique place as a species and the intricate ways our inner emotional landscapes are forged within the broader social and historical world.

Drawing upon a rich synthesis of sociology, philosophy, psychology, and biosemiotics, students will navigate a diverse intellectual terrain. Moving from foundational explorations of humans as symbolic, meaning-making creatures to critical investigations into the complex dynamics of emotion as they manifest in contemporary life—including the structures of the workplace, the nuances of intimate relationships, the performance of gender roles, and the heat of political discourse.

You will be challenged to look beyond biological or social determinism to consider the “human condition” as a contested and evolving concept.

By engaging with these high-level abstract frameworks, you will cultivate a sophisticated, reflexive understanding of themselves and others.

This approach fosters a deep appreciation for diverse disciplinary perspectives, empowering you to synthesise competing ideas and apply them to the lived experience of being human in a complex, globalised society.

Social Interaction and The Self

This module introduces you to foundational sociological thinking regarding self, identity and society.

You will investigate the sociological construction of the individual. Shifting focus from abstract structures to the lived experience of everyday life, you will examine the “biographical” nature of our lives, analysing how personal identity is not an isolated phenomenon but a product of continuous social interaction and socialisation.

By exploring key perspectives on the “looking-glass self” and dramaturgical performances, the curriculum decodes the unwritten rules governing face-to-face encounters and the sophisticated ways in which individuals manage their identities across diverse social stages. 

Through a critical application of theory to substantive everyday contexts, you will develop the conceptual proficiency required to analyse how you have been shaped by, and in turn shape, the social worlds you inhabit.

This will equip you with the analytical tools to transform your understanding of the “ordinary” into a sophisticated critique of contemporary social reality. 

Intersectionality and Inequality

This module explores the complex relationship between personal identity and systemic inequality, providing a foundational understanding of sociological concepts through the analytical lens of intersectionality.

You will examine how social divisions such as sex, gender, race, and class are constructed and maintained, moving beyond biological determinism to explore the power of socialisation.

Using contemporary Britain as a primary case study, the curriculum investigates diversity in national and global contexts, tackling urgent issues including migration, Islamophobia, and various forms of resistance against patriarchy.

Ultimately, the module demonstrates how sociological theory can actively inform and address the existence of inequalities in modern society.  

Thinking the Environment

The module will familiarise you with key approaches to thinking about the environment. Covering topics that may include climate change, ecology, the controversies surrounding the term ‘the Anthropocene’ and cultural representations of these themes will enable you to discuss the intersecting political, ethical and social dimensions of environmental issues.

Analysing Social Problems

This module offers an interdisciplinary exploration into how we define and respond to the most pressing challenges of the modern world.

Moving beyond a single disciplinary lens, you will interrogate the “human condition” by examining how psychological, cultural, and political forces shape their own values and moral judgments.

By analysing the inherent tensions between personal ethics and societal expectations, the course fosters a deep understanding of social justice, human rights, and the philosophical foundations of empowerment and equity. 

This module bridges the gap between theoretical critique and active citizenship, allowing you to navigate contemporary social movements and global crises such as systemic poverty and civil unrest.

Through a synthesis of diverse intellectual perspectives, you will develop the analytical agility to apply critical reasoning to real-world problems.

Ultimately, the module empowers you to transform abstract inquiry into actionable insights, identifying ethical and policy-driven solutions for an increasingly complex global landscape. 

Researching Societies

The aim of this module is to promote individual understanding of methodological issues within sociology; increase awareness of ‘research mindedness’, qualitative, quantitative and mixed research methods; enable the use of skills such as communication, observation, evaluation, planning, recording and collecting information and offer opportunities to analyse, interpret and synthesise literature.  

The suitability of different methods for different research problems and questions will be debated; covering aspects of research concerning truth, fact and objectivity in research, and the ethical issues involved in engaging in research.

The module also aims to introduce you to the debates and methods involved in social science research and the associated issues that arise from this.

In addition, it aims to promote your confidence in yourselves as researchers, and to equip you to embark on your dissertation. 

The module introduces you to a range of sociological methodologies and research methods which will equip you to carry out and design a small-scale research project in an area of sociology in the following year. 

You will participate in a series of activities involving research techniques, where you will need to reflect on your experience. The “qualitative versus quantitative” debate will be examined. Ethical issues in sociological research will be examined and innovative methods for research and how to research social media will be explored. 

Culture, Media and Society

This module investigates the hidden architectures of meaning and their profound influence on the structures of modern life.

You will move beyond surface-level consumption to explore the universal narrative frameworks and functional archetypes that provide a “grammar” for storytelling across literature, film, and digital platforms.

The curriculum examines the transition from stable systems of logic to more fluid, open-ended interpretations, investigating how cultural myths are embedded within signs and how the traditional “authority” of a text is often superseded by the active interpretation of the reader.

This offers a crucial lens through which to view the construction of “truth” and how institutional language regulates social norms and defines the boundaries of public discourse. 

In this module, you will dissect the moral and political dimensions of the relationship between cultural producers and their audiences.

Rather than viewing the public as a passive collective, the course explores the dynamic cycle of communication where messages are encoded with specific ideological values and subsequently decoded by individuals.

This analysis highlights how a person’s unique social, ethical, and situational background allows them to accept, negotiate, or entirely subvert intended meanings.

By applying these frameworks to a diverse range of texts, from classical books to contemporary media, the module challenges assumptions about representation and power, empowering you to critique how information shapes personal identity and the broader collective landscape. 

Sex, Sexualities and Gender

Building upon foundational theories of identity, this module takes a sophisticated, sociologically informed approach to the study of sexuality in contemporary societies.

It interrogates the social, historical, and political construction of sexual identities, exploring how these are shaped by competing scientific, psychological, and socio-cultural perspectives.

The curriculum emphasises advanced intersectional analysis, considering sexuality in relation to class, ethnicity, disability, and gender to understand the full character of diverse sexual cultures.

By examining struggles for sexual rights and justice, you will evaluate how sexual norms are constructed and contested, fostering a critical engagement with the significance of diversity in contemporary social life.

The Politics and Culture of Technology

This module investigates the technological transformations of society with an emphasis on the way that digital technologies are transforming local, national and international politics, ethics and culture.

You will learn how culture has shaped technologies and examine ways that technologies are changing the way we live.

You will consider the broader political, ethical and social implications of these changes, which may include topics such as the role of algorithms in our daily lives, the environmental impact of AI and/or predictions about the transformative power of emerging technologies.

Work Placement

The aim of this module is for you to undertake a work placement to apply your academic learning in a related employment setting and for you to gain experience that will be useful in pursuing your career or profession.

Emphasis will be placed upon the development of vocational and employability skills, knowledge of self-reflexive work, an ability to use subject knowledge beyond the classroom and the development of skills for lifelong learning. 

Dissertation

The dissertation is an 8,000-word research project on a topic agreed with a supervisor and carried out with their support.

This project is the culmination of the degree and should reflect your particular interest in a question or issue related to politics, philosophy, ethics, sociology and/or the wider liberal arts tradition.

Topics may be things you have touched on in earlier modules and want to explore in greater depth, new applications of approaches you have learned over the course of your degree, aspects of your own lived experience or projects related to future career goals.  

Religion in a Secular Europe

This module investigates the history of the concept of religion, its role in politics and its depiction in culture.

You will reflect on the co-emergence of ‘religion’ and ‘the secular’ as key to understanding contemporary ideas about belief, belonging and identity.

During this module, you will assess the role of religion and the secular in constructing a concept of Europe and its others.

Drawing on philosophy, sociology, anthropology and political theory will allow you to develop a more holistic understanding of the role of religions in the contemporary world, with an emphasis on Europe but an openness to global events and issues.

Music, TV and Film

This module offers an expansive exploration of the symbiotic relationship between creative media and the shifting tides of the global social landscape.

Drawing upon the rich traditions of sociology, cultural history, and media studies, you are encouraged to interrogate how music, film, and television act as both mirrors and catalysts for social change.

The curriculum explores foundational questions about subculture and identity, including the elusive quest for “authenticity”, alongside the philosophical challenges of hyperreality and the postmodern spectacle.

By examining the evolution of media technologies alongside the development of celebrity culture, the course provides a robust framework for understanding how artistic expression navigates the tension between the global and the local.

The module further engages with the ideological discourses that define our contemporary era, covering indicative themes such as the mediatisation of gender, the dynamics of race and class, and the hidden voices within the creative industries.

As we navigate an age increasingly shaped by algorithmic influence, digital platforms, and the blurring of boundaries between elite and mass culture, you may examine vital questions regarding power, representation, and the ethics of consumerism.

Through a combination of theoretical study and cultural analysis, the course aims to equip you with the critical faculties necessary to undertake a sophisticated examination of the ideological narratives and social shifts present in modern media forms.

Futures: Risk, Anxiety and Hope

This module investigates different conceptions of the future, particularly those that worry about impending disasters and those that imagine radically new futures. What role does the future play in our conception of the world today? What might the future look like?

We will ask how the future has been conceptualised in philosophy, politics and sociology and some of the ways it has been depicted in literature, film and other media.

Topics covered may include theories of utopianism, apocalypticism, doomsday prepping, the ‘risk society’ and the ways these approaches to the future shape and are shaped by popular culture.

Aggression, Violence and Abuse

This module provides a rigorous investigation into the phenomena of aggression, violence, and abuse, prioritising the analysis of real-life cases to understand how harm is identified and contested in the modern world.

By examining high-profile legal proceedings and contemporary incidents, you will explore the profound impact of social movements in moving these interpersonal and systemic harms from the private sphere into the public and legal spotlight.

You will scrutinise the “wilful blindness” that can permeate institutional responses to abuse, exploring the complex tension where the state must balance its roles as both a protector of the vulnerable and a potential perpetrator of structural violence.

Through this case-led approach, you will evaluate how individual life chances are dictated by the interplay of legislative frameworks and the sociological power dynamics that fuel aggressive behaviour. 

A central theme of the module is the critical intersection of legal justice and social justice as it pertains to diverse manifestations of harm.

Rather than viewing these issues in isolation, the syllabus examines how public perceptions of fairness often clash with statutory reality across a variety of social contexts and interpersonal relationships.

The module places a heavy emphasis on media representation, investigating how the framing of violence in news, digital platforms, and popular culture shapes public attitudes and drives policy shifts regarding abusive conduct.

By deconstructing the way the media narrates real-life cases, you will gain the analytical tools to debate whether the current legal system provides genuine accountability for aggression or if social justice remains an aspirational goal distinct from the rulings of the court.  

Britain and Europe: Brexit – Before, During and After

This module explores the history and contemporary politics of Britain’s relationship with continental Europe.

You will chart in place the reasons for European integration and the expansion of the ‘European Union’ from the 1950s to the present day.

The module also investigates the rise of populist politics and the idea of Euroscepticism. In doing so, it highlights the processes associated with the ongoing ‘Brexit’ arrangements, as well as the internal contemporary shaping of the EU itself.