Module SOC3033 for 2016/7
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
SOC3033: Addiction
This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following themes:
Outline of topics to be covered
- Introduction to addiction
- Biological and psychological models of addiction
- Social constructionist approaches and addiction as ‘myth’
- The social science of drug use I: Cannabis
- The social science of drug use II: Opiates/heroin
- Alcohol abuse
- Smoking
- Lifestyle addictions (e.g. sex, gambling, internet use, food, exercise)
- Treatment and counselling
- Addiction policy: Harm reduction
- Addiction policy: Legalization
Example seminar debates
- Definitions: Is sex addiction really an ‘addiction’?
- Models: Is addiction a matter of ‘choice’ or ‘heredity’?
- What are the problems of researching drug cultures?
- Treatment: Should addicts be given free needles or replacement substances (methadone)?
Policy: Would legalization of illegal drugs cut crime rates?
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning activity | 11 | 11 x 1 hour lectures delivering the academic framework of the course |
| Scheduled learning activity | 11 | 11 x 1 hour seminars including group work and class discussion of key topics and debates from the lectures |
| Guided independent study | 40 | 20 course readings (2 hours each) |
| Guided independent study | 40 | Reading/research for essay |
| Guided independent study | 8 | Critique preparation |
| Guided independent study | 40 | Reading/revisions for examination |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Journals: Addiction, Addictive Behaviours, Journal of Addiction Medicine (JAMA), Sociology
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short book/paper review | 1,000 words | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Written |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 50 | 1 hour | 1-4, 6 | Verbal feedback |
| Essay | 50 | 2,500 words | 1-4, 6 | Written feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | Examination (1 hour) | 1-4, 6 | August/September |
| Essay | Essay (2,500 words) | 1-4, 6 | August/September |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Bancroft, A. (2009) Drugs, Intoxication and Society, Malden MA, Cambridge: Policy Press.
Faupel, Charles E., Horowitz, Alan M., and Greg S. Weaver. (2004) The Sociology of American Drug Use. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Goldberg, R. ed. (2011) Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Drugs and Society (2011) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 11th edition.
Hammersley, R. and Reid, M. (2002) Why the pervasive addiction myth is still believed, Addiction Research and Theory, 10 (1): 7-30.
Hammersely, R. Drugs and Crime, Theories and Practices (Crime and Society series). (2008) Malden MA, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hussein Rassool, G.(2011) Understanding Addiction Behaviours: Theoretical and Clinical Practice in Health and Social Care, Palgrave Macmillan.
Klein, R (1993) Cigarettes are Sublime. Duke University Press.
McKeganey, N. (2011) Controversies in Drug Policy and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan.
West, R. (2006) Theory of Addiction, Addiction Press/Blackwell Publishing.
