Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC2039: Sociology of Family and Gender

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to provide you with a better understanding of the interplay between family patterns, welfare policy and gender norms and to enable you to address related policy questions, e.g.: Why do women in some countries are more likely to drop out of the labour market after having children than in others? How come that European countries with higher female employment rates also demonstrate higher fertility levels? Do more egalitarian couples have higher union stability?

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate knowledge of current issues and debates in the sociology of gender and family. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of empirical studies in the field. 3. Assess the role of welfare policy in accounting for cross-country variations in family and work practices.
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts pertaining to the sociology of the family. 5. Demonstrate an understanding of theories and arguments in the field; 6. Understanding of relevant research methods employed in family and gender studies.
Personal and Key Skills	7. Engage in group work to prepare presentations for class discussion; 8. analyze existing literature in the field; 9. demonstrate written analytical skills by producing an essay on deadline; and 10. work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task.

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:

Families in the 21^st century: An overview of recent trends in post-industrialized societies
Theories of gender in the context of the family institution
Social and political aspects of reproductive behaviour
Women’s education and fertility: A dynamic relationship
Family policy and the opportunity costs of children
‘Doing gender’ and the division of paid and unpaid labour
Who cares? Social aspects of care work
Trends in assortative mating and union formation
Union stability and the gendered division of labour
Gender perspectives of union dissolution
The relationship between gender equality and family dynamics

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 and teaching activity	22	Weekly 2 hour lectures where we go over topics and materials
Guided independent study	48	Reading and preparing for seminars (around 4-6 hours per week);
Guided independent study	80	Study tasks directed by the module leader: e.g. 25 hours for essay, 15 hours for presentation, 40 hours for the final exam

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).