Module SOC3108 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
SOC3108: 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?
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of current issues and debates in the sociology of gender and family. 2. Critically assess empirical studies in the field. 3. Evaluating of the role of welfare policy in accounting for cross-country variations in family and work practices. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Demonstrate in-depth understanding of key concepts pertaining to the sociology of the family. 5. Demonstrate a critical 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. Critically 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 21st 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 |
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22 | 128 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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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).