Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC1048: Social Analysis I

This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.

Module Aims

You will learn about the significance and fecundity of basic theoretical ideas and principles for thinking about and investigating the social world sociologically and social scientifically. In addition to attaining a basic familiarity and understanding of the core ideas in classical social theory, the module aims to demonstrate and promote further reflection on their continuing relevance both to the foundations of the social sciences and to our lives and the wider world in which we live.

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. explain and illustrate different modes of social analysis and their concomitant theoretical / conceptual frameworks; 2. exhibit awareness of the historical, social and political origins of classical social theory and modern society; 3. Think critically about social, psychological and personal issues and develop your social imagination;
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. reason and construct written arguments in a sociological manner; 5. use evidence, analysis and argument in a sociological manner; 6. read classic and contemporary textual material both in terms of historical situatedness and wider significance to the discipline;
Personal and Key Skills	7. formulate and discuss core theoretical ideas and apply them to various social issues; and 8. challenge 'common sense' assumptions about individual and social reality; 9. demonstrate the ability to 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 topics:

Introduction: Social imagination & common sense; Revolution and Enlightenment.
Marx: Dialectic, ideology, and science; Historical materialism; Alienation and exploitation.
Beyond Marx: Contemporary debates and methods to study Surveillance Capitalism.
Durkheim: The reality of social facts; The origin & development of modern society; Theory of Suicide and anomie. Contemporary methods and challenges to Durkheim’s ideas.
The social construction of reality? Constructing ourselves and others; Nature/Culture divide. Three methodological challenges to interrogate the ‘social construction of everything’ in the work of contemporary sociologists.
Reading Week.
Weber: Science, value and meaning; The spirit of capitalism and rationality; Ideal types, value-neutrality and Verstehen. Beyond the ethics of conviction and responsibility, a review of contemporary Weberian sociology and its methods.
Arendt and Foucault: Biopower; Biopolitics; Freedom and Action. Contemporary work on Biological citizenship, its methods and theoretical contributions.
Feminism: Race; Gender; Citizenship & Power. How feminism and the notion of care are shaping current sociology, its methods and conceptual repertoire.
Bodies and Embodiment: Theorising corpses, shamanism and modern science. Using our conceptual and methodological toolkit to understand our bodies and environments.

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
27	123	0

...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	11 x 2 hours weekly lectures.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	5	5 x fortnightly 1 hour tutorials.
Guided Independent study	33	Course readings
Guided Independent study	45	Preparation for essays, library, research
Guided Independent study	45	Exam revisions

Online Resources

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