Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC1019: Contemporary Society: Themes and Perspectives

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

At a general level, the module aims to inspire a genuine engagement with topical research and scholarship by introducing students to sociological ways of seeing and explaining the modern world, its phenomena and dynamics. In doing so, it aims to instil professional values and ethical standards by helping students develop a critical understanding of various theoretical and/or methodological approaches to sociology and encouraging them to apply these in their observation, analysis and interpretation of contemporary society.

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 the subject matter of sociology, together with an analytical understanding of the subject, which takes into account different sociological perspectives; 2. demonstrate competence in describing and applying a variety of methods of social investigation, including ethnographic and survey methods, questionnaire and interview design;
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. relate a body of knowledge to a specific context within the field of sociology; 4. think clearly and argue logically about contemporary societies; 5. express sociological ideas both in writing and verbally;
Personal and Key Skills	6. undertake independent study; 7. select appropriately from a range of suggested material and present key arguments clearly; and 8. demonstrate the capacity to reflect on the perspectives and life situations of social minorities and to question taken for granted majority views.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:

Political Economy
Cultural Change
Political Transformation
Globalisation
Nation-states
Class
Gender and Ethnicity
Media

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
28	122	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	20	2 hour lectures x 10 weeks
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	1	One hour introductory lecture to the module
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	2	Two hour revision session
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	5	Fortnightly 1 hour tutorials
Guided Independent study	30	5 tutorials x 2 readings x 3 hours/reading
Guided Independent study	12	Preparing for the lectures and tutorials
Guided Independent study	40	Reading/research/writing the essay
Guided Independent study	40	Exam preparation

Online Resources

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