Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC1048: Social Analysis I

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 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 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 ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
271230

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity2211 x 2 hours weekly lectures.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity55 x fortnightly 1 hour tutorials.
Guided Independent study33Course readings
Guided Independent study45Preparation for essays, library, research
Guided Independent study45Exam revisions

Online Resources

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

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 assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
In-class presentationEvery two weeks1-3, 4-5, 7-8Verbal feedback

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.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
50500

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay501,500 words1-8Written feedback
Examination501 hour1-9Exam mark + comments on request

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 assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
EssayEssay (1,500 words)1-8August/September reassessment period
ExaminationExamination (1 hour)1-9August/September reassessment period