Module SOC2009 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
SOC2009: Deviance: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The central aims of the module are to enable you to develop an understanding of and to critically explore the cultural dimensions and significance of deviance; to use theoretical concepts and modes of reasoning from a range of different disciplinary perspectives to do so; to reflect critically on and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different disciplinary perspectives. The module seeks to go beyond orthodox social science accounts of deviance which cast deviance as reducible to ‘hard’ social-structural variables on the one hand, and individual-centred ‘psychological’ factors on the other.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the current state of cultural criminological, cultural sociological and social and cultural anthropological debates related to deviance 2. Show a developing understanding of specific issues related to the understanding of deviance such as performativity, punishment, subcultures, embodiment based on criminological, sociological and anthropological literature. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. link theoretical concepts with empirical examples and case studies; 4. Show competence in assessing claims about deviance using sociological and cultural theory |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Understand and communicate theoretical ideas clearly both orally and in writing; 6. work independently and in groups, within a limited time frame, to complete self-directed and group-based tasks |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
The module’s precise content is liable to annual variation. Nonetheless the module will cover some or all of the following themes:
- Classical social and cultural theoretical perspectives on deviance
- Subcultural studies in America
- Subcultural and Post subcultural studies in Britain
- Constructing deviants – exploring cultural representations and structures mobilized in the construction of deviant individuals, groups and behaviours
- Embodiment – sexuality, gender, disability
- Identity politics and the politics of deviance – deviance, inclusion and exclusion (normativity, boundary marking and making)
- Punishment – historical account exploring normative and moral constructions, understandings and responses to deviance
- Control and resistance – critical exploration of Foucault and ‘weak’ cultural approaches to deviance and normativity
- Performativity, ritual and deviance – collective and ritualistic expressions of and responses to deviance
- Risk and anomie – normative precariousness and social disorder in late modernity
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 126 | 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 | 11 | 11 x Weekly one-hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and teaching Activity | 11 | 11 x Weekly one-hour seminars |
| Scheduled Learning and teaching Activity | 2 | 1 x 2 hour Lecture Exam revision session |
| Guided independent study | 36 | Readings for seminars and tutorials |
| Guided independent study | 10 | Preparation for seminar presentation |
| Guided independent study | 20 | Researching and writing the essay |
| Guided independent study | 60 | Readings and revisions for exams |
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 assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Seminar Presentation | 10 minutes | 1,3,4,5,6 | Oral |
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.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 50 | 1,750 words | 1-5 | Written |
| Examination | 50 | 2 hours | 1-6 | Written 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 assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 1-5 | August/September reassessment period |
| Examination | Examination | 1-6 | August/September reassessment period |
