Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC2030: Sociology of Art and Culture

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

Module Aims

The aims of the course are:

1 to provide students with a solid understanding of key themes in the sociology of art and culture, and to familiarise them with the central ways of thinking in this field

2 to allow students to develop their sociological skills in the context of a rigorous and analytical comprehension of artistic and cultural matters

3 to enable students to build on previously acquired sociological knowledge, taking these to an advanced level

4 to facilitate students in understanding key contemporary social and cultural processes and forms

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 Skills1. demonstrate some competence in working with diverse sociological approaches to art and culture
2. demonstrate knowledge of classical contributions to, and recent developments in, the sociology of art and culture
3. demonstrate the developing ability to understand and evaluate some of the major ways of analysing cultural forms, and to interpret specific cultural forms in light of these forms of analysis
Discipline-Specific Skills4. demonstrate an analytical understanding of key sociological concepts
5. demonstrate an ability to understand diverse expressions and manifestations of human life as cultural in nature
6. demonstrate the capacity to evaluate empirical data in light of theoretical bodies of knowledge
Personal and Key Skills7. develop and deploy argument, grounded in theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence, identifying problems of reliability and bias
8. participate in oral discussions; present and evaluate complex arguments and ideas orally; digest, select and organise material for oral presentations
9. focus on and comprehend complex texts. Undertake independent research and demonstrate ability to work to deadlines, producing accurately referenced written work
10. demonstrate the ability to work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specific task.

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
Seminar Presentation10 minutes1-4,6Verbal and class 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
Essay502,000 words1-7,9Written feedback
Exam502 hours1-7, 9-10Written feedback

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 (2,000 words)1-7, 9August/September reassessment period
ExamExam (2 hours)1-7, 9-10August/September reassessment period