Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC2110: Consumption and Society

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

Module Aims

This module will provide you with an understanding of a distinctive characteristic of developed capitalist societies, namely the central role that consumption plays in the reproduction of social class and the construction of individual identities. The module will enable you to analyse and interpret the ways that consumption itself and the discourse of consumerism pervade all aspects of contemporary social life.

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 competence in working with diverse theoretical and empirical approaches to consumerism; 2. Demonstrate knowledge of some of the recent developments in the world consumption from a sociological and/or social anthropological perspective; 3. Demonstrate a foundational understanding of how subjectivities are constructed through and performed in consumption;
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. Demonstrate an analytical understanding of Sociology and/or Anthropology, taking into account different sociological and anthropological perspectives, some modes of social analysis and some of their concomitant theoretical and conceptual frameworks; 5. Demonstrate a foundational ability to conceptualise social, cultural, psychological and personal issues in a specifically sociological and/or anthropological manner;
Personal and Key Skills	6. Develop and deploy argument, grounded in theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence; 7. Identify problems of reliability and bias in empirical evidence; 8. Demonstrate a capacity to focus on and comprehend complex texts, and identify problems of reliability in empirical evidence 9. Participate in oral discussions with growing confidence and competence; 10. Undertake independent research and capacity to work to deadlines;

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
Discussion of compulsory readings in seminars	Throughout term (5 minutes)	1-10	Oral commentary on discussion in seminars

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	2,500 words	1-8, 10	Written feedback
Examination	50	1 hour	1-8, 10	Written 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 assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay (2,500 words)	1-8, 10	August/September reassessment period
Examination	Examination (1 hour)	1-8, 10	August/September reassessment period