Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC3108: Sociology of Family and Gender

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

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
Presentations in pairs10 minutes each1-8Verbal, written

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 words1-6,8,9Written Feedback
Examination501 hour1-6,8,10Written 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
EssayEssay1-6,8,9August/September re-assessment period
ExaminationExamination1-6, 8, 10August/September re-assessment period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Basic reading:

Esping-Andersen, G. (2009). The Incomplete Revolution: Adapting to Women’s New Roles. Cambridge: Polity.

Esping-Andersen, G. and Billari, F. C. (2015). Re-theorizing family demographics. Population and Development Review, 41(1): 1-31.

McDonald, P. (2013). Societal foundations for explaining low fertility: Gender equity. Demographic Research, 28(34): 981-994.

Hochschild, A. R. (1989). The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home. London: Piatkus.

Hochschild, A. R. (2000). Global Care Chains and Emotional Surplus Value, in Giddens, T. and Hutton, W. (Eds.). On the Edge: Globalization and the New Millennium, London: Sage Publishers, pp. 130-146.

Gornick, J. C. and Meyers, M. K. (Eds.) (2009). Gender Equality, Transforming Family Division of Labour. London: Verso.

Ellingsaeter, A L. (2010). Feminist politics and feminist conflicts: Daddy’s care or mother’s milk? In Scott, J., Crompton, R. and Lyonette, C. (Eds.) Gender Inequalities in the 21st Century: New Barriers and Continuing Constraints. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

De Laat, J. and Sevilla-Sanz, A. (2011). The fertility and women's labor force participation puzzle in OECD countries: The role of men's home production. Feminist Economics, 17(2): 87-119.

Hobson, B. and Olah, L. S. (2006). Birthstrikes? Agency and capabilities in the reconciliation of employment and family. Marriage & Family Review, 39: 197-227.

Kravdal, O. and Rindfuss, R. R. (2008). Changing relationships between education and fertility: A study of women and men born 1940 to 1964. American Sociological Review, 73: 854-873.

Torr, B. M. and Short, S. E. (2004). Second births and the second shift: A research note on gender equity and fertility. Population and Development Review, 30(1): 109-130.

Oppenheimer, V. K. (2003). Cohabiting and marriage during young men’s career-development process. Demography, 40(1): 127-149.

Kalmijn, M. (2011). The influence of men’s income and employment on marriage and cohabitation: Testing Oppenheimer’s theory in Europe. European Journal of Population, 27: 269-293.

Lewis, J., Knijn, T., Martin, C. and Ostner, I. (2008). Patterns of development in work/family reconciliation
policies for parents in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK in the 2000s. Social Politics, 15(3): 261-286. 

Blossfeld, H. –P. Müller, R. (2002). Union disruption in comparative perspective: the role of assortative partner choice and careers of couples. International Journal of Sociology, 32(4): 3-35.

Härkönen, J. and Dronkers, J. (2006). Stability and change in the educational gradient of divorce: A comparison of seventeen countries. European Sociological Review, 22(5): 501–517.