Sociology

Course summary

Sociology is the study of human social activity, relationships, and social structures. It prepares you for a lifetime of change by developing one's appreciation of diversity, love of learning, writing and study skills, and knowledge base about human behavior, social organization, culture, and social change. Sociology helps us look more objectively at our society and other societies. It directs attention to how the parts of society fit together and change, and the consequences of that social change. We are faced with ever-increasingly complex and rapidly changing social conditions in modern industrial societies. Though everyday life may seem chaotic and random, behind the buzz of activity it is possible to make out shapes and patterns of behavior. Sociology is the study of people in society and taking on this course will provide you with an awareness of the society you exist within today. Modules include: - Education: differential educational achievement in relation to social class, gender, and ethnicity, the role of education, and the impact of government policies on the education system. - Families and households: changing family patterns, childhood, demographic trends, changes in gender roles and the impact of government policies on family life. - The Media: media representations of social class, ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality, and disability, the extent to which the media shapes our views and behavior, the impact of globalization on the media, and the process of selecting and presenting media content. - Crime and Deviance: the social distribution of crime and deviance, social order, social control, punishment, racism in the legal system, globalization and crime, green crime, state crime, and the role of the media in reporting and causing crime. - Research Methods: looking at the different ways sociologists investigate human behavior, such as questionnaires, interviews, statistics, observations, and experiments. - Sociological theory: debates about how society works and who it benefits, if Sociology can be classed as a science, and the relationship between Sociology and social policy.