Studying at York
Cultivating a Sociological Imagination - SOC00007C
- Department: Sociology
- Module co-ordinator: Dr. Rachael Burns
- Credit value: 10 credits
- Credit level: C
- Academic year of delivery: 2021-22
- See module specification for other years: 2022-23
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2021-22 |
| B | Spring Term 2021-22 |
Module aims
This course does three things.
First, it serves as an introductory course to substantive sociological topics and social divisions that are experienced in everyday settings: ageing and the life-course; class and stratification; culture; diversity; gender and sexualities; health, illness and the body; politics; race and ethnicity; and so on.
Second, it has been designed to introduce students to the research interests of staff working in the department. By doing this, you ll get a sense of what our staff interested in, how their work relates to the big topics of social research and the potential themes of courses developed for later in the degree programme. This will help you to select your second and third year modules.
Third, it should help you to cultivate a sociological imagination from the start of your studies, and get you thinking creatively about the topics mentioned above. As an example, in your week of lectures on gender, as well looking at significant theories about gender, we get you to read a research paper which helps us to think about body hair as constitutive of gendered identity or norms, in an everyday and embodied way. Or, in the week of lectures on social class, we look at research that uses stand-up comedy as a prism through which contemporary class distinctions are articulated. Thus we can locate our everyday experiences within much wider debates and cultural processes.
Module learning outcomes
- To cultivate a sociological imagination
- To inculcate good academic practices at the outset of your sociological studies
- To introduce basic concepts and empirical studies relating to selected substantive issues in contemporary sociology, especially those relating to the analysis of social divisions.
Indicative assessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting Student Assessment Essay |
N/A | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting Student Assessment Essay |
N/A | 100 |
Module feedback
Feedback is in written form.
Indicative reading
There are no set texts, and all essential reading is provided via the vle. However, some books which speak to the themes of the course are:
Back, L. (2007) Art of Listening Oxford: Berg
Mills, C. W. (1959). The sociological imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (We will provide links to the most relevant chapter - but if you want to buy your own copy, any edition will do)
Payne, G. (ed) (2006), Social Divisions (2nd Edn) Basingstoke: Palgrave