Faculty of Humanities

School of Social Sciences

SOCIOLOGY COURSE UNIT GUIDE 2018-19

SOCY10401: Social Inequalities in Contemporary Britain

Semester: 1
Credits: 20
Convenor: Dr Nadim Mirshak

Contents
1. Essential Information
2. Course Content
A. Aims & Outcomes
B. Lectures & Reading List
C. Tutorial Guide
D. Assignments & Assessments
3. Feedback
4. Your Commitment
5. Referencing & Plagiarism
6. Assessment Criteria

Please read this guide and bring any questions with you to the lecture.

Note: This course guide should be read in conjunction with the Blackboard website for the
course and the Degree Handbook for your degree programme. Degree Handbooks for social
science programmes are available here:

http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/course-
information/

If your degree is based in another school, please contact your Programme Administrator for
your handbook.

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 1. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Contacts
Lecturer: Nadim Mirshak
Room: 3.038, 3rd Floor Arthur Lewis Building
Telephone: Extension 58987
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Mondays 1-2; Tuesdays 2-3
Book in advance by e-mail
Tutors: Edgar Klusener
Andrea Lizama Loyola
Denisse Sanchez
Administrator: Chantel Riley
UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building; (0161) 2753953;
[email protected]
Times and Dates
Lectures: Mondays 11-1 in Simon Building Theatre C
Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student
System. This is compulsory and on a first come, first served
basis. Please note that tutorials will start in the first week.
Reading week: Monday 29th October – Friday 2nd November 2018

Non-assessed Coursework First non-assessed essay deadline 2pm on Tuesday 23rd

Submission: October
Second non-assessed essay deadline 2pm on Tuesday 20th
November
Examination Period: 14th January – 25th January 2019
Resit Examination Period: 19th August – 3th August 2019

Assignments and Assessments

 Two non-assessed essays (1500 words) (5% penalty for non-submission)
 One two-hour unseen examination to be taken at the end of the course worth
100% of the total mark.

Review the following pages for full details of the assignments and assessments required on
this course.

Communication
Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be
communicated in this way. It is sometimes necessary to make changes such as seminar
rooms and assessment details and such changes will be communicated by email. Failing to
check your emails will not be an acceptable excuse for non-attendance or missed deadlines

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 2. COURSE CONTENT
Course Aims
There are five aims to this course:
Get Organised
1. The course aims to introduce Use this guide to find out:
 Where and when to

KNOW HOW
students to the discipline of sociology
by highlighting the social aspects of attend classes.
everyday life in British society and the  What to read before
inequalities persisting within it. lectures and tutorials.
 Where to start your
2. To introduce students to sub- reading for
disciplines within sociology by assessments.
teaching a range of topics. This year  How your progress
the focus is on class, educational will be assessed.
inequalities and employability, race, Read on to ensure that you
ethnicity and media representation, know how to get the most
gender, sexuality, (dis)abilities and out of your degree.
ageing.

3. For students to gain an awareness of theoretical ideas and empirical research

so they have an understanding of the relationship between sociological
arguments and evidence.

4. To enhance study skills by introducing students to a body of literature that

they must read and evaluate for class discussions, exercises and essays.
They will have a sense of the complexity of social life and different
explanations of it and how to develop a reasoned argument around them.

5. To provide students with academic support for readings though the

university's short loan collection. In other words, we seek to provide easy
access to key and other readings so students have the opportunity to develop
their study skills and undertake and present scholarly work in their first year of
study at university.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the unit, students will:
 Understand what it means to consider British society from a sociological
perspective and to have a sense of the different fields within the discipline of
sociology.
 Have an understanding of the inherently social nature of everyday life and the
various inequalities persisting within it. In addition to appreciating the
processes by which social change and social stability co-exist.
 Be able to analyse and answer questions sociologically.
 Know more about a variety of theoretical perspectives in the discipline.
 Be able to engage with different ideas and novel ways of seeing things.
 Have a better understanding of recent empirical research.

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  Be aware of the use of different research methodologies and how they shape
substantive findings.
 Understand the relationship between theory and research.
 Be able to handle a greater volume of reading material than before.
 Know how to apply what they have learnt from readings to class discussions
and exercises and in essay writing.
 Appreciate the complexity of social situations and events and how they can
give rise to different explanations that must be assessed in a reasoned way
 Have used a variety of resources available to them in the university library,
faculty library facilities and those provided via the Blackboard resource
website.

General Course Readings

Required readings will be made available electronically via Blackboard. All other
readings should be available from the University Main Library. Most reading is
specific to particular topics as described in the reading list below. The following more
general textbooks are helpful and recommended:

Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology a Global Introduction, Harlow:

Pearson.

Cohen, R. and Kennedy, P. (2007) Global Sociology, London: Palgrave.

Multiple copies have been ordered by Blackwell’s Bookshop on Bridgeford street

(opposite the Arthur Lewis Building) so you should have no difficulties in acquiring
them. The three books, of course, will be useful on other courses in subsequent
years as well. There are lots of other introductory books on the market which some
of you might have used and will want to draw on again. All of these books are
available in the short loan collection of the John Rylands University Library but there
is, of course, always lots of demand on them from a large group of students.

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 Lectures and Reading List
The course is split into 5 units. The first unit introduces the course, with particular
focus on how we might think about society sociologically and how this should be
done with attention to the global especially under the current debates surrounding
“Brexit”. The second unit examines changing approaches to the concept of class in
sociology and asks whether class is still a relevant social category. This is then
followed by an examination of the impact of class in the education system in Britain,
and on employability opportunities afterwards. The third unit examines sociological
approaches to race and ethnicity and focuses on the question of racialised
representations. The fourth unit explores the ways in which gender and sexuality
have been approached within sociology. It also examines the ways in which feminist
studies have called for the need to understand the complex interrelations (or
‘intersections’) between different social categories, such as those considered in the
course. Finally, we consider (dis)-ability and ageing and the importance of analysing
them sociologically.

Unit 1 – Introductions

Lecture 1 (24th September): Sociological thinking: Introducing the study of society

Lecture 2 (1st October): Sociological thinking in a global context

Unit 2 – Class and education

Lecture 3 (8th October): Understanding class

Lecture 4 (15th October): Class and education

Unit 3 – Race, ethnicity and identity

Lecture 5 (22nd October): Understanding race and ethnicity

Lecture 6 (5th November): Race and cultural representation

Unit 4 – Gender, sexuality, ageing and intersectionality

Lecture 7 (12th November): Understanding gender and sexuality

Lecture 8 (19th November): Ageing and the life-course
Lecture 9 (26th November): Putting it together? Dis/ability and understanding social
inequalities as complex and interrelated.

Lecture 10 (3rd December): Conclusion and revision

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Lecture 1: Sociological thinking: Introducing the study of society
This lecture will provide a brief introduction to the discipline of sociology and the way
in which it locates people’s everyday lives in a structured social and cultural context.
The way in which such a perspective informs our theories of and research on
contemporary British society - and especially how it might be changing - is
considered with reference to the main topics to be covered in this course.

Required reading
Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology a Global Introduction, Harlow,
Prentice Hall, Chapter 1. [Available online through the university’s library
website].

Additional reading
Abercrombie, N., Warde, A. and Deem, R. (2000) Contemporary British Society,
Cambridge: Polity, Chapter 1.
Back, L. (2007) The Art of Listening, London: Berg, Chapter 1.
Bauman, Z. (1990) Thinking Sociologically, Oxford: Blackwell, Chapter 1.
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity, Chapter 1.
Mills, C.W. (2000 [1959]) The Sociological Imagination, Oxford: Oxford University
Press, Chapter 1.

Lecture 2: Sociological thinking in a global context

This lecture examines the concept of globalisation, its dimensions, and how it has
been approached in sociology. It will explore the extent to which British society
needs to be understood as being globalised and why we should think about
sociology from a global perspective.

Required reading
Cohen, R. and Kennedy, P. (2007) ‘Thinking Globally’ in Global Sociology, London:
Macmillan, Chapter 2.

Additional reading
Beck, U. (2000) ‘The World Horizon Opens Up: On the Sociology of Globalization’, in
What is Globalization? Cambridge: Polity Press, Chapter 1.
Bilton, T. et.al. (2002) Introductory Sociology, London: Palgrave, Chapter 3.
Bauman, Z. (1998) Globalization: The Human Consequences, Cambridge: Polity
Press, Chapter 4.
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity, Chapters 4 and 7.
Mann, M. (2013) ‘Globalisations’ in The Sources of Social Power, Vol 4:
Globalisations, 1945-2011, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology a Global Introduction, Harlow,
Prentice Hall, Chapters 2 and 15.
McGrew, A.M. (2005) ‘The logics of globalization’, in J. Ravenhill (ed.) Global
Political Economy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nederveen P. J. (2003) Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange, Oxford: Rowman
& Littlefield.
O’Byrne, D. J. and Hensby, A. (2011) Theorizing Global Studies, Basingstoke:
Palgrave.
Olesen, T. (2005) ‘World politics and social movements: the Janus face of the global
democratic structure’, Global Society, 19(2): 109-129

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Ritzer, G. (ed.) (2008) The Blackwell Companion to Globalization, Oxford: Blackwell.
Ritzer, G. (2011) Globalization: The Essentials, London: Wiley-Blackwell.
Robertson, R. (1995) ‘Globalization: Time-space and Homogeneity-Heterogeneity’,
in M. Featherstone, S. Lash and R. Robertson (eds.) Global Modernities,
London: Sage, pp. 25-45.
Sassen, S. (2007) A Sociology of Globalization, New York: W. W. Norton.
Sassen, S. (2010) ‘A Savage Sorting of Winners and Losers: Contemporary
Versions of Primitive Accumulation’, Globalizations, 7(1-2): 23-50
Steger, M.B. (2009) Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Lecture 3: Understanding Class

This lecture will look at different understandings of class and class inequalities. It will
explore the relevance of class analysis to contemporary society, considering how
sociologists have theorised class and its enduring significance.

Required reading
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) ‘Stratification and Social Class’ in Sociology,
Cambridge: Polity Press. Chapter 12.

Additional reading
Atkinson, W., Roberts, S. and Savage, M. (eds.) (2013) Class Inequality in Austerity
Britain: Power, Difference and Suffering, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Bottero, W. (2014) ‘Class in Britain’, in J. Holmwood and J. Scott (eds.) Palgrave
Handbook of Sociology in Britain, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Bottero, W. (2009) ‘Class in the 21st Century’, in K.P. Sveinsson (ed.) Who Cares
About the White Working Class?, London: Runnymede, pp.7-15.
Bukodi, E., Goldthorpe, J.H., Waller, L., and Kuha, J. (2015) ‘The mobility problem in
Britain: new findings from the analysis of birth cohort data’, British Journal of
Sociology, 66(1): 93-117.
Crompton, R. (2008) Class and Stratification, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Devine, F., Savage, M., Scott, J. and Crompton, R. (eds.) (2005) Rethinking Class:
Cultures, Identities and Lifestyles, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Dorling, D. (2014) ‘Thinking about class’, Sociology, 48(3): 452-462.
Engels, F. (2009) The Condition of the Working Class in England, London: Penguin.
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press. Chapter
12.
Heath, A. and Payne, C. (2000) ‘Social Mobility’, in A.H. Halsey and J Webb, (eds.),
Twentieth Century British Social Trends, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
Jenkins, R. (1992), Pierre Bourdieu, London: Routledge.
Jensen, T. (2016) ‘Social Class’, in M. Hawkins, K. Huppatz, and A. Matthews (eds.)
Identity and Belonging, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Jones, O. (2011) Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, London: Verso.
Lawler, S. (2005) ‘Disgusted subjects: The making of middle-class identities’,
Sociological Review, 53(3): 429-446.
Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) ‘Class, poverty and welfare’, in Sociology: A
Global Introduction Harlow: Pearson, Chapter 10.
Marx, K. and Engels, F. (2017) The Communist Manifesto, London: Pluto Press.
McDowell, L. (2011) Redundant masculinities: employment change and white
working class youth, Oxford: Blackwell.

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Reay, D (1998) ‘Rethinking social class: qualitative perspectives on class and
gender’, Sociology, 32(2).
Roberts, K. (2001) Class in Modern Britain, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Savage, M. (2015) Social Class in the 21st Century, London: Pelican.
Savage, M., Devine, F., Cunningham, N., Taylor, J., Li, Y., Hjellbrekke, J., Le Roux,
B., Friedman, S., Miles, A. (2013) ‘A new model of social class?: Findings
from the BBC’s Great British Class Survey Experiment’, Sociology, 47(2):
219-250.
Skeggs, B. and Loveday, V. (2012) ‘Struggles for value: value practices, injustice,
judgment, affect and the idea of class’, British Journal of Sociology, 63(3):
472-490.
Standing, G. (2014) The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class, London: Bloomsbury.
Standing, G. (2014) A Precariat Charter: From Denizens to Citizens, London:
Bloomsbury, Chapters 1 and 3.
Tyler, I. (2008) ‘Chav mum Chav Scum: Class disgust in contemporary Britain’,
Feminist Media Studies, 8(1): 17-34.
Tyler, I. (2013) Revolting Subjects: Social Abjection and Resistance in Neoliberal
Britain, London: Zed Books, Chapter 6.
Tyler, I. (2015) ‘Classificatory struggles: Class, culture and inequality in neoliberal
times’, Sociological Review, 63(2): 493-511.

Lecture 4: Class and Education

This lecture will look at the provision of education, particularly in Britain, as a way of
further exploring changing class relations. This lecture considers Bourdieu's concept
of cultural capital and how it has been used to explain the persistence and remaking
of class inequalities in education. Additionally, the lecture explores the links between
education, class and employability.

Required reading
Reay, D. (2004) ‘Education and Cultural Capital: The Implications of Changing
Trends in Education Policies’, Cultural Trends, 13(50): 73–86.

If you want to know more about higher education and employability, then read:
Tomlinson, M. (2008) ‘The degree is not enough’: students’ perceptions of the
role of higher education credentials for graduate work and employability’,
British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29(1): 49-61.

Additional reading
Ball, S.J., Bowe, R. and Gewirtz, S. (1997) ‘Circuits of Schooling: A Sociological
Exploration of Parental Choice of School in Social-Class Contexts’, in A. H.
Halsey et al (eds.) Education: Culture: Economy and Society, Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Benn, M. (2011) School Wars: The Battle for Britain’s Education, London: Verso.
Bourdieu, P. (1997) `The forms of capital', in A. H. Halsey et al. (eds.) Education:
Culture: Economy and Society, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Brown, P. & Scase, R. (1994) Higher Education and Corporate Realities, London:
UCL Press, Chapter 4.

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Brown, P. (1995) ‘Cultural capital and social exclusion: some observations on recent
trends in education, employment and the labour market’, Work, Employment
and Society, 9(1): 29-51.
Brown, P. et al. (2003) ‘Employability in a knowledge-driven economy’, Journal of
Education and Work, 16(2): 107-126.
Byrne, B. (2006) ‘In search of a ‘good mix’: Race class and gender in practices of
mothering’, Sociology, 40(6): 1001-1017.
Byrne, B. (2009) ‘Not just class: towards an understanding of the whiteness of
middle class schooling choice’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 32(3): 424-441
Byrne, B. and De Tona, C. (2014) ‘Multicultural desires? Parents talking about
school choice’, Sociological Review, 62(3): 475-493.
Croxford, L. (2014) ‘Social class, ethnicity and access to higher education in the four
countries of the UK: 1996-2010’, International Journal of Lifelong Education,
33(1)
Crozier, G., Reay, D., Clayton, J., Colliander, L. and Grinstead, J. (2008) ‘Different
strokes for different folks: diverse students in diverse institutions– experiences
of higher education’, Research Papers in Education 23(2): 167-177.
Davey, G. (2012) ‘Using Bourdieu’s concept of doxa to illuminate classed practices
in an English fee-paying school’, British Journal of Sociology of Education,
33(4): 507-525.
Devine, F. (2004) Class Practices, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Evans, G. (2006). Educational Failure and Working Class White Children in Britain,
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Francis, B. and Archer, L. (2005) ‘British-Chinese Pupils' and Parents' Constructions
of the Value of Education’, British Educational Research Journal, 31(1): 89-
108.
Gewirtz, S. and Cribb, A. (2012) Understanding Education: A Sociological
Perspective, Cambridge: Polity Press, Chapter 1.
Gewirtz, S. et al. (1995) Markets, Choice and Equality in Education, Buckingham:
Open University Press.
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press, Chapter
19.
Gillborn, D., Rollock, N., Vincent, C. (2012) ‘You got a pass, so what more do you
want?’: race, class and gender intersections in the educational experiences of
the Black middle class’, Race, Ethnicity and Education, 15(1): 121-139
Goldthorpe, J.H. (2007) ‘Cultural Capital’: some critical observations’ Sociologica, 2
Jenkins, R. (1992) Pierre Bourdieu, London: Routledge, Chapter 5.
Lareau, A. (1989) Home Advantage, Brighton: Falmer Press.
Lareau, A. (1987) ‘Social class differences in family-school relationships: the
importance of cultural capital’, Sociology of Education, 60(2): 73-85.
Lauder, Hugh et al. (2009) ‘Sociology of education: a critical history and prospects
for the future’, Oxford Review of Education, 35(5): 569-585.
Li, Y. and Devine, F. (2011) ‘Is social mobility really declining? Intergenerational
class mobility in Britain in the 1990s and 2000s’ Sociological Research Online,
16(3) http://www.socresonline.org.uk/16/3/4.html
Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology a Global Introduction, Harlow,
Prentice Hall, Chapter 20.
Marshall, P. (2007) Tackling educational inequality, Policy Paper Centre Forum.
Reay, D. (1991) ‘Intersections of gender, race and class in the primary school’,
British Journal of Sociology of Education, 12: 163-182.

9
Reay, D. (1998) Class Work, London: UCL Press, Chapter 6.
Reay, D. (2013) ‘“We never get a fair chance”: Working-class experiences of
education in the 21st century’, in W. Atkinson et al. (eds.) Class Inequality in
Austerity Britain: Power, Difference and Suffering, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Reay, D. (2017) Miseducation: Inequality, Education and the Working Classes,
Bristol: Policy Press.
Reay, D., Crozier, G., and James, D. (2013) White Middle-Class Identities and Urban
Schooling, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Reay, D, Hollingworth, S., Williams, K. and Crozier, G. (2007) ‘A darker shade of
pale? Whiteness, the middle classes and multi-ethnic inner city schooling’
Sociology: 41(6): 1041-1060.
Swartz, D. (1997) Culture and Power: The Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, Chicago:
Chicago University Press, Chapter 8.
Tomlinson, M. (2008) ‘The degree is not enough’: students’ perceptions of the role of
higher education credentials for graduate work and employability’, British
Journal of Sociology of Education, 29(1): 49-61.

Lecture 5: Understanding Race and Ethnicity

This lecture will examine the idea of 'race' and how it has emerged historically. We
will explore how the emergence of the concept of race coincided with political, social
and economic developments, and what it means to say that race is socially or
discursively constructed. More importantly, we will examine in more detail how
sociological approaches to race have changed over time.

Required reading
Solomos, J. (1996) Racism and Society, Basingstoke: Macmillan, Chapter 1.

Additional reading
Alexander, C. (2002) ‘Beyond black: re-thinking the colour/culture divide’, Ethnic and
Racial Studies, 25(4): 552-571.
Anthias, F. and Yuval-Davis, N. (1992) Racialised Boundaries: Race, Nation, Gender,
colour and class and the Anti-racist Struggle. London: Routledge, Chapter 1.
Back, L. and Solomos, J. (2000) ‘Introduction’ and ‘Part II’, in Theories of Race and
Racism: A Reader, London: Routledge.
Banton, M. (1967) Race Relations, London: Tavistock.
Bottero, W. (2005) Stratification: Social Division and Inequality, London: Routledge,
Chapter 6.
Bulmer, M. and Solomos, J. (1998) ‘Introduction: re-thinking ethnic and racial
studies’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 21: 819-837.
Bulmer, M. and Solomos, J. (ed.) (2014) ‘Symposium: The Empire Strikes Back’,
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 37(10): 1783-1837.
Byrne, B, (2006) White Lives, London Routledge, Chapter 2.
Brah, A., Hickman, M.J. and Mac an Ghaill, M. (eds.) (1992) Thinking Identities:
Ethnicity, Racism and Culture. London: MacMillan.
Carby, H. (1982) ‘White women listen! Black feminism and the boundaries of
sisterhood,’ in CCCS (ed.) The Empire Strikes Back. Race and Racism in 70s
Britain. London: Routledge.
Also available in Back, L. and Solomos, J. (eds.) Theories of Race and
Racism. A Reader. London: Routledge.

10
Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies (ed.) (1982) The Empire Strikes Back.
Race and racism in 70s Britain, London: Routledge.
Collins, P.H. and Solomos, J. (2010) Sage Handbook of Race and Ethnic Studies,
London: Sage.
Eddo-Lodge, R. (2018) Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race,
London: Bloomsbury.
Garner, S. (2009) Racisms: An Introduction, London: Sage.
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press, Chapter
16.
Gilroy, P. (1998). ‘Race ends here’. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 21: 838-847.
Goldberg, D.T. (1993). Racist Culture: Philosophy and the Politics of Meaning,
Oxford: Blackwell.
Goldberg, D.T. (2009) The Threat of Race: reflections on racial neoliberalism, Oxford:
Blackwell.
Hall, S. (1992) ‘New ethnicities’, in J. Donald and A. Rattansi (ed.) Race, Culture and
Difference, London: Sage, pp.252-259.
Lentin, A. (2008) Racism: A Beginner’s Guide, Oxford: Oneworld.
Mac an Ghaill, M. (1999) Contemporary Racisms and Ethnicities. Social and Cultural
Transformations, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology a Global Introduction, Harlow,
Prentice Hall, Chapter 11.
Meer, N. (2014) Key Concepts in Race and Ethnicity, London: Sage.
Meer, N. and Nayak, A. (2013) ‘Race Ends Where? Race, Racism and
Contemporary Sociology’, Sociology, 49(6): 3-20.
Miles, R., (1993) Racism after ‘Race relations’, London: Routledge.
Miles, R. and Brown, M. (2003) Racism, London: Routledge.
Mirza, H. (ed.) (1997) ‘Introduction’, in H. Mirza (ed.) Black British Feminism: A
Reader, London: Unwin Hyman.
Rattansi, A. (2007) Racism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Solomos, J. (2014) ‘Sociology of Race, Racism, and Ethnicity: Trends, Debates and
Research Agendas’, in J. Holmwood and J. Scott (eds.) Palgrave Handbook
of Sociology in Britain, Basingstoke, Palgrave.
Winant, H. (2000) ‘The theoretical status of the concept of race’ in L. Back and J.
Solomos (eds.) Theories of Race and Racism: A Reader, London: Routledge.

Lecture 6: Race and Cultural Representation

This session will examine the construction of ‘race’ in visual, literary and media
images. It will pay particular attention to the need to ‘read’ these images in their
historical contexts and will explore the possibilities for contesting visual cultures.

Required reading
Spencer, S. (2014) Race and Ethnicity: Culture, Identity and Representation, London:
Routledge, Chapter 1.

Additional reading
Burdsey, D. (2007) ‘Roll with the punches: The construction and representation of
Amir Khan as a role model for multi-ethnic Britain ‘, Sociological Review, 55(3):
611-631.

11
Butler, J. (1993) ‘Endangered/endangering: schematic racism and white paranoia’ in
R. Gooding-Williams (ed.) Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising,
New York: Routledge.
Carrington, B. (2000) ‘Double consciousness and the Black British athlete’ in K.
Owusu (ed.) Black British Culture and Society: A text reader, London:
Routledge.
Crichlow, W. (2013) Race, Identity and Representation in Education, London
Routledge.
Davies, J. and Smith, C.R. (1999) ‘Figuring white femininity: critique, investment, and
the example of Princess Diana’, in H. Brown, M. Gilkes, and A. Kaloski-Naylor
(eds.) White Women: Critical perspectives on race and gender, York: Raw
Nerve Books.
Downing, J. and Husband, C. (2005) Representing ‘Race’: Racisms, Ethnicity and
the Media, London: Sage.
Dyer, R. (1997) White, London: Routledge, Chapter 1.
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press, Chapter
18.
Gilman, S.L. (1985) Difference and Pathology: Stereotypes of Sexuality, Race and
Madness. Ithaca, NY: Cornell, University Press.
Gilroy, P. (1992) The Black Atlantic. Modernity and Double Consciousness, London:
Virgo.
Hall, S. (1997) ‘The spectacle of the Other’, in Representation, Cultural
Representation and signifying practices, Milton Keynes: Open University
Press.
Hall, S. (eds.) (1997) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying
Practices, London: Sage.
Hall, S. (2005) ‘Encoding/Decoding’ in: Durham, M.G. and Kellner, D.M. (eds.) (2005)
Media and Cultural Studies: Key Works, Oxford: John Wiley and Sons: 163-
173.
hooks, b. (1992) Black Looks: Race and Representation, Boston: South End Press.
Lewis, R. (1996) Gendering Orientalism: Race, Femininity, and Representation,
London: Routledge.
Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology a Global Introduction, Harlow,
Prentice Hall, Chapter 22.
McClintock, A. (1995) Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial
Context, New York: Routledge.
Moosavi, L. (2014) ‘Orientalism at home: Islamophobia in the representations of
Islam and Muslims by the New Labour government’ Ethnicities, 15(5): 652-
674.
Morrison, T. (1992) Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the literary imagination,
London: Harvard University Press.
Murji, K. and Solomos, J. (2005) Racialization: Studies in Theory and Practice,
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nayak, A. (2006) ‘After race: Ethnography, race and post-race theory’, Ethnic and
Racial Studies, 29(3): 411-430.
Neal, S. (1999) ‘Popularist configurations of race and gender: the case of Hugh
Grant, Liz Hurley and Divine Brown’, in A. Brah, M. Hickman, and M. Mac an
Ghaill (eds.) Thinking Identities: Ethnicity, Racism and Culture, London:
MacMillan.

12
Owusu, K. (2000) ‘Introduction: charting the genealogy of Black British cultural
studies’, in K. Owusu (ed.) Black British Culture and Society: A Text Reader,
London: Routledge.
Pieterse, J. N. (1992) White on Black: Images of Africa and Blacks in Western
Popular Culture, New Haven: Yale University Press.
Squires, C. (1997) ‘Who’s white? Television talk shows and representations of
whiteness’, in M. Fine, L. Weis, L.C. Powell, and L. Mun Wong (eds.) Off
White: Readings on Race, Power and Society, New York: Routledge.
Van Dijk, T. (1991) Racism and the Press: Critical Studies in Racism and Migration,
London: Routledge.
Wetherell, M. and Potter, J. (1992) Mapping the Language of Racism: Discourse and
the Legitimation of Exploitation, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Williams, P.J. (1997) Seeing a Colour-Blind Future. The paradox of race. The 1997
Reith Lectures, London: Virago.

Lecture 7: Understanding Gender and Sexuality

This lecture will explore how concepts of sex, gender and sexuality have been
understood, and contested. We will consider some of the key issues which have
emerged for feminism in recent years, including considerations of questions of power
and inequality.

Required reading
Charles, N. (2002) Gender in Modern Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Press,
Chapter 1.

Additional reading
Adichie, C. N. (2014) We Should All be Feminists, New York: 4th Estate.
Adichie, C. N. (2018) Dear Ijeawele A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions,
New york: 4th Estate.
Ahmed, S. et al. (eds.) (2000) ‘Introduction: thinking through feminism’, in
Transformations: Thinking Through Feminism, London: Routledge.
Beasley, C. (1999) What is feminism? London: Sage.
Beemyn, B. and Eliason, N. (eds.) (1996) Queer Studies: Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Anthology, London: New York University Press.
Butler, J. (1999) Gender trouble, London: Routledge.
De Beauvoir, S. (1997 [1949]) The Second Sex, London: Vintage.
Evans, M. (2014) ‘Feminism in Sociology, Feminism as sociology’, in J. Holmwood
and J. Scott (eds.) Palgrave Handbook of Sociology in Britain, Basingstoke:
Palgrave.
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press, Chapter
15.
Halbertam, J. J. (2012) Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender and the End of the Normal,
Beacon Press.
hooks, b. (2000) Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics, Boston: South End
Press.
Huppatz, K. (2016) ‘Gender’, in M. Hawkins, K. Huppatz and A. Matthews (eds.)
Identity and Belonging, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Jackson, S. (2006) ‘Gender, sexuality and heterosexuality: the complexity (and limits)
of heteronormativity’, Feminist Theory, 7(1): 105-121

13
Jackson, S and Scott, S. (eds.) (2002) Gender: A Sociological Reader, London:
Routledge.
Jackson, S and Scott, S, (eds.) (1996) Feminism and Sexuality: A Reader.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (esp. Part 1 ‘essentialism and social
constructionism’ and Introduction ‘sexual skirmishes and feminist factions’).
Jackson, S. and Jones, J. (eds.) (1998) Contemporary Feminist Theories, New York:
New York University Press, pp. 131-146.
Jagose, A. (1996) Queer Theory: An Introduction, New York: New York University
Press.
Kemp, S. and Squires, J. (eds.) (1997) ‘Introduction’, in Feminisms, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, pp. 1-12.
Lancaster, R. N. and Di Leonardo, M. (eds.) (1997) The Gender/Sexuality Reader:
Culture, History, Political Economy, London: Routledge.
Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology a Global Introduction, Harlow,
Prentice Hall, Chapter 12.
Rowbotham, S. (1999) A Century of Women, London: Viking.
Rowbotham, S. (1992) Women in Movement: Feminism and Social Action, London
Routledge.
Segal, S. (1990) ‘Generations of Feminism’, in Why Feminism? Oxford: Polity Press,
pp. 7-37.
Spelman, E. (1997) ‘Woman: the one and the many’, in S. Kemp and J. Squires
(eds.) Feminisms, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tong, R. (1995) [1989]) Feminist thought: A Comprehensive Introduction, London:
Routledge.
Walters, N. (2010) Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism, London: Virago Press
Wharton, A. S. (2005) The Sociology of Gender: An Introduction to Theory and
Research, Oxford: Blackwell.
Zinn, M. B., Hondagneu-Sotelo, P., and Messner, M.A. (eds.) (2005) Gender through
the Prism of Difference, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lecture 8: Ageing and the Life-course

This lecture will explore the concept of ageing from a sociological perspective. It will
examine the ways in which ageing is socially constructed, its challenges, and
understand how the life-course affects our everyday lives. The lecture will consider
the implications of ageing on the experience of inequalities in British society.

Required reading
Phillipson C. (2013) Chapter 5: The Social Construction of Ageing. In: Ageing.
Oxford: Wiley. [Available online].

Additional readings
Carney G. M. and Gray M. (2015) ‘Unmasking the “elderly mystique”: Why it is time
to make the personal political in ageing research’, Journal of Aging Studies, 35:
123–134.
Corna L. M. (2013) ‘A life course perspective on socioeconomic inequalities in health:
A critical review of conceptual frameworks’, Advances in Life Course Research,
18(2): 150–159.
Dannefer, D. (2003). Cumulative advantage/disadvantage and the life course: Cross-
fertilizing age and social science theory. The Journal of Gerontology Series B:
Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58(6): S327-S337.

14
Estes C.L. (2001) ‘Chapter 1: Political Economy of Aging: A Theoretical Framework’.
In: Social Policy & Ageing, London: Sage Publications.
Katz S. and Calasanti T. (2015) ‘Critical Perspectives on Successful Aging: Does It
“Appeal More Than It Illuminates”?’, The Gerontologist, 55(1): 26–33.
Matthews R. J., Jagger C. and Hancock R. M. (2006) ‘Does socio-economic
advantage lead to a longer, healthier old age?’, Social Science & Medicine,
62(10): 2489–2499.
Marshall V.W. and Bengtson V.L. (2011) ‘Theoretical perspectives on the sociology
of aging’. In: Settersten R. A. and Angel J. L. (eds) Handbook of Sociology of
Aging, New York, NY: Springer New York.
Phillipson C. (2005) ‘Chapter 6 The Political Economy of Old Age’. In: Johnson M. L.,
Bengtson V.L., Coleman P.G. and Kirkwood T.B.L. (eds.) The Cambridge
Handbook of Age and Ageing, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Phillipson C. and Baars J. (2007) ‘Chapter 4. Social theory and ageing’. In: Bond, J.,
Peace, S., Dittman-Kohli, F. and Westerhof, G. (eds.) Ageing in Society, London:
Sage Publications.
Power C. and Kuh D. (2006) ‘Chapter 2: Life course development of unequal health’.
In: Siegrist J and Marmot, M (eds), Social Inequalities in Health: New Evidence
and Policy Implications, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Price, D., Glaser, K., Ginn, J., & Nicholls, M. (2016). How important are state
transfers for reducing poverty rates in later life?. Ageing & Society, 36(9): 1794-
1825.
Rosenfeld, D. (2009) ‘Heteronormativity and homonormativity as practical and moral
resources: The case of lesbian and gay elders.’ Gender & Society 23(5): 617-
638.
Townsend P. (1981) ‘The structured dependency of the elderly: A creation of social
policy in the twentieth century.’ Ageing & Society 1(1): 5-28.
Willson, A. and Shuey, K. (2007). ‘Cumulative advantage processes as mechanisms
of inequality in life course health.’ American Journal of Sociology 112(6): 1886-
1924.
Victor C.R. (2005) ‘Chapter 2: Theoretical perspectives on the study of ageing’. In:
The Social Context of Ageing. Oxon: Routledge.

Lecture 9: Putting it together? Dis/ability and Understanding Social Divisions

as Complex and Interrelated
This lecture will start by examining concepts of disability and able-ism through
exploring the different ways in which society has constructed notions of able-bodied
normativity and the inequalities which have resulted from this. Moreover, we will
consider how we can develop an analysis of social relations that pays attention to
different social categories that we have been considering in this course. Drawing on
the work of Black feminists, we explore how race, class and gender (as well as
sexuality, disability, age) can produce both privilege and discrimination in ways
which are multi-layered and interconnected.

Required reading
Erevelles, N. and Minear, A. (2010). Unspeakable offenses: Untangling race and
disability in discourses of intersectionality, Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability
Studies, 4(2): 127-145.

15
Additional reading
Abberley, P. (1987) ‘The Concept of Oppression and the Development of a Social
Theory of Disability’, Disability, Handicap & Society, 2(1): 5-19.
Anthias, F. and Yuval Davis, N. (1993) Racialised Boundaries. Race, nation, gender,
colour and class and the anti-racist struggle, London, Routledge.
Barnes, C., Mercer, G., & Shakespeare, T. (2010). Exploring Disability: A
Sociological Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bastia, T. (2014) 'Intersectionality, migration and development', Progress in
Development Studies, 14(3): 237-248.
Berger, M.T. and Guidroz, K. (2009) The intersectional approach: transforming the
academy through race, class and gender, Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press.
Brah, A. (1996) Cartographies of Diaspora, Contesting Identities, London:
Routledge.
Brah, A. and Phoenix, A. (2004) ‘Ain’t I a woman? Revisiting intersectionality’,
Journal of International Women’s Studies, 5(3): 75-86.
Brown, T. N. (2003) ‘Critical Race Theory Speaks to the Sociology of Mental Health:
Mental Health Problems Produced by Racial Stratification’, Journal of Health and
Social Behaviour, 44(3): 292-301.
Byrne, B. (2015) ‘Rethinking Intersectionality and Whiteness at the Borders of
Citizenship’, Sociological Research Online, 20(3).
Carbin, M. and S. Edenheim (2013) 'The intersectional turn in feminist theory: a
dream of a common language?, European Journal of Women's Studies, 20(3):
233-248.
Carby, H. V. (1992) 'White women listen! Black feminism and the boundaries of
sisterhood', in CCCS (ED.)The Empire Strikes Back. Race and racism in 70s
Britain, London, Routledge: 212-235.
Çevik, K. (2016, 15/10). Oh To Be Young, Black, and Autistic: The Ignored Murder of
Charnice Milton, Intersected. Retrieved from
http://intersecteddisability.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/oh-to-be-young-black-and-
autistic.html.
Chapman, C., Carey, A. C., & Ben-Moshe, L. (2014) ‘Reconsidering confinement:
interlocking locations and logics of incarceration’ In: L. Ben-Moshe, Y. Chapman
& A. C. Carey (eds.), Disability incarcerated: Imprisonment and disability in the
United States and Canada (pp. 3-24), Palgrave Macmillan.
Childers, M. and hooks, b. (1990) 'A conversation about race and class', in M.Hirsh
and E. Keller (eds.) Conflicts in Feminism, London: Routledge.
Cho, S., Crenshaw, K. W. and McCall, L. (2013) 'Intersectionality: Theorising Power,
Empowering Theory', Signs: a journal of women in culture and society 38(4):
785-810.
Collective, C. R. (1983) 'A Black Feminist Statement', in B. Smith (ed.) Home Girls: A
Black Feminist Anthology, New York, Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press:
pp. 210-218.
Crenshaw, K. (1989) 'Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black
Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and
Antiracist Poltics', University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140: 139-167.
Davis, L. J. (1995) Enforcing normalcy: Disability, deafness, and the body, London:
Verso.

16
Davis, K. (2008) 'Intersectionality as buzzword. A sociology of science perspective
on what makes a feminist theory successful', Feminist Theory, 9(1): 67-85.
Dowse, L., Frohmader, C., & Didi, A. (2016) ‘Violence Against Disabled Women in
the Global South: Working Locally, Acting Globally’ In: S. Grech & K. Soldatic
(eds.), Disability in the Global South: The Critical Handbook, Cham: Springer
International Publishing, pp. 323-336.
Erel, U., J. Haritaworn, E. Gutiérrez Rodríguez and Klesse, C. (2010) 'On the
Depoliticisation of Intersectionality Talk: Conceptualising Multiple Oppressions
in Critical Sexuality studies', in Y. Taylor, S. Hines and M. E. Casey (eds.)
Theorising Intersectionality and Sexuality, London: Palgrave, pp. 271-298.
Foucault, M. (2013 [1962]) History of Madness, London: Routledge.
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2017) Sociology, Cambridge Polity Press, Chapter 11.
Goodley, D. (2011) Disability studies: An interdisciplinary introduction, London: Sage.
Goodley, D. (2014) Dis/ability studies: Theorising Disablism and Ableism, London:
Routledge.
Grech, S. (2015) ‘Decolonising Eurocentric disability studies: why colonialism
matters in the disability and Global South debate’, Social Identities, 21(1): 6-
21.
Harding, S. (1986) 'The instability of the analytical categories of feminist theory',
Signs 11(4): 645-664.
Karlsen, S., & Nazroo, J. Y. (2002) ‘Relation between Racial Discrimination, Social
Class, and Health Among Ethnic Minority Groups’, American Journal of Public
Health, 92(4): 624-631.
Lennard, D. J. (2013) The Disability Studies Reader, London: Routledge.
Leonardo, Z., and Broderick, A. (2011) ‘Smartness as property: A critical exploration
of intersections between whiteness and disability studies’, Teachers College
Record, 113(10): 2206-2232.
Lewis, G. (2013) 'Unsafe travel: experiencing intersectionality and feminist
displacements', Signs: a journal of women in culture and society, 38(4): 862-
892.
Liddiard, K. (2014) ‘I never felt like she was just doing it for the money’: Disabled
men’s intimate (gendered) realities of purchasing sexual pleasure and intimacy’,
Sexualities, 17(7): 837-855.
Lorde, A. (1984) Sister Outsider, Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press.
Macionis, J. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology a Global Introduction, Harlow,
Prentice Hall, Chapter 14.
Mani, L. (1990) 'Multiple mediations: feminist scholarship in the age of multinational
reception', Feminist Review, 35: 24-41.
McCall, L. (2005) 'The Complexity of Intersectionality', Signs 30(3): 1771-1800.
Meekosha, H. (2011) ‘Decolonising disability: thinking and acting globally’, Disability
& Society, 26(6).
Mohanty, C. T. (1988) 'Under Western eyes: feminist scholarship and colonial
discourses', Feminist Review (Autumn).
Nash, J. C. (2008) 'Re-thinking intersectionality', Feminist Review, 89(1): 1-15.
Obasogie, O. K. (2010) ‘Do blind people see race? Social, legal, and theoretical
considerations’, Law and Society Review, 44(3-4): 585-616.

17
Paterson, K. (2001) ‘Disability Studies and Phenomenology: the carnal politics of
everyday life’, Disability and Society, 14(5): 597- 610.
Puar, J. (2012) 'I would rather be a cyborg than a goddess': Becoming-Intersectional
in Assemblage Theory', PhiloSOPHIA: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, 2(1):
49-66.
Reagon, B. J. (1983) 'Coalition politics: turning the century', in B. Smith (ed.) Home
Girls. A Black Feminist Anthology, New York, Kitchen Table: Women of Color
Press: pp. 356-369.
Schneider, M., Mokomane, Z., and Graham, L. (2016) ‘Social Protection, Chronic
Poverty and Disability: Applying an Intersectionality Perspective’ In: S. Grech & K.
Soldatic (eds.) Disability in the Global South: The Critical Handbook, Cham:
Springer International Publishing, pp. 365-376.
Shakespeare, T. (2013). Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited, London: Routledge.
Smith, V. (2013) Not just race, not just gender: Black feminist readings, London:
Routledge.
Thomas, C. (2007). Sociologies of Disability and Illness: Contested Ideas in
Disability Studies and Medical Sociology, Palgrave Macmillan.
Walby, S., Armstrong, J. and Strid, S. (2012) 'Intersectionality: Multiple Inequalities in
Social Theory', Sociology, 46(2): 224-240.
Wendell, S. (2001) ‘Unhealthy disabled: Treating chronic illnesses as disabilities’,
Hypatia, 16(4): 17-33.
Yuval-Davis, N. (2007) 'Intersectionality, citizenship and contemporary politics of
belonging', Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy,
10(4): 561-574.
Yuval-Davis, N. (2006) ‘Intersectionality and Feminist Politics’, European Journal of
Women’s studies, 13: 193-209.

Lecture 10: Conclusion and Revision

This lecture will draw the different strands of the course together. It will also focus on
the exam, providing tips for successful exam writing and a guide to structuring
essays.

18
 Tutorial Guide
Tutorial 1: Sociological thinking. Introducing the study of society and culture
Preparation required
Read at least the required readings specified in the reading list above. Whilst reading,
consider the following questions and be ready to discuss them in the tutorial:

 What does it mean to ‘think sociologically’? How might this differ from ‘thinking
historically’ or ‘thinking psychologically’?
 Why is it important to ‘think critically’? What does this involve? Can you give
examples of ‘thinking critically’ about an aspect of your own experience?
 How can sociology help develop critical and socially aware citizens?
 What are the benefits and limitations of having a sociological perspective?

Tutorial 2: Sociological thinking in a global context

Preparation required
Read at least the required readings specified in the reading list above. Whilst reading,
consider the following questions and be ready to discuss them in the tutorial:

 What is ‘globalisation’? What are its key characteristics?

 Why should sociologists be interested in studying globalisation?
 Can you think of some examples in your own life of the ‘compression’ of time
and space (compared, say, to your parents’ younger years)?
 How has globalisation affected your personal life? (Think about your
education, holidays, favourite cuisines, music, sports teams, etc.)
 Do you agree that globalisation is now incorporated into our emotions and our
ways of thinking about everyday life, or not? How would that affect our
understandings of British society?

Tutorial 3: Understanding class

Preparation required
In addition to the required readings, please complete the Great British Class Survey
found on the BBC’s website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22000973

Based on your survey results and your understanding of class, consider the following
questions and be ready to discuss them in the tutorial:

 What is class?
 Why does class matter?
 How can we measure class?
 How does class affect other aspects of people’s lives?
 Why have some sociologists suggested that ‘class is dead’? Why do some
still think it is a key feature of modern societies like the UK?
 What should/could the state do about class inequalities?

19
Tutorial 4: Class and education
Preparation required
Read at least the required readings specified in the reading list above. The tutorial
will be divided into two parts. The first part considers Bourdieu’s cultural capital and
education inequalities, whilst the second part builds on this by considering the effects
of cultural capital (alongside economic and social capital) on employability.

Part 1: Consider the following questions as you read Reay (2004):

 What is cultural capital?
 How can middle-class families help their children do well in school?
 Is cultural capital always closely related to economic capital?
 Consider your results from last week’s Great British Class Survey, has your
class influenced your education and choice of university?

Part 2: Consider the following questions (if you have read Tomlinson (2008)), and/or
when reflecting on your personal experiences:
 Is a university degree enough?
 How can you make yourself ‘stand out’ from other candidates?
 How does cultural capital affect your employment opportunities?

Tutorial 5: Understanding race and ethnicity

Preparation required
Read at least the required readings specified in the reading list above. The tutorial
will be divided into two parts. The first part considers a number of key issues with
regard to ‘race’ and your key reading; whilst the second will be a ‘census exercise’.

Part 1: Consider the following questions as you read Solomos (1996):

 What does Robert Miles mean when he states that race is an ‘ideological
effect’?
 What is ‘new racism’ and how does it relate to ‘British identity’? Will Brexit
have any effects on this?
 Why should we study whiteness?
 Why might we talk about ‘racisms’ rather than ‘racism’?

Part 2: The census exercise

What is your ethnic group? - Choose one section from A to E, then choose the one
that best describes your ethnic group or background:

A: White: English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British /Irish /Gypsy or

Irish Traveller / Any other White background.

B: Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: White and Black Caribbean /white and
Black African/ White and Asian /Any other Mixed / multiple ethnic background.

C: Asian or Asian British: Indian / Pakistani / Bangladeshi/ Chinese/ Any other

Asian background.

20
 D: Black or African or Caribbean or Black British: African/ Caribbean/ Any
other Black / African / Caribbean background.

E: Other ethnic group: Arab / Any other ethnic group.

 What do you think of these classifications? Were you accurately represented?

 How would you change these classifications if you were constructing the next
census?
 What does this tell us about ethnicity being socially constructed?

Tutorial 6: Race and cultural representation

Preparation required
Read at least the required readings specified in the reading list above. Additionally,
bring to your tutorial an example of a ‘racialised’ representation (for example
something that would not work, or would mean something different if the apparent
ethnicity/race of those concerned was changed).

Based on your understanding of the reading and your example of a ‘racialised’

representation, consider the following questions and be ready to discuss them in the
tutorial:

 Why is representation central to the meanings of race and ethnicity?

 How does ‘othering’ operate through representation? (Think about the British
tabloid press).
 How has the basis of ‘otherness’ changed over time?
 What is the link between representations of ‘the other’ and power?
 What role does the reader play in representation? (Are you merely a passive
reader, or do you actively construct your understandings of texts and images?)
 As sociologists, how can you contest particular representations and
stereotypes?

Tutorial 7: Understanding gender and sexuality

Preparation required
Read at least the required readings specified in the reading list above. The tutorial
will be divided into two parts. The first part considers a number of key issues with
regard to the distinction between gender and sex and whether they are socially
constructed. The second part revolves around your own experiences with learning
particular gendered identities.

Part 1: consider the following questions as you read Charles (2002):

 How did Ann Oakley define the difference between gender and sex?
 What was important about the distinction she made between sex and gender?
 What does it mean to say that gender is socially constructed?
 Can we also argue that sex is socially constructed?
 Do you think that it is possible to say that all women are the same? (Or share
the same experience?)

21
Part 2: bring in a social artefact (a media article/publication, material object - use
your imagination!) that you think demonstrates gendered identities. Based on your
own experiences consider the following:
 Discuss ways in which you have learned about gender (Think about your
school, family, friends, media, etc.)
 Have you ever contradicted gendered norms? Have you felt social pressure
not to?

Tutorial 8: Ageing and the life-course

Preparation required
Read at least the required readings specified in the reading list above. Spend 15
minutes thinking about what your later life might be like to discuss in the seminar.
You may wish to do this creatively, for example, you could draw a picture or write
some words about how you imagine later life to be like. It may be helpful to consider
the experiences of older people you know.

Part 1: consider the following questions:

 What is ageing? What does the life-course mean?
 What does it mean to say that ageing and life-course are socially
constructed?
 How does the life-course affect peoples’ everyday lives?

Part 2: imagining later life:

 What do you think later life will be like?
 Do you imagine it to be positive or negative?
 Do you think it will be similar or different to the experience of older people you
know now?

Tutorial 9: Putting it together? Dis/ability and understanding social divisions

as complex and interrelated
Preparation required
Read at least the required readings specified in the reading list above. Whilst reading,
consider the following questions and be ready to discuss them in the tutorial:

 What is "nuance theory"? What do Erevelles and Minear say about nuance
theory in relation to disability, race and gender?
 Erevelles and Minear ask: "If one is poor, black, elderly, disabled, and lesbian,
must these differences be organized into a hierarchy such that some
differences gain prominence over others?" (p.129). What do they mean by "a
hierarchy" in this context? How do they challenge the idea of a “hierarchy”?
 Disability is understood by some as a biological category, by others as
socially constructed category. What is the difference?
 Can you think of an example from your own experience or from everyday life
or culture, which can only be properly understood/explained through
combination of class, race and/or gender analysis?

22
Tutorial 10: Conclusion and revision
Come to the tutorial ready to produce essay plans and also with any further
questions you have for exam preparation.

23
 Assignments and Assessments
Non-Assessed Assignment Details
Students must complete two compulsory non-assessed essays for this course. The
list of questions below cover the main topics discussed throughout the course.
Students are advised to choose their essay questions as early as possible so they
can discuss their plans with their teaching assistant if they so wish. You should also
allow enough time to complete additional reading so that the essay is completed by
the deadline. Again, please note the penalties for late submission or failure to submit.

Note: Marks for compulsory non-assessed essays or plans should not be considered
a 'predicted grade' for the course overall. The feedback and any grade provided are
to allow you to judge your understanding of the course material.

First essay deadline: Tuesday 23rd October 2018 by 2pm

Second essay deadline: Tuesday 20th November 2018 by 2pm

Essay questions

1. What is globalisation? Why should sociologists study globalisation and its

effects on contemporary British society?

2. Critically assess the statement ‘class is dead’ with reference to contemporary

Britain.

3. Does the British education system play a part in reproducing class differences?
Critically discuss with reference to the concept of ‘cultural capital’.

4. How has the sociology of race and ethnicity changed overtime?

5. Critically examine representations of ‘race’ using examples from British

popular media.

6. How have sociologists challenged the idea that gender and sexuality are
‘natural’?

7. Explain, with examples, why it is important to examine the ways in which race,
class and gender are interlinked.

8. How have ideas of ageing been developed and challenged by sociologists?

9. Explain, with examples why it is important to examine the ways in which

experiences of disability intersects with other social categories, such as class,
race, gender, sexuality (you don’t need to cover all the categories).

Coursework Submission
Coursework must be typed, double-spaced in a reasonable font (e.g. 12 point in
Times New Roman or Arial). You must submit your essay by 2pm on the deadline
day given on p.2 above unless given course specific instructions by email.

24
Essays should be submitted online via Blackboard by 2pm on the deadline day
given on p.2 above unless given course specific instructions by email. Full details of
how to submit online are available in the ‘Submission of Coursework’ folder in the
relevant section on the course Blackboard website. Ensure you have familiarised
yourself with the system and give yourself plenty of time for submission as
technology problems will not be an acceptable reason for late or non-submission of
work. If you have serious problems submitting on the day please contact the SoSS
Undergraduate Office in the Arthur Lewis Building urgently. When you have
successfully submitted your essay you will be able to download and print a receipt.
You must keep a copy of your submission receipt until all work on this course is
complete and you have received your final grades.

Note that our online submission system includes Turnitin plagiarism detection
software. Be sure that you fully understand what plagiarism is; links for further details
are included in section 5 below. If, after reading the guidance, you are at all unsure
about what counts as plagiarism then you should contact your Academic Advisor to
discuss it.

If your essay is submitted late your grade will be reduced by 10 marks per day for 5
days, after which it will receive a mark of zero. For clarity a ‘day’ is 24 hours,
beginning immediately after the published deadline. *Deadlines will be strictly
enforced in all cases*. The mark published through Turnitin will show your mark
*before* the late penalty is applied. The final mark, with the late penalty applied, will
be recorded on the student system and used to calculate your overall course unit
mark.

Mitigating Circumstances
Extensions may be granted to students where there are exceptional mitigating
circumstances (e.g. strong medical reasons). In such cases an online Mitigating
Circumstances Form must be completed and submitted. Full guidance on mitigating
circumstances is available here:

https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/help-
and-support/

Examination Details
This course includes a 2-hour examination in which you will be required to answer
two questions from a selection of 9 questions.

Examination past papers are available online via My Manchester. Go to the ‘Exam
Information’ portlet and click ‘Past Papers’ where you will be able to search for
papers by the course code.

Examination timetables are released later in the semester and you will be notified
with instructions by email from the Undergraduate Administrator.

If you miss an examination you will not be allowed to resit it except in the case of
serious mitigating circumstances. If you miss an examination through illness or
another serious reason you should contact the SoSS Undergraduate Office as soon

25
as possible. You will need to submit a Mitigating Circumstances Form (see link
above) along with relevant evidence.

3. FEEDBACK
All sociology courses include both formative feedback – which lets you know how
you’re getting on and what you could do to improve – and summative feedback –
which gives you a mark for your assessed
work. This course uses the following
mechanisms for feedback: Save Your Feedback
 Informal verbal feedback will be Feedback via

KNOW HOW
given during lectures and tutorials for Turnitin/Grademark on the
individual and group work. (You’ll Blackboard system is only
need to contribute regularly to group accessible while you are
discussions to make the best use of studying this particular
this.) module. Download a pdf
 Written formative feedback will be version of your feedback
given on your non-assessed to refer to later by using
assignment and made available via the print icon in the bottom
blackboard. left corner of the
 Exam results are published only as a feedback screen.
grade. If you wish to discuss your
exam performance with your lecturer
please book an office hour slot by email and let your lecturer know in advance
that this is what you want to do.

Additional Office Hours will be provided during the module to discuss planning for
coursework assessments and exams.

Your Feedback to Us
We’re continually working to improve our teaching practices – for that we need your
feedback. Towards the end of the semester you’ll be asked to fill out a Unit Survey
for each of your modules – please do! The survey is designed to be very short and
easy to fill out but the results are really valuable for our monitoring of teaching quality.
We want to hear from you whether your opinion on the course was good, bad or
indifferent.

All of your Unit Surveys are available via Blackboard – simply go to ‘Unit Evaluation’
on the left hand menu of the Blackboard website to begin. Alternatively, you can
download a smartphone app called EvaluationKit to fill out Unit Surveys for all of
your course units.

26
 4. YOUR COMMITMENT
Study Schedule
Each 20 credit module requires that you study for a minimum of 12 hours per week.
This is comprised of teaching and independent study in these proportions:
 3 hours lectures and tutorials (2.5 in the first year);
 At least 3 hours reading the Key Reading;
 At least 3 hours reading an additional text from the reading list;
 At least 3 hours written work for assessed and non-assessed assignments.
This leaves 80 hours study time remaining to be used in independent study over the
duration of the course. For 10 credit courses these distributions will be proportionally
reduced but should be slightly higher than half the commitment for a 20 credit course.

Tutorial Preparation
Tutorials are a central part of the course module structure. They provide you with an
opportunity to discuss, apply and enhance your knowledge, and to build confidence
in your skills of analysis, comprehension and presentation. What you will gain from
tutorials is dependent upon your preparation and willingness to participate. It is thus
essential that you familiarise yourself with the Tutorial Guide for each course,
undertake the required tutorial preparation, and bring all relevant materials
(hardcopies of the Key Reading, notes on the Key Reading, preparation exercises
etc.) to every tutorial. It is not acceptable to attend a tutorial without being fully
prepared.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your
programme. It is also expected that you arrive on time. Absence and late arrival are
recorded on your University record. Inappropriate amounts of absence or late arrival
at class, without extenuating circumstances, will be treated seriously and may result
in exclusion from the course. In addition, you should be aware that prospective
employers almost always ask for information about attendance and punctuality, as
well as matters such as your record on completing work to deadlines.

Absences
If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or other good reason you
should notify the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator in advance
if possible. This is especially important if you are due to make a presentation to the
class. Absences of more than a few days should be backed up by medical or other
evidence.

All absences will be reported to the relevant Tutor, who will then monitor your
performance. A record of indifferent attendance will be held against you if your
examination results are marginal; you should not expect to be shown sympathy by
the Board of Examiners in such circumstances.

If you have missed a class, you should be sure to catch up on what you have missed
by further independent reading of materials on the reading list and/or consulting any
available lecture notes or PowerPoint slides if these are provided or asking other
students whether they might allow you to consult theirs.

27
Email and Blackboard
Your commitment is also to check your University email and Blackboard at least
every other day in order to make sure that you are informed of any communications
from tutors or administrative staff. These might, for example, concern important
meetings with staff, changes of room; notification of course options registration, or
course-relevant information from your lecturer. Being unaware of arrangements
because you have not checked your email or Blackboard is not an acceptable
excuse.

28
 5. REFERENCING & PLAGIARISM
The lack of a proper bibliography and appropriate reference in assessed essays will
potentially greatly affect the mark for the work and may be considered plagiarism,
which is a serious offence.

All essays must employ the scholarly apparatus of references and a bibliography.
There are different acceptable referencing styles. In sociology we recommend use
of the Harvard system of referencing, which is described in detail here:

http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard

In short, Harvard referencing means that you refer to the author and date of
publication in brackets within the text, wherever you are referring to the ideas of
another writer. Where you quote an author you must always include quotation marks
and a page number in the reference.
All essays must include a References List which Cite it Right

KNOW HOW
lists your sources in alphabetical order by You can learn how to
author's surname. This should include all (and reference properly in 15
only) the sources you have directly referenced in minutes – head to the
the text. Whatever your source is, you need to online tutorial, Citing it
provide a full set of publication details as right, at:
described in the guide linked above. All http://libassets.m
academic texts you read will include anchester.ac.uk/
bibliographies and these should give you plenty mle/introducing-
of examples of what information to include. referencing/

Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism The University defines plagiarism as

You can learn how to avoid ‘presenting the ideas, work or words of other
plagiarism in 20 minutes – people without proper, clear and unambiguous
KNOW HOW

head to the online tutorial, acknowledgement.’ It is an example of

Original Thinking Allowed, academic malpractice and can lead to very
at: serious penalties up to exclusion from the
http://libassets.ma University. You should read the University’s
nchester.ac.uk/ml guidelines here:
e/avoiding-
plagiarism http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.asp
x?DocID=2870

There is additional useful guidance on plagiarism and referencing in the Crucial

Guide:

http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-
life/support/referencing-and-plagiarism/

29
 6. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Sociology students’ work is assessed into different class categories by using the
following criteria:

High First Class (75+) Such answers fully answer the question in a coherent
manner and can be expected to show excellence with respect to the following criteria:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of
expression
 Knowledge of the relevant literature.

First Class (70-74) Such answers are highly competent and provide a near-full and
well-structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate some of the
following qualities:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of
expression
 Good knowledge of the relevant literature.

Upper-second Class (60-69) Such answers are overall competent and provide a
generally well-structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate
most of the following qualities:
 A reasonable-to-good understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis, of argument and of expression
 At least selective knowledge of the relevant literature.

Lower-second Class (50-59) Such answers indicate some understanding of the

issues and provide an adequate answer to the question. They can be expected to
show most of the following features:
 A basic understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis and argument, albeit limited in extent
 Some awareness of the relevant literature.
Note: What distinguishes a high Lower-second Class from a low Upper-second
Class is greater extent of understanding of material and clarity of analysis and
argument, as well as at least some selective knowledge of the relevant literature, not
mere awareness of its existence.

Third Class (40-49) Such answers indicate only a rudimentary understanding of the
issues and offer only partial answers to the question. They can be expected to show
the following features:
 Sparse coverage of the material with several key topics missing
 Unsupported assertions and little clear analysis or argument
 Important errors and inaccuracies.

First and Second Years: Compensatable Fail (30-39)

Such answers fail to deal with the question in a way that suggest more than a
fragmented and shallow acquaintance with the subject. They are often error-prone
and lack coherence. NB – it is not possible to get a compensated pass for

30
compulsory course on your degree programme. There is also a limit to the number of
compensated fails allowed in a single year. Please see your Programme Handbook
for details.

First and Second Years: Uncompensatable Fail (0-29)

Such answers fail to demonstrate the ability to engage with the question.

31
 Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences

SOCIOLOGY COURSE UNIT GUIDE 2018-19

SOCY10421 Foundations of Social Thought

Semester: 1
Credits: 20
Convenor: Dr Peter McMylor

Contents
1. Essential Information
2. Course Content
A. Aims & Outcomes
B. Lectures & Reading List
C. Tutorial Guide
D. Assignments & Assessments
3. Feedback
4. Your Commitment
5. Referencing & Plagiarism
6. Assessment Criteria
7. Essay Tips and Reading Strategies

Please read this guide and bring any questions with you to the lecture.
Note: This course guide should be read in conjunction with the Blackboard website for the
course and the Degree Handbook for your degree programme. Degree Handbooks for social
science programmes are available here:
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/course-
information/If your degree is based in another school, please contact your Programme
Administrator for your handbook.

1
 1. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Contacts
Lecturer(s): Dr Peter McMylor
Room: 3.054 Arthur Lewis Building
Telephone: 52492
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Wednesday 14.00-15.00 & Thursday 14:00 – 15:00
Book in advance by email
Tutors: Matko Krce-Ivancic, Wai Lau, Thomas Redshaw

Administrator: Chantel Riley

UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building; (0161) 2753953;
[email protected]

Times and Dates

Lectures: Stopford Theatre 2

Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student

System. This is compulsory and on a first come, first served
basis.
Reading week: Monday 29th October – Friday 2nd November 2018

Assessed Coursework See further details in section 2 below.

Submission:
Examination Period: 14th January 2019 – 25th January 2019 (Semester 1)

Resit Examination Period: 19th August 2019 – 30th August 2019

Assignments and Assessments

A two-hour unseen examination to be taken at the end of the course worth 100%
of the total mark. Student must also write two compulsory non-assessed
essays, with a 5 mark penalty for non-submission of each essay.

Review the following pages for full details of the assignments and assessments required on
this course.

Communication

2
Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be
communicated in this way. It is sometimes necessary to make changes such as seminar
rooms and assessment details and such changes will be communicated by email. Failing to
check your emails will not be an acceptable excuse for non-attendance or missed deadlines.

2. COURSE CONTENT

Course Aims/Learning Outcomes

This course will provide a basic but Get Organised
comprehensive introduction to some of the
Use this guide to find out:
intellectual traditions within sociology with a

KNOW HOW
focus on the origins of the discipline. The  Where and when to attend
course will provide the student with the classes.
necessary conceptual tools to understand  What to read before
the distinctive origins and nature of sociology lectures and tutorials.
 Where to start your
as an academic discipline and as a wider
reading for assessments.
cultural presence within modernity. We will  How your progress will be
be attempting examine the kinds of assessed.
questions that the early sociological theorists
asked and why they found it necessary to Read on to ensure that you
know how to get the most out
ask them. In all cases emphasis will be
of your degree.
placed upon the specific historical context of
particular writers and theories. It will be argued that the emergence of sociology and
the social sciences generally represents an intellectual response to the cultural and
material problems of capitalist industrial societies in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
This involves a brief examination of the material and intellectual context from which
social thought sprung and then more detailed treatment of some of the most
significant social theorists.

Although this course is free standing, it provides the student with the basis for the
more detailed analysis of selected sociological thinkers in the course SOCY10432
Contemporary Social Thought in the second semester of this year. It is also to be
noted that both Foundations of Social Thought and Contemporary Social Thought
provide an absolutely necessary foundation for students with no prior experience of
social theory who wish to take social theory courses in the second and third years of
their degree.

General Course Readings

Some required readings may be made available electronically via the course website.
All other readings should be available from the University Main Library. However
K. Morrison: Marx, Durkheim & Weber is a key text and an e-text book copy will be
availabe. Most reading is specific to particular topics however,the following are
general textbooks that are helpful and recommended and can be read in addition
and as potential alternative to the Morrison text:
Craib, I. (1997) Classical Social Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

3
Giddens, A. (1971) Capitalism and Modern Social Theory. An Analysis of the
Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Hughes, J, Martin, P. and Sharrock, W. (2003) Understanding Classical Sociology.
2nd Ed. London: Sage Publications.
McIntosh, I. (Ed) (1997) Classical Sociological Theory: A Reader. Edinburgh
University Press.
Hadden, R.A. (1997) Sociological Theory, An Introduction. London, Broadview Press
Zeitlin, I. (2000) Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Overview of course

The Two Revolutions

The Enlightenment
Karl Marx
Emile Durkheim
Max Weber
Early American Sociology

You will see that a key reading and other readings have been identified for each
lecture of the course.* It is recommended that you purchase at least one of the key
recommended text books. Some additional material is available via a web link and
this is marked with a +. Some additional readings are on Blackboard. Other books
are available for longer loans on the university library's shelves. The expectation is
that students should read the key reading each week in order to contribute to class
discussions. No student should come to a class unprepared. Other readings should
be consulted if a particular topic interests you and if you intend to write an essay on
the subject. Finally, reference will be made to other publications in the lectures and
classes that are available in the main library. We have tried to ensure that students
do no encounter difficulties in obtaining readings for this course and we would be
grateful if you could alert us to any difficulties you might experience in getting hold of
books etc. We will try to put them right straight away.

Lectures and Reading List

Lecture 1 Revolutions and Transformations (1)

Lecture 2 Revolutions and Transformations (2)
The social and intellectual origins of sociology. Attention will be paid to the
significance of the intellectual impact of the Enlightenment and the social effects of
the industrial revolution and the political and social impact of the French Revolution.

Required reading
Morrison, K. (2006) Marx, Durkheim & Weber. Formations of Modern Social Thought.
2nd Ed. London: Sage Publications. (Ch. 1).

4
Additional reading
Abrams, P. (May 1972) "The Sense of the Past and the Origins of Sociology", Past
and Present, No. 55. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
+ Hamilton, P. (1992) ‘The Enlightenment and the Birth of Social Science’ in S. Hall
and B. Gieben. Formations of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press (also copies in
High Demand section of the Library)
+Kumar, K. (1978) Prophecy and Progress: The sociology of industrial and post-
industrial society. London: Penguin Books).
Vernon, J (2014) Distant Strangers: How Britain Became Modern, Berkeley:
University of California Press
Nisbet, R. (1993)The Sociological Tradition. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
(Ch. 1 & 2).
Porter,R. (1990). The Enlightenment (Studies in European history). Basingstoke:
Macmillan Education.
Porter, R. (2001) The Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World.
London: Penguin Books.
Therborn, G. (1976) Science, Class and Society. London: Verso. (Ch. 3).
Zeitlin, I. (2000) Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Lecture 3 Karl Marx, from Philosophy to Political Economy (1)

Lecture 4 Karl Marx, from Philosophy to Political Economy (2)
Marx confronted the new social order of developing capitalism with what he took to
be a solution to its problems and contradictions by advocating, and predicting, the
rise out of capitalism of a new transformed industrial order he called communism.
Marx's work constitutes a remarkable intellectual synthesis of philosophy, economics
and politics, the content and context of which the lectures will explore.

Required reading
Morrison, K. (2006) Marx, Durkheim & Weber. Formations of Modern Social Thought.
2nd Ed. London: Sage Publications. (Ch. 2). (or possible alternative)
Zeitlin, I. (2000) Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.( extract on Blackboard)

Additional reading
Berlin, I. (2002) Karl Marx, His Life and Environment. USA: OUP.
Bottomore, T. (1978) "Marxism and Sociology" in Bottomore, T. and Nisbet, R. A
History of Sociological Analysis. London: Heineman.
Brown, H.(2014) ‘Marx on Gender and the Family’ Monthly Review, June Vol.66(2),
pp.48-57
+Caporaso, J. A. (1992) Marxian Political Economy, in Theories of Political Economy
by J.A. Caporaso and D.P.Levine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Ch. 3).
Giddens, A. (1971) Capitalism and Modern Social Theory. An Analysis of the
Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Craib, I,(1997) Classical Social Theory, (Ch 8) Oxford, Oxford University Press

5
Hughes, J, Martin, P. and Sharrock, W. (2003) Understanding Classical Sociology.
2nd Ed. London: Sage Publications. (Ch. 2).
+Jessop, B. (1985) Varieties of Marxism. Teaching papers in Sociology. York:
Longman.
McLellan, D. (2006) Karl Marx: His Life and Thought, 4th edition, pp, 487 pp.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sydie,R.A. (1994) Natural Women, Cultured Men:Feminist Perspectives on
Sociological Theory, UBC Press, Vancover ( Ch..4)
Zeitlin, I. (2000) Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Lecture 5 The New Religion of Science, Comte, Durkheim and

French Sociology (1)
French society, after experiencing the social crisis of the Revolution of 1789, saw the
rise of a variety of social ideas and philosophies which sought to explain the past
development of humanity and its future course. We will look the work of Auguste
Comte and the impact of his vision of a science of society in the form of sociology as
a discipline in France, especially the work of Emile Durkheim.

Required reading
* Morrison, K. (2006) Marx, Durkheim & Weber. Formations of Modern Social
Thought. 2nd Ed. London: Sage Publications. (Ch. 3)

Additional reading
Aron, R. (1998) "Comte" in Main Currents in Sociological Thought, Vol. 1.
Clarke, T. (1968) “Emile Durkheim and the Institutionalization of Sociology", Archives
Europeennes de Sociologie, 9.
Coser, L.S. (1971) Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social
Context. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. Ch. 1 - Comte, #Ch. 4
Durkheim.
Eglin, P. (1985) Suicide. Teaching papers in Sociology. York: Longman.
Giddens. A. (1971) Capitalism and Modern Social Theory. An Analysis of the
Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Harrington, A. (2005) Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. (Ch.2).
Hughes, J, Martin, P. and Sharrock, W. (2003) Understanding Classical Sociology.
2nd Ed. London: Sage Publications, (Ch. 4).
Lukes, S. (1985) Emile Durkheim. His Life and Work: A Historical and Critical Study.
California: Stanford University Press.
Roth, G. ( Winter 1989) "Durkheim and the Principles of 1789", Telos, 82 (90).
Sydie,R.A. (1994) Natural Women, Cultured Men:Feminist Perspectives on
Sociological Theory, UBC Press, Vancover ( Ch..2)
Turner, J. and Beeghley, L. (2012) 7th Ed, The Emergence of Sociological Theory.
California: Sage Publications, Ch. 2, 15 & 16.

READING WEEK Monday 29th October – Friday 2rd November

6
Lecture 6 The New Religion of Science, Comte, Durkheim and
French Sociology (2)
See reading from Lecture 5

Lecture 7 Community, Rationality and Disenchantment: German

Sociology (1)
Lecture 8 Community, Rationality and Disenchantment: German
Sociology (2)
From 1870 onwards Germany went through a period of rapid industrialization and
political and social change. During this time German produced a crop of remarkable
social scientists (the best known being Max Weber) who attempted to understand
and come to terms with the forces that seemed to threaten the values of community
and solidarity and moral purpose. The lectures will look at these themes and see
how writers like Weber responded to them.

Required reading
* Morrison, K. (2006) Marx, Durkheim & Weber. Formations of Modern Social
Thought. 2nd Ed. London: Sage Publications, (Ch. 4).

Additional reading
Allan, K. (2004) Max Weber a critical introduction. London: Pluto Press.
Aron, R. "Max Weber", in op cit., Vol. 2.
Beetham, D. (1985) Max Weber and the Theory of Modern Politics. Cambridge:
Polity Press.
Collins, R. (1985) Max Weber: a Skeleton Key. California: Sage Publications.
Freund, J. "German Sociology in the Time of Max Weber", in Bottomore and Nisbet,
op cit.
Giddens, A. (1971) Capitalism and Modern Social Theory: An Analysis of the
Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Hawthorne, G. (1976) Enlightenment and Despair: A History of Social Theory.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Ch. 7).
Hughes, J, Martin, P. and Sharrock, W. (2003) Understanding Classical Sociology.
2nd Ed. London: Sage Publications. (Ch. 3).
Parkin, F. (2002) Max Weber. London and New York: Routledge.
Poggi, G. (2006) Weber: a short introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Sydie,R.A. (1994) Natural Women, Cultured Men:Feminist Perspectives on
Sociological Theory, UBC Press, Vancover ( Ch..3)
+Ray, L. (1987) "The Protestant Ethic Debate" in Anderson, R. J. et.al. Classic
Disputes in Sociology. London: Allen and Unwin.

Lecture 9 A New World and a New Community: Sociology in

America
As the power of the USA grew in the 20th century, so has that country's influence on
social science. We will examine the specific context of the emergence of sociology
in the USA, stressing both differences and continuities with the European tradition.
7
In particular we will be looking at the contribution of the Chicago School of Sociology
to this then emergent tradition of sociological research. We will also explore the
distinctive contribution women made to the Chicago School and also at the very
beginnings of a critical sociology of race.

Required reading
*+Coser, L. "American Trends", in Bottomore and Nisbet, op cit.

Additional reading
Deegan, M.J. (1988) W.E.B. Du Bois and the Women of Hull-House, 1895-1899
American Sociologist, 19(4).
Madge, J. (1962)The Origins of Scientific Sociology. New York: Free Press of
Glencoe. (Ch. 3 and 4).
Madoo Lengermann, P. and Niebrugge-Brantley, J. (2007) “The Chicago Women’s
School of Sociology (1880-1920) – Research as Advocacy”, Chapter 7 of The
Women Founders, Sociology and Social Theory 1830 – 1930. Illinois: Waveland
Press. (HD)
Morris, A.D. (2015) The Scholar Denied: W.E.B.Du Bois and the Birth of Modern
Sociology, Oakland, University of California Press (Ch. 2)
Katz, M. & Sugrue, T.J.(1998) W.E.B. Du Bois, Race and the City, Pennsylvania,
University of Pennsylvania Press. ( Introduction)
Manicas, P. (1987) History and Philosophy of the Social Sciences. Oxford: Basil
Blackwell. (pt. 2).
Oberschall, A. 1972) "The Institutionalization of American Sociology", in Oberschall
ed. The Establishment of Empirical Sociology. New York: Joanna Cotler Books.
Smith, D. The Chicago School.
Szacki, J. (1979) History of Sociological Thought. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
(Ch. 15). (High Demand)

Lecture 10
Course Review and Revision

Tutorial Guide

Tutorial 1
Key reading for this session is K. Kumar ‘The Great Transformation’ extract from
Prophecy and Progress. On Bb.

8
Questions for discussion

1) What does Kumar mean by the term ‘Great Transformation’ and in particular
why is it ‘great’?
2) What are the key social changes associated with the Industrial Revolution?
3) What is meant by the phrase ‘image of industrialism’, who produces it and why
might it be important?
4) How did the early sociologists respond to the social and economic changes
around them?
Tutorial 2
The key reading for this class is P. Hamilton, ‘The Enlightenment and the Birth of
Social Science.’ On Bb
This is a lengthy reading and you may want to tackle it via a number of limited
sections.

Questions for discussion

1) Try to decide on a clear summary definition of what the Enlightenment was
and provide a sense of its geographical distribution.
2) What position in the social structure did the Enlightenment philosophers
occupy and what was their attitude to authority?
3) What institutional forms were necessary for the Enlightenment to emerge and
have influence?
4) Why did the Enlightenment philosophers see themselves linked to what they
took to be ‘science’ and ‘progress’ and what did they mean by these terms?
5) Why should the Enlightenment be linked to the emergence of social science?

Tutorial 3
The key reading is from Ian Craib” Classical Social Theory p93-105 Bb
This extract is a very simple introduction to Marx’s economic thought and his
understanding of class. (The K. Morrison text - see module guide - contains a much
more detailed account as well a useful glossary of concepts at the end of the book)

1. a) Why is labour important for Marx’s theory of value?

b) What does the term labour- power mean?

9
2) Why does Marx think that there is no such thing as ‘a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s
work’ under capitalist conditions?
3) Explain a) what are the forces of production for Marx and
b) What are the relations of production?
c) Why might they seem to form a contradictory relationship in a capitalist society?

4) How does Marx define social class?

5) How does Marx analyse the different social classes e.g. Peasants, Bourgeoisie,
Proletariat/Working Class?
Tutorial 4
The key reading is Ralph Miliband’s paper ‘Class Analysis’ (Bb) and picks up from
the final question from last week’s reading about the nature and significance of class
for Marx and later Marxian analysis. In this paper Miliband, a late 20 th Century
Marxist attempts to defend and extend Marx’s approach to understand modern
Capitalism.

1) Miliband argues that ‘exploitation’ is crucially to understanding class struggle-

why is this and why does he wish to add to it the category of ‘domination’?
2) How does the ruling or ‘dominant’ class exercise power in society?
3) What is the relationship between, what Miliband terms, ‘the power elite’ and
the ‘dominant class’?
4) What significance does Miliband give for the existence of divisions within
social classes? What are these divisions inside the dominant class and the
working class?
5) What then are the key tasks for class analysis for a modern critical social
science and what relationship should it have to the analysis of other forms of
oppression, sexism, racism etc?

Tutorial 5
The key reading for this week is an extract from A. Palumbo and A. Scott, Chapter 2
of Modern Social Theory, Ed. A. Harrington. (OUP, 2005) p.51- p.55 (Bb) which
seeks to explore the framework of Durkheim’s sociology.

Questions
1) What does Durkheim mean by the term ‘social facts’ and why are they important
for sociology?

10
 2) Describe what Durkheim meant by the terms ‘mechanical’ and ‘organic
solidarity’.
3) What does Durkheim mean by the concept of ‘anomie’ and how is it related to
the processes of social change?
4) How does Durkheim’s study of suicide help us look at the question of social
solidarity?-(this topic is explored in more detail in next week’s reading.)

Tutorial 6
The key reading this week is Eglin’s paper on Suicide (Bb). It is intended as an
introductory paper but it deals with quite complex issues that are central to an
understand of the diverse nature of sociology as a discipline.

1) Why does suicide become for Durkheim a significant problem for sociology as
intellectual discipline? Does it tell us anything about the origins of sociology?
2) Why is the issue of suicide rates so important for Durkheim’s work? What
regularities in these rates does he find?
3) How does Durkheim seek to conceptualise his findings and to present an
account that seeks to explain them?
4) What have other ‘positivistic’ accounts of suicide discovered since Durkheim?
5) What are the key criticisms of Durkheim’s approach developed by non-
positivistic sociologists such as Douglas and Sacks etc.?

Tutorial 7
The reading for this week is Larry Ray’s paper on Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the
Spirit of Capitalism (Bb) This paper introduces you to the key aspects of this classic
text and to the debate around it.
1) What does Weber mean by the Protestant Ethic?
2) What does Weber mean by the Spirit of Capitalism?
3) How does Weber attempt to link the two i.e. The Protestant Ethic to the Spirit
of Capitalism?
4) Is Weber arguing against Marx in this work?
5) What key criticisms can be made of the PESC?

Tutorial 8
The key reading is a chapter from Kieran Allan’s book on Max Weber, ‘Class Status
and Party’ (Bb) This looks critically at Weber approach to social stratification.

1) Why does Weber start with the issue of power in discussion of class?
11
 2) What is the link between the market and class for Weber?
3) What are the key problems that Allen finds with Weber’s account of
stratification?
4) What is the significance of the idea of status in Weber’s analysis and how
have later Weberians developed this idea?
5) How does class and status link to Parties?

Tutorial 9
The reading for this tutorial is Lewis Coser’s American Trends (Bb) which
covers many of the key strands in early sociology in the USA.

1. What is distinctive about the background and outlook of the early American
sociologists?
2. What kind of political divisions appear in early US sociology.
3. What are the main features of pragmatic sociology in the work of Cooley and
Mead?
4. What was so important and original in the work of the key figures of the
Chicago School?

Tutorial 10
Course revision and exam preparation

Assignments and Assessments

Non-Assessed Assignment Details

You must do TWO non-assessed essay word length 1500
Remember that tutorials are compulsory and compulsory non-assessed essays must
be handed in via Turnitin (dates are below). If you do not have a tutor the essay
cannot be marked and you will incur the penalty for non-completion outlined at the
beginning of this course outline.

Essay Titles
1) What social forces were at work that led to the emergence of
sociology in the late 18th and early 19th Century?

2) Why does Marx's social theory place so much emphasis on class

conflict and the economic aspects of society?

3) How does Durkheim attempt to reveal the effectiveness of the

sociological approach to understanding social life?

12
 4) How and why does Weber seek to establish a connection between
the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism?

5) What was distinctive in terms of methods used and topics

investigated about early American sociology?

Please note that the first essay is expected to be submitted by the 4th tutorial
meeting (2pm Friday 26th October) and the second essay by the 8th tutorial
meeting (2pm Friday 30th November).

Note: Marks for compulsory non-assessed essays or plans should not be considered
a 'predicted grade' for the course overall. The feedback and any grade provided are
to allow you to judge your understanding of the course material.
Coursework Submission
Coursework must be typed, double-spaced in a reasonable font (eg. 12 point in
Times New Roman or Arial). You must submit your essay by 2pm on the deadline
day given on p.2 above unless given course specific instructions by email.
Essays should be submitted online via Blackboard by 2pm on the deadline day
given on p.2 above unless given course specific instructions by email. Full details of
how to submit online are available in the ‘Submission of Coursework’ folder in the
relevant section on the course Blackboard website. Ensure you have familiarised
yourself with the system and give yourself plenty of time for submission as
technology problems will not be an acceptable reason for late or non-submission of
work. If you have serious problems submitting on the day please contact the SoSS
Undergraduate Office in the Arthur Lewis Building urgently. When you have
successfully submitted your essay you will be able to download and print a receipt.
You must keep a copy of your submission receipt until all work on this course is
complete and you have received your final grades.
Note that our online submission system includes TurnItIn plagiarism detection
software. Be sure that you fully understand what plagiarism is; links for further details
are included in section 5 below. If, after reading the guidance, you are at all unsure
about what counts as plagiarism then you should contact your Academic Advisor to
discuss it.
If your essay is submitted late your grade will be reduced by 10 marks per day for 5
days, after which it will receive a mark of zero. For clarity a ‘day’ is 24 hours,
beginning immediately after the published deadline. *Deadlines will be strictly
enforced in all cases*. The mark published through TurnItIn will show your mark
*before* the late penalty is applied. The final mark, with the late penalty applied, will
be recorded on the student system and used to calculate your overall course unit
mark.

13
Mitigating Circumstances
Extensions may be granted to students where there are exceptional mitigating
circumstances (e.g. strong medical reasons). In such cases a Mitigating
Circumstances Form must be completed and submitted to the Undergraduate Office,
Ground Floor, Arthur Lewis Building. Full guidance on mitigating circumstances is
available here:
www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/useful-
documents/

Examination Details
This course includes a 2 hour examination in which you will be required to answer
two questions from a selection.

Examination past papers are available online via My Manchester. Go to the ‘Exam
Information’ portlet and click ‘Past Papers’ where you will be able to search for
papers by the course code.

Examination timetables are released later in the semester and you will be notified
with instructions by email from the Undergraduate Administrator.

If you miss an examination through illness or another serious reason you should
contact the SoSS Undergraduate Office as soon as possible. You will need to submit
a Mitigating Circumstances Form (see link above) along with relevant evidence.

Assessed assignments are different in nature to exam questions. Similar topics may
be covered but to answer the set assignments adequately you will have to cover
those topics in a significantly different way. You may choose any available question
in both the assessed assignment and the examination.

3. FEEDBACK
All sociology courses include both formative feedback – which lets you know how
you’re getting on and what you could do to improve – and summative feedback –
which gives you a mark for your assessed work. This course uses the following
mechanisms for feedback:
W
O
H

W
O
N
K

Save Your Feedback

14
  Written formative feedback will be Feedback via
given on your non-assessed TurnItIn/GradeMark on the
assignment and made available. Blackboard system is only
accessible while you are
studying this particular
Exam results are published only as a
module. Download a pdf
grade. If you wish to discuss your
version of your feedback to
exam performance with your lecturer refer to later by using the
please book an office hour slot by print icon in the bottom left
email and let your lecturer know in corner of the feedback
advance that this is what you want to screen.
do.

Your Feedback to Us

We’re continually working to improve our teaching practices – for that we need your
feedback. Towards the end of the semester you’ll be asked to fill out a Unit Survey
for each of your modules – please do! The survey is designed to be very short and
easy to fill out but the results are really valuable for our monitoring of teaching quality.
We want to hear from you whether your opinion on the course was good, bad or
indifferent.
All of your Unit Surveys are available via Blackboard – simply go to ‘Unit Evaluation’
on the left hand menu of the Blackboard website to begin. Alternatively, you can
download a smartphone app called EvaluationKit to fill out Unit Surveys for all of
your course units.

4. YOUR COMMITMENT
Study Schedule
Each 20 credit module requires that you study for a minimum of 12 hours per week.
This is comprised of teaching and independent study in these proportions:
 3 hours lectures and tutorials (2.5 in the first year);
 At least 3 hours reading the Key Reading;
 At least 3 hours reading an additional text from the reading list;
 At least 3 hours written work for assessed and non-assessed assignments.

15
This leaves 80 hours study time remaining to be used in independent study over the
duration of the course. For 10 credit courses these distributions will be proportionally
reduced but should be slightly higher than half the commitment for a 20 credit course.

Tutorial Preparation
Tutorials are a central part of the course module structure. They provide you with an
opportunity to discuss, apply and enhance your knowledge, and to build confidence
in your skills of analysis, comprehension and presentation. What you will gain from
tutorials is dependent upon your preparation and willingness to participate. It is thus
essential that you familiarise yourself with the Tutorial Guide for each course,
undertake the required tutorial preparation, and bring all relevant materials
(hardcopies of the Key Reading, notes on the Key Reading, preparation exercises
etc.) to every tutorial. It is not acceptable to attend a tutorial without being fully
prepared.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your
programme. It is also expected that you arrive on time. Absence and late arrival are
recorded on your University record. Inappropriate amounts of absence or late arrival
at class, without extenuating circumstances, will be treated seriously and may result
in exclusion from the course. In addition, you should be aware that prospective
employers almost always ask for information about attendance and punctuality, as
well as matters such as your record on completing work to deadlines.

Absences
If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or other good reason you
should notify the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator in advance
if possible ([email protected] or telephone 0161 275 3953). This is
especially important if you are due to make a presentation to the class. Absences of
more than a few days should be backed up by medical or other evidence.
All absences will be reported to the relevant Tutor, who will then monitor your
performance. A record of indifferent attendance will be held against you if your
examination results are marginal; you should not expect to be shown sympathy by
the Board of Examiners in such circumstances.
If you have missed a class, you should be sure to catch up on what you have missed
by further independent reading of materials on the reading list and/or consulting any
available lecture notes or PowerPoint slides if these are provided or asking other
students whether they might allow you to consult theirs.

Email and Blackboard

Your commitment is also to check your University email and Blackboard at least
every other day in order to make sure that you are informed of any communications
from tutors or administrative staff. These might, for example, concern important
meetings with staff, changes of room; notification of course options registration, or

16
course-relevant information from your lecturer. Being unaware of arrangements
because you have not checked your email or Blackboard is not an acceptable
excuse.

17
 5. REFERENCING & PLAGIARISM
The lack of a proper bibliography and appropriate reference in assessed essays will
potentially greatly affect the mark for the work and may be considered plagiarism,
which is a serious offence.
All essays must employ the scholarly apparatus of references and a bibliography.
There are different acceptable referencing styles. In sociology we recommend use
of the Harvard system of referencing, which is described in detail here:
http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard
In short, Harvard referencing means that you refer to the author and date of
publication in brackets within the text, wherever you are referring to the ideas of
another writer. Where you quote an author you must always include quotation marks
and a page number in the reference.
All essays must include a References List which
Cite it Right

KNOW HOW
lists your sources in alphabetical order by
author's surname. This should include all (and You can learn how to
only) the sources you have directly referenced in reference properly in 15
minutes – head to the
the text. Whatever your source is, you need to
online tutorial, Citing it right,
provide a full set of publication details as at:
described in the guide linked above. All http://libassets.manchester.
academic texts you read will include ac.uk/mle/introducing-
referencing/
bibliographies and these should give you plenty
of examples of what information to include.

Plagiarism

The University defines plagiarism as

Avoiding Plagiarism
‘presenting the ideas, work or words of other
KNOW HOW

You can learn how to avoid people without proper, clear and unambiguous
plagiarism in 20 minutes – acknowledgement.’ It is an example of
head to the online tutorial,
academic malpractice and can lead to very
Original Thinking Allowed, at:
serious penalties up to exclusion from the
http://libassets.manchester.ac University. You should read the University’s
.uk/mle/avoiding-plagiarism guidelines here:
http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.asp
x?DocID=2870
There is additional useful guidance on plagiarism and referencing in the Crucial
Guide:
http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-
life/support/referencing-and-plagiarism/

18
 6. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Sociology students’ work is assessed into different class categories by using the following
criteria:
High First Class (75+) Such answers fully answer the question in a coherent manner and can
be expected to show excellence with respect to the following criteria:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression
 Knowledge of the relevant literature.
First Class (70-74) Such answers are highly competent and provide a near-full and well-
structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate some of the following qualities:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression
 Good knowledge of the relevant literature.
Upper-second Class (60-69) Such answers are overall competent and provide a generally well-
structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate most of the following qualities:
 A reasonable-to-good understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis, of argument and of expression
 At least selective knowledge of the relevant literature.
Lower-second Class (50-59) Such answers indicate some understanding of the issues and
provide an adequate answer to the question. They can be expected to show most of the following
features:
 A basic understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis and argument, albeit limited in extent
 Some awareness of the relevant literature.
Note: What distinguishes a high Lower-second Class from a low Upper-second Class is greater
extent of understanding of material and clarity of analysis and argument, as well as at least some
selective knowledge of the relevant literature, not mere awareness of its existence.
Third Class (40-49) Such answers indicate only a rudimentary understanding of the issues and
offer only partial answers to the question. They can be expected to show the following features:
 Sparse coverage of the material with several key topics missing
 Unsupported assertions and little clear analysis or argument
 Important errors and inaccuracies.
First and Second Years: Compensatable Fail (30-39)
Such answers fail to deal with the question in a way that suggest more than a fragmented and
shallow acquaintance with the subject. They are often error-prone and lack coherence. NB – it is
not possible to get a compensated pass for compulsory course on your degree programme.
There is also a limit to the number of compensated fails allowed in a single year. Please see your
Programme Handbook for details.
First and Second Years: Uncompensatable Fail (0-29)
Such answers fail to demonstrate the ability to engage with the question.

19
Third years: Fail (0-39) Such answers, at the upper end, fail to deal with the question in a way
that suggest more than a fragmented and shallow acquaintance with the subject, while, at the
lower end, they fail to demonstrate the ability to engage with the question at all.

20
 Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences

SOCIOLOGY COURSE UNIT GUIDE 2018-19

SOCY10432 Contemporary Social Thought

Semester 2
Credits 20
Convenor: Dr Elisa Pieri

Contents

1. Essential Information
2. Course Content
A. Aims & Outcomes
B. Lectures & Reading List
C. Tutorial Guide
D. Assignments & Assessments
3. Feedback
4. Your Commitment
5. Referencing & Plagiarism
6. Assessment Criteria

Please read this guide and bring any questions with you to the lecture.
Note: This course guide should be read in conjunction with the Blackboard website for the
course and the Degree Handbook for your degree programme. Degree Handbooks for social
science programmes are available here:
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/course-
information/
If your degree is based in another school, please contact your Programme Administrator for
your handbook.

1
 1. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Contacts

Lecturer: Dr Elisa Pieri

Room: Third Floor, Arthur Lewis Building
Telephone: 0161 275 6911
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Book via email: Wed 11-12, Thursday 12-1
Tutors: Tutorials will be given by: David Dobson, Jamie Garcia
Iglesias, Deborah Giustini, Wai Lau.
Administrator: Chantel Riley
UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building; (0161) 2753953;
[email protected]

Times and Dates

Lectures: Thursdays,10.00-12.00, Stopford Building Theatre 6
Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student
System. This is compulsory and on a first come, first served
basis.

Non-Assessed Coursework First non-assessed essay should be submitted by 2pm on

Submission: Tuesday 5th March 2019. The second non-assessed essay
should be submitted by 2pm on Friday 5th April 2019.

Examination Period: 13th May – 7th June 2019

Resit Examination Period: 19th August – 30th August 2019
Assignments and Assessments
 Two non-assessed essays of 1,500 words each (5% mark penalty for each non-
submission).
 One two-hour unseen examination to be taken at the end of the course worth 100%
of the total mark.
Review the following pages for full details of the assignments and assessments required
on this course.

Communication
Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be
communicated in this way. It is sometimes necessary to make changes such as seminar

2
rooms and assessment details and such changes will be communicated by email. Failing to
check your emails will not be an acceptable excuse for non-attendance or missed deadlines.

2. COURSE CONTENT

Course Aims
Get Organised
This course aims to introduce you to some of the Use this guide to find out:

KNOW HOW
most important social thinkers of the 20th and
 Where and when to attend
21st centuries, and to encourage you to critically
classes.
engage with key debates and issues in  What to read before
contemporary social thought. We will focus in lectures and tutorials.
particular on debates around ‘modernity’ and  Where to start your
‘postmodernity’, and ‘structure’ and ‘agency’. reading for assessments.
 How your progress will be
assessed.
The first part of the course considers critical Read on to ensure that you
developments of Marx, Weber and Durkheim’s know how to get the most out
theories of modernity, and the problems that they of your degree.
have raised. We explore questions like: what role
does culture play in freedom and domination? How is social order achieved? How can
individual behaviour be understood? Can social theories account for the experience of
women as well as men?

The course then moves on to explore two of the ways in which social theorists have
responded to the challenges present in modern social thought: firstly, we look at those who
see the problems as so fundamental that they develop ‘postmodern’ ways of thinking; and
secondly, we look at contemporary thinkers who seek to redeem modern social thought (to
some extent at least) by providing new perspectives on modernity’s key themes, from social
class to freedom and democracy.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit successful students will:

 Be able to write competently about a number of the key theorists/issues of

contemporary social theory
 Understand how theories discussed in sociological thought have been extended and
developed
 Have a solid grasp of some of the key debates that structure contemporary social
thought
 Be adequately prepared for engaging with the substantive theoretical content of
whatever sociology courses you pursue later in your degree

3
General Course Readings

There is no one textbook that is compulsory for this course (as no one book covers all the
topics). There are however some introductory textbooks for contemporary social theory that
cover many of the topics and will be useful for this course:
Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition, London: Sage. ***Available on Blackboard***
Elliott, A (2009) Contemporary Social theory. London: Routledge ***Free ebook access on
Blackboard***
Craib, I (1988) Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas. London: Routledge.
Cuff, E, Sharrock, W and Francis, D (1998) Perspectives in Sociology. London: Routledge,
4th Edition.
Scott, J (2012) Sociological Theory, second edition, Chelthenam: Edward Elgar.
Sharrock, W, Hughes, J and Martin, P (2003) Understanding Modern Sociology. London:
Sage.
Turner, B. S. (2000) (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory. The updated new edition:
(2009) (ed.) The New Blackwell Companion to Social Theory. Chirchester: Wiley-
Blackwell ***is available online through the library catalogue***

Lectures and Reading List

The course covers a range of contemporary social theorists and debates. However, it is also
concerned with situating these theorists within the history of social thought, and in particular,
the debates between modernity and postmodernity, and structure and agency. In order to
help us do this, the course is divided into three parts. In the first part (lectures 2-5) we will
look at critical developments of the theories of modernity offered by Marx, Weber and
Durkheim, and pinpoint questions that are raised over social change, social order,
individuals/agents, and difference. In the second part of the course (lectures 6, 7), we will
consider the argument that problems with theories of modernity are so severe that
‘postmodern’ ways of thinking should be pursued instead. In the third part of the course
(lectures 8,9) we consider the argument that despite problems with theories of modernity,
modernist social thought should be remodelled rather than abandoned.

Lecture 1
Introduction: Contemporary Social Thought in Context
In this introductory lecture we look at the background context of contemporary social thought
by revisiting how classical social theorists (like Marx for example) were reflecting upon the
birth of the modern world. We consider what is meant by the term ‘modernity’, both in terms
of the emergence of the modern world, and the emergence of a new way of thinking about
the world. We use this background as a springboard for considering key debates in
contemporary social thought, such as modernity and postmodernity, and structure and
agency. The lecture provides a ‘course map’ for the rest of the unit, which will enable you to
locate the theorists we study within the wider history and debates of social theory.

4
Required reading
Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition. London: Sage READ chapter one: ‘In the Beginning Was Modernity’.

Additional reading
Alexander, J (1987) ‘The Centrality of the Classics’, in Giddens, A and Turner JH (eds.)
Social Theory Today. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 11-57.
Craib, I (1988), Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas, Brighton, Harvester.
Read chapter 1: ‘What’s Wrong with Theory and Why We Still Need It’ and chapter 2:
‘Cutting a Path Through the Jungle’, pp. 3-31.
Delanty, G (2000) ‘The Foundations of Social Theory: Origins and Trajectories’, in Turner,
BS (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory, pp. 21-46 (available as an e-
book).
Sharrock, W, Hughes, J and Martin, P (2003) Understanding Modern Sociology London:
Sage. Read ‘The Background to Modern Sociology’.

For a detailed overview of Marx, Weber and Durkheim see Hughes, J, Sharrock, W and
Watson (1995) Understanding Classical Sociology. London: Sage.

Lecture 2
Society Without Opposition: Critical Theory, Culture & Domination
In this lecture we explore critical developments of Marxism in the early 20th century. We
focus in particular on the work of Critical Theorists who formed part of the German ‘Frankfurt
School’. Critical Theorists like Marcuse, Adorno and Horkheimer, suggested that a re-focus
upon issues of ideology and culture was essential for an accurate understanding of
modernity and its potential for both domination and freedom. They argued that modern
societies, whether capitalist or soviet communist, were places in which we are not free (even
if consumer capitalist societies appeared so). Indeed, the Frankfurt School blamed culture
for integrating the working class into capitalist society, and for effectively absorbing all
opposition. Where does this leave Marxism and any possibility for revolution?

Required reading
Kellner, D (1989) Critical Theory, Marxism and Modernity. Baltimore: John Hopkins
University Press. Read chapter 1: ‘Theory, Politics and History’.

Additional reading
Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition. London: Sage. Read chapter 2: ‘Defining Moments in 20th Century Theory –
Talcott Parsons and the Frankfurt School’.
Adorno, T W and Horkheimer, M (1947) Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments.
Amsterdam: Querido.
Adorno, T. (1950) The Authoritarian Personality. Harper Brother.
Adorno, T. (2001) The Culture Industry: selected Essays on Mass Culture. London:
Routledge.
Bottomore, T. B. (1984) The Frankfurt School. E Horwood.
Cuff, E, Sharrock, W and Francis, D (1998) Perspectives in Sociology. London: Routledge,
4th Edition. Read chapter 8: Western Marxism’, pp. 184-201.

5
Elliott, A. (2009) Contemporary Social Theory, London: Routledge. Read chapter 2: ‘The
Frankfurt School’,pp. 17-52
Honneth, A (1987) ‘Critical Theory’ in Giddens, A and Turner HJ (eds.) Social Theory Today,
Cambridge: Polity Press, pp. 347-382.
Marcuse, H (1964) One-Dimensional Man. London: Routledge.
McLellan, D (2003) ‘Western Marxism’ in Ball, T and Bellam, R (eds.) Cambridge History of
20th Century Political Thought, Cambridge: CUP, pp. 282-98.
Sharrock, W, Hughes, J and Martin, P (2003) Understanding Modern Sociology. London:
Sage. Read chapter 3: ‘The Frankfurt School and Critical Theory’
Wiggerhaus, R (1994) The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories and Political Significance.
Cambridge: Polity Press.

Lecture 3
The Problem of Social Order: Talcott Parsons

In this lecture we explore a key debate in contemporary social theory: how is social order
achieved? We look at an answer to this question from the leading figure of mid-20th century
American social theory: Talcott Parsons. Borrowing from Durkheim’s functionalist approach
and Weber’s action theory, Talcott Parsons emerged as the leading voice of sociology as an
academic and scientific discipline in the 1950s. He argued that modern western societies
found order and stability in shared norms and cultural values, putting a rather more positive
spin on the role played by culture compared to the Frankfurt School of the previous lecture.
We consider the contribution of Parsons’ work to modern sociology and his analysis of
twentieth century modernity. We also consider the problems his work raises over the
relationship between social structure and social action.

Required reading
Scott, J (1997) Sociological Theory, London: Elgar. Read only chapter 2: ‘Talcott Parsons:
where it all began’.

Additional reading
Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition. London: Sage. Read chapter 2: ‘Defining Moments in 20th Century Theory –
Talcott Parsons and the Frankfurt School’
Alexander, J (1981) 'Revolution, Reaction, and Reform: The Change Theory of Parson's
Middle Period', UCLA Center for Cultural Studies Research Article.
Bortolini, M (2007) 'Parsonianism', General Frameworks, Evolution. This chapter is an
extensive reworking of an essay titled ‘Analytic Sociology and Its Discontents,’
European Journal of Social Theory 10 (1): 153-172.
Craib, I (1988) Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas, Brighton: Harvester.
Read chapter 3: ‘Parsons: Theory as a Filing System…’
Hamilton, P (1984) Talcott Parsons, London, Routledge.
Hollis, M. (1994) The Philosophy of the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Lechner, FJ (1991) ‘Parsons and Modernity: An Interpretation’, in Robertson, R and Turner,
BS (eds.) Talcott Parsons: Theorist of Modernity. London: Sage (on blackboard).
Lechner, F J (2000) ‘Systems Theory and Functionalism’, in Turner, BS (ed.) The Blackwell
Companion to Social Theory, pp. 112-132 (available as an E-book).
Lidz, V (2011) 'Talcott Parsons' in Ritzer and Stepnisky (eds) The Blackwell Companion to
Major Classical Social Theorists. London: Blackwell.

6
Mayhew, L (1984) 'In Defence of Modernity: Talcott Parsons and the Utilitarian Tradition'.
American Journal of Sociology 89(6): 1273-1305.
Parsons, T (1951) The Social System, Glencoe: Free Press.
Parsons, T (1960) 'The Pattern Variables Revisited' American Sociological Review 25(4):
467-83
Rosenberg, A (1995) Philosophy of Social Science, London: Westview. Read chapter 5:
‘Functionalism and Macrosocial Science’
Sharrock, W, Hughes, J and Martin, P (2003) Understanding Modern Sociology. London:
Sage. Read chapter 2 ‘Functionalism’.

Lecture 4
Explaining Social Action: Rational Action Theory v Symbolic Interactionism

In this lecture we look at two contrasting social theories with their roots in the 20th century
that sought to provide explanations of human behaviour – Rational Action Theory (RAT),
which was drawn from economics, and Symbolic Interactionism, which had its roots in the
social-psychology of G.H. Mead. We explore RAT’s contention that the social world can be
explained in terms of the decisions made by rational individuals, and consider the
sociological limitations of such an approach. In contrast to RAT, we turn to G.H Mead’s ideas
about the self, interaction, and situational definition, which point us to the important role
played by meaning and interpretation in social action. G.H Mead’s approach laid the
foundations for the perspective known as ‘symbolic interactionism’, a phrase coined by
Herbert Blumer.

Required reading
Goldthorpe, J (1998), ‘Rational Action Theory for Sociology’ British Journal of Sociology 49:
167-92.

Additional reading
Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition. London: Sage. Read chapter 3: ‘The Language of the Self – Herbert Blumer’
Blumer, H (1986) Symbolic Interactionism, Berkeley: University of California Press.
Boudon, R (2009) The New Blackwell Companion to Social Theory. London: Blackwell.
Read chapter 9: ‘Rational Choice Theory’
Craib, I (1988) Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas, Brighton, Harvester.
Read chapters 4 and 5.
Dawe, A (1979) ‘Exchange Theory’, in Bottomore, T and Nisbet, R (eds), A History of
Sociological Analysis, London: Heinemann, pp. 418-57.
Elster, J (1989) Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Fisher, B and Strauss, A (1979), ‘Interactionism’, in Bottomore, T. and Nisbet, R. (eds) A
History of Sociological Analysis. Heinemann: London, pp. 457-99.
Homans, G (1974) Social Behaviour. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Joas, H (1985) G.H. Mead, Cambridge: Polity.
Luke, TW (1987) ‘Methodological Individualism: The Essential Ellipsis of Rational Choice
Theory’ Philosophy of the Social Sciences, volume 17, pp.341-55.
Musolf, GR (2003) ‘The Chicago School’ in Reynolds, L and Herman-Kinney, N (eds.).
Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism. Oxford: AltaMira Press, pp. 91-118.

7
Plummer, K (2000) ‘Symbolic Interactionism in the Twentieth Century’, in Turner, BS (ed.)
The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory, pp. 193-222.
Scott, J. (1997) Sociological Theory. London: Elgar. Read chapters 3 and 4.
Thompson, K and Tunstall,J (1971) Sociological Perspectives: Selected Readings.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. Read chapter on ‘George Herbert Mead’, p. 144-158.

Lecture 5
Dealing with Difference: Feminist Theories

The theories of modernity offered by Marx, Durkheim and Weber, and indeed many
developments of those theories that we have looked at so far, tend to provide ‘universal’
explanations of society and social action, which fail to address the question of difference.
Feminist theorists have been important in highlighting this problem, arguing that theories of
modernity exclude those who do not fit the ‘male’ category on which they are premised.
Explanations of society, perhaps, cannot talk to, or for, everyone. This concentration upon
particularity and difference has created an affinity between feminist and ‘postmodernist’
theories, the extent of which we will explore in this lecture.

Required reading
Benhabib, S (1995) ‘Feminism and Postmodernism: An Uneasy Alliance’, in Benhabib, S,
Butler, J, Cornell, D, and Fraser, N (1995) Feminist Contentions: A Philosophical
Exchange. London: Routledge.

Additional reading
Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition. London: Sage. Chapter 17: ‘Exposing Sex - Judith Butler’
Abbott, P, Wallace, C and Tyler, M (2005) An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist
Perspectives, 3rd Edition. London: Routledge.
Alarcón, N (1997) The Theoretical Subject(s) of ‘This Bridge Called My Back’ and Anglo-
American Feminism. In Nicholson, L (ed) The Second Wave. A Reader in Feminist
Theory. London: Routledge.
Barrett, M (1987) ‘The Concept of Difference’ Feminist Review, 26: 29-41.
Barrett. M (1997) ‘Capitalism and Women’s Liberation’, in Nicholson, L (ed) The Second
Wave. A Reader in Feminist Theory. London: Routledge.
Barrett, M and Phillips, A (eds.) (1992) Destabilizing Theory. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Benhabib, S, Butler, J, Cornell, D and Fraser, N. (1995) Feminist Contentions: A
Philosophical Exchange. London: Routledge.
Beauvoir, S de (1988[1949]) The Second Sex. London, Picador.
Butler, J (1997) ‘Imitation and Gender Insubordination’, In Nicholson, L (ed) The Second
Wave. A Reader in Feminist Theory. London: Routledge.
Creed, B (1993) ‘From Here to modernity: Feminism and Postmodernism’ in Natoli, J and
Hutcheon, L (eds.) A Postmodern Reader, NY: State University of NY, pp. 398-418.
Hartmann, H (1997) ‘The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism. Towards a more
progressive union’ in Nicholson, L (ed) The Second Wave. A Reader in Feminist
Theory. London: Routledge.
Hennessy, R (1995) “Queer visibility in commodity culture” in Nicholson, L and Seidman, S
(eds) Social Postmodernism: Beyond Identity Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

8
Jackson, S (2001) “Why a materialist feminism is (still) possible – and necessary”, Women’s
Studies International Forum 24, ¾: 283-93.
Lovell, T (2000) ‘Feminisms Transformed? Post-structuralism and Postmodernism’, in Turner,
BS (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory, pp. 325-351 (available as an E-
book).
Nicholson, L (1990) (ed.) Feminism/Postmodernism. Lo0ndon: Routledge.
Walby, S (1990) Theorizing Patriarchy. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wittig, M (1997) ‘One is Not Born a Woman’, In. Nicholson, L (ed) The Second Wave. A
Reader in Feminist Theory. London: Routledge.
Woodward, K (1997) Identity and Difference. London: Sage.

Lecture 6
Power/Knowledge: Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault is one of the most important contemporary social thinkers, and his damning
critique of western modernity has influenced ‘postmodern’ ways of thinking. In this lecture we
explore Foucault’s ideas about the nature of power in modern society, and the inseparable
relationship that Foucault draws between power and knowledge. Foucault argues that power
now operates in a productive and disciplinary fashion, such that we live in a ‘surveillance’
society in which we actively produce ourselves as docile and conforming subjects. We
investigate these ideas and their contemporary relevance.

Required reading

Cuff, EC, Sharrock, W and Francis, D (1998) Perspectives in Sociology. London: Routledge,
4th Edition. Read chapter 11 on ‘Michel Foucault’

Additional reading
Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition. London: Sage. Read chapter 9: ‘Structures of Power – Michel Foucault’.
Best, S (1994) ‘Foucault, Postmodernism and Social Theory’, in Dickens, D and Fontana, A
(eds.) Postmodernism and Social Inquiry, New York: Guilford press.
Dean, M (1986) ‘Foucault’s obsession with Western modernity’ Thesis Eleven vol 14: 44-60
Foucault, M (1979) Discipline and Punish, Harmondsworth; Penguin.
Foucault, M (1980) Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings. Brighton:
Havester.
Foucault, M (1984) The History of Sexuality Vol. I, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Katz, S (2001) ‘Foucault’, in Elliot, A and Turner, B (EDS) Profiles in Contemporary Social
Theory. London: Sage, pp. 117-27.
Kritzman, L (ed.) (1988) Michel Foucault: Politics, Philosophy, Culture: Interviews and other
writings, 1977-1984. London: Routledge. Read chapter 'On Power', pp. 96-109.
McHoul, A and Grace, W (1993) A Foucault Primer: Discourse, Power and the Subject.
Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. Read chapter 2 ‘Discourse’, on blackboard
McNay, L (1996) Foucault. Cambridge: Polity.
Rabinow, P (1987) The Foucault Reader. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Rouse, J (1994) ‘Power/Knowledge’ in Gutting, G (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to
Foucault, Cambridge: CUP, pp. 92-114 (available as an E-book)

9
Lecture 7
The Postmodern Condition

Considering the problems with theories of modernity that have been raised so far, some
contemporary social theorists have argued that these theories should be abandoned. Indeed,
some suggest that society has moved on radically since the times of Marx, Durkheim and
Weber, and that ‘modern’ forms of social thought are no longer valid. Now we live in a period
of ‘postmodernity’, which produces and requires ‘postmodern’ forms of thought. This lecture
explores the ‘postmodern condition’ and the implications it has for the way in which we
approach social reality. We do this firstly by exploring the turn towards language in
postmodern theorising and what is meant by ‘post-structuralism’. We then turn to an
example of postmodern theorising in the work of Baudrillard on ‘hyperreality’.

Required reading
Best, S and Kellner, D (1991) Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations, London: Macmillan.
Read chapter on ‘Baudrillard en route to Postmodernity’.

Additional reading
Bauman, Z (1992) Intimations of Postmodernity, London: Routledge. Read pp. 93-113.
Bell, D (1976) The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. Harmondsworth: Penguin, Read pp.
121-65.
Callinicos, A (1989) Against Postmodernism: A Marxist Critique. Cambridge: Polity.
Craib, I (1988) Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas. Brighton: Harvester.
Read chapre 10: ‘Poststructuralism and Postmodernism: the world gone mad’.
Cuff, EC, Sharrock, W and Francis, D (1998) Perspectives in Sociology. London: Routledge,
4th Edition. Read chapter 12: ‘Poststructuralism and Postmodernity’.
Elliott, A. (2009) Contemporary Social Theory, London: Routledge. Read chapter 8:
‘Postmodernity’.
Giddens, A (1991) Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age.
Stanford: Stanford University Press . Read chapter: ‘The Contours of High Modernity
Harvey, D (1990) The Condition of Postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell. Read pp. 10-66.
Hebdige, D (1989) ‘After the masses’ in Hall, S and Jaques, M (eds.) New Times, London:
Lawrence and Wishar. Read pp. 76-93.
Jameson, F (1984) ‘Postmodernism or the cultural logic of late capitalism’
http://newleftreview.org/?view=726
Kellner, D (ed.) (1994) Baudrillard: A Critical Reader. Oxford: Blackwell.
Lyotard, J F (1979) The Postmodern Condition. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Malpas, S. (ed.) (2001) Postmodern Debates. London: Palgrave. Read the introduction.
McGowan, J (1991) Postmodernism and its Critics. Cornell: Cornell University Press.

Lecture 8
The ‘unfinished project’ of Modernity: Jürgen Habermas

Not all contemporary social theorists agree with postmodernists that society has changed so
fundamentally. And not all social theorists agree that we should abandon ‘modernist’ forms
of social thought. Jürgen Habermas is one of the major defenders of modernity, arguing that

10
contemporary societies still contain the Enlightenment potential for rational discourse, radical
transformation and emancipation (via, for example, the ‘New Social Movements’). In this
lecture we focus upon the ways in which Habermas integrates a number of diverse strands
in modern social thought by providing us with the dual concepts of ‘system’ and ‘lifeworld’.
As a member of the second generation of critical theory (Habermas was Adorno’s student),
Habermas develops our ideas about the sources of oppression in a capitalist society, and
importantly, the potential for resistance.

Required reading
Layder, D (2005) Understanding Social Theory, second edition London: Sage. Read chapter
10: ’Habermas’s Lifeworld and System’.
Additional reading
Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition. London: Sage. Read ‘Reason and Democracy – Jurgen Habermas’, chapter
12.
Craib, I (1988) Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas. Brighton, Harvester.
Read Chapter 12 on ‘Jurgen Habermas: back to the filing cabinet’
Crossley, N (2005) Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory. London, Sage.
Edwards, G (2009) ‘Habermas and Social Movement Theory’ Sociology Compass 3/3: 381-
393.
Elliott, A (2009) Contemporary Social Theory, London: Routledge. Read chapter 6
‘Contemporary Critical Theory’.
Finlayson, J (2005) Habermas: a Very Short Introduction. Oxford: OUP.
Habermas, J (1981) ‘New Social Movements’ Telos 49: 33-37.
Habermas, J (1987) The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. II: System and Lifeworld,
Cambridge: Polity. (Plus the introduction to volume I, by McCarthy).
Habermas, J (1987),The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, Cambridge: MIT press, read
pp. 106-131
Habermas, J (1988) Legitimation Crisis, Cambridge, Polity.
Habermas, J (1996) ‘Modernity: An Unfinished Project’, in Passerin D’Entreves, M and
Benhabib, S (eds.), Habermas and the Unfinished Project of Modernity. Cambridge:
Polity Press, pp.38-59.
Pusey, M (1986) Jurgen Habermas (Key Sociologists). London: Tavistock. Read chapter 4:
‘’The Political Sociology of Advanced Capitalist Societies’.

Lecture 9
Rethinking Class: Pierre Bourdieu

Pierre Bourdieu is one of the leading social theorists in the current era. Like Habermas,
Bourdieu also tries to remodel theories of modernity to the extent that he argues that key
concepts, like those of social class and social structure, are still useful and meaningful. They
do, however, need to be re-formulated, and in this lecture we look at how he does this by
considering his ‘theory of practice’ and its three key elements: field, capital and habitus.
Perhaps more than any other theorist we have considered so far, Bourdieu attempts to offer
us an explicit solution to the problem of ‘structure’ versus ‘agency’.

11
Required reading
Bourdieu, P. (1986) ‘The Forms of Capital’, in Richardson, J E (ed.) Handbook of Theory of
Research for the Sociology of Education Greenwood Press, pp. 241-58.

Additional reading
Habitus:
Bourdieu, P (1997) Pascalian Meditations Cambridge: Polity. Read Chapter 4, ‘Bodily
Knowledge’.
The field:
Bourdieu, P. (2004) Science of Science and Reflexivity Polity. Cambridge: Polity. Read
chapter 2, ‘A World Apart’.
Social class:
Bourdieu, P (1984) Distinction. London: RKP. Read part II, ‘The Economy of Practices’.
Social structures and social practice:
Bourdieu, P (2005) The Social Structures of the Economy. Cambridge: Polity. Read part II,
‘Principles of an Economic Anthropology’.

Additional reading (secondary sources):

Allan, K (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social Worlds, 3rd
edition. London: Sage. Read ‘Structuring Class – Pierre Bourdieu’, chapter 8
Calhoun, C (1993) (ed.) Bourdieu; Critical Perspectives. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Crossley, N (2001) ‘The Phenomenological Habitus and its Construction’ Theory and Society
30: 81-120.
Fowler, B (1997) Pierre Bourdieu and Cultural Theory. London: Sage.
Grenfell, M (ed.) (2008) Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts. Acumen.
Harker, R, Mahar, C and Wilkes, C (1990) An Introduction to the Work of Pierre Bourdieu.
London: Macmillan.
Jenkins, R (1992) Pierre Bourdieu. London: Routledge.
Robbins, D (1991) The Work of Pierre Bourdieu. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Robbins, D (2000) Bourdieu and Culture. London: Routledge.
Swartz, D (1997) Culture and Power: The Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. Chicago: Chicago
University Press.
Webb, J, Schirato and Danaher, G (2002) Understanding Bourdieu. London: Sage.

Lecture 10
Summary and Exam Preparation
This final lecture will revisit the key themes and debates that were presented in the first
lecture. We recap the theories/theorists that we have studied in a way that positions them
within these key themes and debates. In addition, we will go over how to prepare for the
exam and what it will entail.

Required reading
Matthewman, S and Hoey, D (2006) ‘What Happened to Postmodernism?’ Sociology 40(3):
529-47.

12
 Tutorial Guide

The following guidance gives you an indication of what will be covered in each tutorial to
help guide your reading and preparation. On Blackboard you will find a detailed worksheet
for each of the tutorials. Below you can find the topic for each tutorial and the reading and
task you will need to complete in advance. It is very important that you prepare for the
tutorials as this improves the quality and participation for everybody. Please refer to the
worksheets for further details.

Tutorial 1: Manchester and Modernity

Preparation required

Readings:
Allan, K. (2013) Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory: Visualizing Social
Worlds, 3rd edition. London: Sage. Read chapter 1: ‘In the Beginning Was Modernity’

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

Complete the ‘Photo Challenge’ on the tutorial worksheet (on blackboard):
 Look at the photo of Manchester and extract from Engels on the worksheet. For
Engels, this captured the nature of society at the birth of ‘Modernity’
 Take your own photo in Manchester City Centre of a scene that in your view captures
the nature of contemporary society. Write a brief extract to accompany it and bring
the image and extract to your tutorial.

Tutorial 2: Society Without Opposition

Preparation required

Readings:
Kellner, D ‘The Critical Theory of One-Dimensional Society’ and ‘Reception and
Contemporary Relevance’, extracts from the Introduction to the second edition’, in
Marcuse, H. (1964) One-Dimensional Man. London: Routledge, pp. xxix-xxxviii

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

As you read, make notes on the following:
 What is wrong with advanced industrial societies, esp. capitalist ones?
 How have consumer capitalist societies integrated all opposition? (think economics,
politics and culture)
 What would individuals need to do to be free?

Tutorial 3: Parsons’ Problem33.

Preparation required

Readings:
Scott, J. (1995) ‘The Problem of Order’, pp.30-33.
Allan, K. (2013) ‘The Problem of Social Order’, pp.24-27

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

13
 Using the two extracts, make notes on the following:
 What is the problem of social order in the work of Thomas Hobbes?
 Why are cultural norms and values important to Parsons in his solution to the
problem of order?
 What does Parsons mean when he says that action is ‘voluntaristic’?

Tutorial 4: The Social Self

Preparation required

Readings:
Thompson, K. and Tunstall,J. (1971) Sociological Perspectives: Selected Readings.
London: Penguin. Read chapter on ‘George Herbert Mead’, pp. 144-158.

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

From the reading, make notes on the following and bring them to the tutorial:
 What does Mead say about play in childhood? Why is it important to the development
of the self?
 What does Mead say about games? Why are they important to the development of
the self?
 What is the generalized other? Why is it important for the self?

Tutorial 5: Debating De Beauvoir

Preparation required

Readings:
Beauvoir, S de (1949) The Second Sex. London, Picador. .Read ‘The Independent
Woman’, chapter, in Part VII, Towards Liberation.

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

 Create a table, with ‘man’ in one column, and ‘woman’ in the other column.
 As you read, note down the key features of man and woman that De Beauvoir
describes in this chapter.
 When you have finished, look back over the table and highlight: 1. The features you
think are out-dated, 2. The features you think are still relevant today.

Tutorial 6: Life in the Panopticon

Preparation required

Readings:
Foucault, M (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Harmondsworth;
Penguin. Read chapter on Panopticism’.

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

From the reading, make notes on the following and bring them to the tutorial:
 What is the panopticon?

14
  How is surveillance (visibility) linked to power?
 Why is this kind of power called ‘disciplinary’ power?
 In what social institutions does disciplinary power operate?

Tutorial 7: Has Reality Disappeared?

Preparation required

Readings:
EITHER: Baudrillard, J (1995) ‘The Gulf War did not take place’ (this is more difficult)
OR the ‘Introduction’ by Patton, P to The Gulf War Did Not Take Place.

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

From the reading, make notes on the following and bring them to the tutorial:
 The Gulf War of 1991 saw tanks arrive, bombs fall, and people die. Why then did
Baudrillard insist that the ‘Gulf War did not take place’?
 What role did the media play in the ‘unreality’ of the Gulf War?
 What does Baudrillard mean by ‘hyperreality’ and ‘simulacra’?

Tutorial 8: Cases of Colonisation

Preparation required

Readings:
Edwards, G (2009) ‘Habermas and Social Movement Theory’ Sociology Compass,
3(3):381-393.

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

From the reading, make notes on the following and bring them to the tutorial:
 What is the colonisation of the lifeworld? What problems does it create?
 What role do social movements play in resisting colonisation? What examples of
colonisation and resistance are given?

Tutorial 9: Reproducing Social Class

Preparation required

Readings:
Reay, D (1998) ‘Always knowing’ and ‘never being sure’: familial and institutional
habituses and higher education choice’ Journal of Education Policy 13(4):519-529.

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

From the reading, make notes on the following and bring them to the tutorial:
 What are the characteristics of the working class ‘familial habitus’ and the middle
class ‘familial habitus’?
 How do levels of cultural, economic and social capital affect higher education choice?
 How are people’s dispositions and practices related to the material conditions of their
lives?

15
Tutorial 10: Evaluating Contemporary Social Thought

Preparation required

Readings:
There is no reading for this tutorial but you must complete the ‘My Learning
Essentials’ online module called ‘Being Critical: thinking, reading, and writing critically’
(you can find this in the tutorial 10 folder on blackboard).

Tutorial Tasks (do before your tutorial)

After you have completed the online module, do this task:
 Select your favourite theory from the course (e.g. the theory you found most
convincing/least flawed/most relevant/most interesting)
 Prepare a 3 minute speech in favour of this theory. Include a defence against one
potential counter-argument against it.

Assignments and Assessments

Non-Assessed Assignment Details

You must complete 2 non-assessed essays, which you will submit online via turnitin. You will
receive a mark and feedback on these essays from your tutor. There is a 5 mark penalty
for EACH essay which is not submitted. Penalties will be deduced from your final module
mark at the end of the unit.

The first non-assessed essay is due by 2pm on Tuesday 5th March 2019

The second non-assessed essay is due by 2pm on Friday 5th April 2019

Note: Marks for compulsory non-assessed essays should not be considered a 'predicted
grade' for the course overall. The feedback and any grade provided are to allow you to judge
your understanding of the course material.

Essay Questions (word length: 1,500 words +- 10%)

1. Outline and critically discuss the vision of modernity presented by the Frankfurt School.
Do you agree that we live in a ‘society without opposition’?

2. Explain the role played by norms and values in securing social order according to Talcott
Parsons. Is Parsons’ theory a satisfactory one?

3. EITHER: Outline and critically assess the main claims of Rational Action Theory. OR:
Why is the ‘self’ inherently social according to George Herbert Mead? Do you agree with
his view?

16
4. What ideas and concepts have feminist theorists used to account for gender differences?
Which are the most useful in your view?

5. Outline and evaluate Foucault’s ideas about power in modern society.

6. What key ideas are associated with postmodernism in social theory? Has postmodernism
had a positive influence on social thought in your view?

7. Discuss Habermas’s theory of modern societies. Do you think his ideas are relevant
today?

8. Explain Bourdieu’s theory of social class and critically consider its strengths and
weaknesses.

Note: You must include an accurate word count on the front page of your essay. Your word
count should include all text in the essay (including any footnotes, tables and so on) but
does not include the bibliography.

Assignment Submission

Coursework must be typed, double-spaced in a reasonable font (eg. 12 point in Times New
Roman or Arial). Essays should be submitted online via Blackboard by 2pm on the
deadline day given on p.2 above unless given course specific instructions by email. Full
details of how to submit online are available in the ‘Submission of Coursework’ folder in the
relevant section on the course Blackboard website. Ensure you have familiarised yourself
with the system and give yourself plenty of time for submission as technology problems will
not be an acceptable reason for late or non-submission of work. If you have serious
problems submitting on the day please contact the SoSS Undergraduate Office in the Arthur
Lewis Building urgently. When you have successfully submitted your essay you will be able
to download and print a receipt. You must keep a copy of your submission receipt until all
work on this course is complete and you have received your final grades.
Note that our online submission system includes TurnItIn plagiarism detection software. Be
sure that you fully understand what plagiarism is; links for further details are included in
section 5 below. If, after reading the guidance, you are at all unsure about what counts as
plagiarism then you should contact your Academic Advisor to discuss it.

Mitigating Circumstances
Extensions may be granted to students where there are exceptional mitigating
circumstances (e.g. strong medical reasons). Full guidance on mitigating circumstances is
available here:

https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/help-and-
support/

17
Examination Details

This course includes a 2 hour examination in which you will be required to answer two
questions from a selection of 8 (there will be an exam question on lectures 2-9).

Examination past papers are available online via My Manchester. Go to the ‘Exam
Information’ portlet and click ‘Past Papers’ where you will be able to search for papers by the
course code.

Examination timetables are released later in the semester and you will be notified with
instructions by email from the Undergraduate Administrator.

If you miss an examination through illness or another serious reason you should contact the
SoSS Undergraduate Office as soon as possible. You will need to submit a Mitigating
Circumstances Form (see link above) along with relevant evidence.

3. FEEDBACK
All sociology courses include both formative feedback – which lets you know how you’re
getting on and what you could do to improve – and summative feedback – which gives you a
mark for your assessed work. This course uses
the following mechanisms for feedback:
Save Your Feedback
 Informal verbal feedback will be given
during lectures and in particular during Feedback via

KNOW HOW
labs. TurnItIn/GradeMark on the
 Written formative and summative Blackboard system is only
feedback will be given on your assessed accessible while you are
coursework, available via
studying this particular
TurnItIn/Grademark on the Blackboard
System. module. Download a pdf
 Exam results are published only as a version of your feedback to
grade. If you wish to discuss your exam refer to later by using the
performance with your lecturer please print icon in the bottom left
book an office hour slot by email and let corner of the feedback
your lecturer know in advance that this screen.
is what you want to do.

Your Feedback to Us
We’re continually working to improve our teaching practices – for that we need your
feedback. Towards the end of the semester you’ll be asked to fill out a Unit Survey for each
of your modules – please do! The survey is designed to be very short and easy to fill out but
the results are really valuable for our monitoring of teaching quality. We want to hear from
you whether your opinion on the course was good, bad or indifferent.
All of your Unit Surveys are available via Blackboard – simply go to ‘Unit Evaluation’ on the
left hand menu of the Blackboard website to begin. Alternatively, you can download a
smartphone app called EvaluationKit to fill out Unit Surveys for all of your course units.

18
 4. YOUR COMMITMENT
Study Schedule
Each 20 credit module requires that you study for a minimum of 12 hours per week. This is
comprised of teaching and independent study in these proportions:
 3 hours lectures and tutorials (2.5 in the first year);
 At least 3 hours reading the Key Reading;
 At least 3 hours reading an additional text from the reading list;
 At least 3 hours written work for assessed and non-assessed assignments.
This leaves 80 hours study time remaining to be used in independent study over the duration
of the course. For 10 credit courses these distributions will be proportionally reduced but
should be slightly higher than half the commitment for a 20 credit course.

Tutorial Preparation
Tutorials are a central part of the course module structure. They provide you with an
opportunity to discuss, apply and enhance your knowledge, and to build confidence in your
skills of analysis, comprehension and presentation. What you will gain from tutorials is
dependent upon your preparation and willingness to participate. It is thus essential that you
familiarise yourself with the Tutorial Guide for each course, undertake the required tutorial
preparation, and bring all relevant materials (hardcopies of the Key Reading, notes on the
Key Reading, preparation exercises etc.) to every tutorial. It is not acceptable to attend a
tutorial without being fully prepared.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your
programme. It is also expected that you arrive on time. Absence and late arrival are
recorded on your University record. Inappropriate amounts of absence or late arrival at class,
without extenuating circumstances, will be treated seriously and may result in exclusion from
the course. In addition, you should be aware that prospective employers almost always ask
for information about attendance and punctuality, as well as matters such as your record on
completing work to deadlines.

Absences
If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or other good reason you should
notify the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator in advance if possible
([email protected] or telephone 0161 275 3953). This is especially important
if you are due to make a presentation to the class. Absences of more than a few days should
be backed up by medical or other evidence.
All absences will be reported to the relevant Tutor, who will then monitor your performance.
A record of indifferent attendance will be held against you if your examination results are
marginal; you should not expect to be shown sympathy by the Board of Examiners in such
circumstances.
If you have missed a class, you should be sure to catch up on what you have missed by
further independent reading of materials on the reading list and/or consulting any available
lecture notes or PowerPoint slides if these are provided or asking other students whether
they might allow you to consult theirs.

19
 Email and Blackboard
Your commitment is also to check your University email and Blackboard at least every
other day in order to make sure that you are informed of any communications from tutors or
administrative staff. These might, for example, concern important meetings with staff,
changes of room; notification of course options registration, or course-relevant information
from your lecturer. Being unaware of arrangements because you have not checked your
email or Blackboard is not an acceptable excuse.

5. REFERENCING & PLAGIARISM

The lack of a proper bibliography and appropriate reference in assessed essays will
potentially greatly affect the mark for the work and may be considered plagiarism, which is a
serious offence.
All essays must employ the scholarly apparatus of references and a bibliography. There are
different acceptable referencing styles. In sociology we recommend use of the Harvard
system of referencing, which is described in detail here:
http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard
In short, Harvard referencing means that you refer to the author and date of publication in
brackets within the text, wherever you are referring to the ideas of another writer. Where you
quote an author you must always include quotation marks and a page number in the
reference.
All essays must include a References List which lists
Cite it Right
your sources in alphabetical order by author's
surname. This should include all (and only) the
You can learn how to
sources you have directly referenced in the text.

KNOW HOW
reference properly in 15
Whatever your source is, you need to provide a full
minutes – head to the
set of publication details as described in the guide
online tutorial, Citing it right,
linked above. All academic texts you read will include
at:
bibliographies and these should give you plenty of
http://libassets.manchester.
examples of what information to include.
ac.uk/mle/introducing-
referencing/

Plagiarism
The University defines plagiarism as ‘presenting the
Avoiding Plagiarism ideas, work or words of other people without proper,
KNOW HOW

You can learn how to avoid clear and unambiguous acknowledgement.’ It is an

plagiarism in 20 minutes – example of academic malpractice and can lead to
head to the online tutorial, very serious penalties up to exclusion from the
Original Thinking Allowed, at: University. You should read the University’s
guidelines here:
http://libassets.manchester.ac
.uk/mle/avoiding-plagiarism http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?D
ocID=2870
There is additional useful guidance on plagiarism

20
and referencing in the Crucial Guide:
http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-life/support/referencing-
and-plagiarism/

7. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Sociology students’ work is assessed into different class categories by using the following
criteria:

Very High First Class (90-100)

Such answers are exceptional and fully answer the question demonstrating the attainment of all
learning objectives and in adherence to all guidelines. The answer will be expected to show an
exceptional level of achievement with respect to the following criteria:
insight and depth of understanding of the material;
the exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression;
knowledge of the relevant literature.

High First Class (80-89)

Such answers are outstanding and provide a near-full and well-structured answer to the question
and can be expected to indicate an outstanding level of achievement of all of the following
qualities:
insight and depth of understanding of the material;
the exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression;
good knowledge of the relevant literature.

First Class (70-79)

Such answers are excellent and provide a largely- full and well-structured answer to the question
and can be expected to indicate excellence in some or most of the following qualities:
insight and depth of understanding of the material;
the exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression;
knowledge of the relevant literature.

Upper-second Class (60-69)

Such answers are very good and provide a generally well-structured answer to the question and
can be expected to indicate some of the following qualities:
a good or very good understanding of the material;
clarity of analysis, of argument and of expression;
a demonstrable grasp of the relevant literature.

Lower-second Class (50-59)

Such answers are good and provide a clear answer to the question. They can be expected to show
most of the following features:
a firm understanding of the material;
clarity of analysis and argument, albeit limited in extent;

21
some awareness of the relevant literature.
Note: What distinguishes a high Lower-second Class from a low Upper-second Class is greater
extent of understanding of material and clarity of analysis and argument, as well as at least some
selective knowledge of the relevant literature, not mere awareness of its existence.

Third Class (40-49)

Such answers are sufficient and demonstrate a rudimentary understanding of the issues and offer
only partial answers to the question. They can be expected to show some of the following
features:
sparse coverage of the material with several key elements missing;
unsupported assertions and a lack of clear analysis or argument;
important errors and inaccuracies.

Fail (30-39)
Such answers are insufficient and, while showing some awareness of the area, fail to deal with
the question in a way that suggest more than a fragmented and shallow acquaintance with the
subject. They are often error-prone, lacking in coherence, structure and evidence of independent
thought.

Bad Fail (20-29)

Such answers are inadequate and fail to demonstrate the ability to engage with the question.
They demonstrate only the most basic awareness of the area and may contain errors. They will be
almost completely lacking in coherence, structure and evidence of independent thought.

Very Bad Fail (10-19)

Such answers are severely inadequate and exhibit an almost complete lack of engagement with
the area or question.

Extremely Bad Fail (0-9)

Such answers are profoundly inadequate and exhibit a complete lack of engagement with the
area or question.

22
 Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences

SOCIOLOGY COURSE UNIT GUIDE 2018-19

SOCY10440 Researching Culture and Society

Semesters: 1 and 2
Credits: 20
Convenor: Dharmi Kapadia

Contents
1. Essential Information
2. Course Content
A. Aims & Outcomes
B. Lectures & Reading List
C. Lecture and Tutorial Week-by-Week Guide
D. Assignments & Assessments
3. Feedback
4. Your Commitment
5. Referencing & Plagiarism
6. Assessment Criteria
Please read this guide and bring any questions with you to the lecture.
Note: This course guide should be read in conjunction with the Blackboard website for the course
and the Degree Handbook for your degree programme. Degree Handbooks for social science
programmes are available here:
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/course-
information/
If your degree is based in another school, please contact your Programme Administrator for your
handbook.

1
 1. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Contacts
Lecturer: Dr Dharmi Kapadia
Room: 3.047, Arthur Lewis Building
Telephone: 0161 275 8902
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Wednesday 9 – 11am; book in advance by e-mail
Tutors: Provisional (TBC)
Alexandrina Vanke
Anthony Chambers
Ghalia Sarmani
Joshua Bunting
Niamh Kavanagh
Administrator: Chantel Riley
UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building; (0161) 2753953;
[email protected]

Times and Dates

Lectures: Monday 2 – 4pm; Moseley Theatre, Schuster Building
Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student
System. This is compulsory and on a first come, first served
basis.
Reading week: Monday 29th October – Friday 2nd November 2018
Assessed Coursework Semester 1: 2pm, Tuesday 15th January 2019
Submission: Semester 2: 2pm, Tuesday 14th May 2019
N.B: There are no examinations for this module

Assignments and Assessments

1. Semester 1: Non-assessed research proposal (5% penalty for non-submission)
2. Semester 1: Assessed qualitative analysis report (50% of final mark)
3. Semester 2: Non-assessed oral group presentation (5% penalty for non-submission)
4. Semester 2: Assessed quantitative analysis report (50% of final mark)
Review the following pages for full details of the assignments and assessments required on this
course.

2
Communication
Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be
communicated in this way. It is sometimes necessary to make changes such as seminar rooms and
assessment details and such changes will be communicated by email. Failing to check your emails
will not be an acceptable excuse for non-attendance or missed deadlines.

3
 2. COURSE CONTENT

A. Aims and Outcomes

Get Organised
Course Aims Use this guide to find out:
This course will introduce students to how sociological

KNOW HOW
Where and when to attend
research methods work in practice by focusing on how classes.
key dimensions of social life are researched from a What to read before lectures
variety of methodological approaches. The module is and tutorials.
built on a unique approach to teaching research Where to start your reading
for assessments.
methods based on a commitment to ‘inquiry based How your progress will be
learning’. All aspects of the research process will be assessed.
covered, from formulating a research question to Read on to ensure that you know
analysing the data, from both qualitative and how to get the most out of your
quantitative perspectives. The module is organised degree.
into sessions which relate to the key debates within
sociology such as gender, class, ethnicity and crime. Using real studies to explore these issues will
make the research come alive. By maintaining a common focus throughout each session, students
can clearly see the differences between methods and the implications that the choice of method(s)
can have for the production of sociological knowledge. This focus on real world research is
essential to student learning so that methodologies and methods are not discussed in an abstract
way.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit students will:
 be able to identify the main approaches in sociological research;
 be familiar with the epistemological assumptions underpinning quantitative and
qualitative methods;
 be able to demonstrate their knowledge of a variety of methodological frameworks and
research methods;
 be able to choose an appropriate research method with respect to their research
objectives;
 be able to use a variety of both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques to
an introductory level

B. Lectures and Reading List

The module is split into roughly two halves, with the first semester focussed on qualitative
sociological approaches to data collection and analysis, and the second semester focussed on how
to do quantitative data collection and analysis. The first semester begins with two introductory
lectures which look at the historical development of sociological research and ethical

4
consideration in social research. For the remainder of the first semester students will be
introduced to the main methods of data collection in qualitative social research; students will be
encouraged to think through the appropriateness of certain methods for specific research
questions. The remainder of the first semester is devoted to methods of qualitative data analysis;
once you have your data, what should you do with it? In this part of the course, in addition to
lectures presented by the course convenor, students will also have the opportunity to hear from
researchers who have used these methods in their own research projects. In the second semester,
we will look at how to collect and analyse quantitative data. These sessions will use a combination
of data produced by the students as well as high quality secondary data from national studies.

5
 Course Content Summary – Semesters 1 and 2
Semester 1
Lecture week/date Title
th
1. 24 September 2018 How and why do we research culture and society?
st
2. 1 October 2018 The ethics of social research
th
3. 8 October 2018 What is qualitative social research?
4. 15th October 2018 Doing Interviews and Focus Groups
nd
5. 22 October 2018 Ethnography & Participant Observation
th
29 October 2018 READING WEEK
th
6. 5 November 2018 Online Data Collection
th
7. 12 November 2018 Thematic Analysis
8. 19th November 2018 Narrative Analysis
th
9. 26 November 2018 Analysing Visual Data
rd
10. 3 December 2018 Using Secondary Qualitative Data
Non-assessed essay deadline: 2pm Thursday 15th November 2018
Assessment 1 deadline: 2pm Tuesday 15th January 2019

Semester 2

Lecture week/date Title

11. 28th January 2019 What is quantitative social research?
12. 4th February 2019 Social Network Analysis
13. 11th February 2019 Content Analysis
14. 18th February 2019
15. 25th February 2019 How do we analyse UK Census Data?
16. 4th March 2019 Survey Design
17. 11th March 2019 Secondary quantitative survey datasets & Univariate Analysis
in SPSS
18. 18th March 2019 Bivariate analysis in SPSS
19. 25th March 2019 Mixed Methods Research
20. 1st April 2019 Course round-up and advice on Semester 2 Assessment
Non-assessed group presentations: w/c 25th March and 1st April 2019 (in tutorials)
Assessment 2 deadline: 2pm Tuesday 14th May 2019

6
Course Readings
Some required readings may be made available electronically via the course website. All other
readings should be available from the University Main Library. Most reading is specific to
particular topics as described in the reading list below. The following more general textbooks are
helpful and recommended:
Recommended Course Textbooks
*Bryman, A. (2016). Social Research Methods. 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [main
recommended text]*
Alasuutari, P, Bickman, L & Brannen, J. (2008). The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods.
London: Sage. [Available online via library website]
Bryman, A. (1992). Quantity and Quality in Social Research. 2nd edn. Oxford: Routledge.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
4th edn. London: Sage.
Gilbert, N. (2008). Researching Social Life. 3rd edn. London: Sage.
Heath, S. & Devine, F. (1999). Sociological Research Methods in Context. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Law, J (2004). After Method: Mess in Social Science Research. Oxford: Routledge. [more
philosophical approach]
May, T. (2003). Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process. 3rd edn. Milton Keynes: Open
University Press.
Seale, C. (2011). Researching Society and Culture. 3rd edn. London: Sage.

7
 C. Lecture and Tutorial Week by Week Guide

Semester 1: Introduction to social research methods; Qualitative data collection

and analyses

Week 1
Lecture 1: How and why do we research culture and society?
Research methods have become increasingly central to ‘social science’ degrees both at
undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The ability to analyse evidence and relate commonalities
among sources of evidence is part of higher level thinking skills. Not only are these skills key to
academic attainment they play a critical role in promoting civic society. However, there are
concerns within sociology that despite the improvements in methods teaching, the ability to
understand and manage statistical information amongst undergraduate students is weak. The
outlook is equally bleak for qualitative methods especially where students are taught this
methodology in isolation, with few links to social science theory. The aim of this module is to look
at how quantitative and qualitative researchers approach various key social issues. In so doing we
will bridge the gap between theory and methods and critically assess the advantages and
disadvantages of each approach.

Required reading

Bauman, Z. (1990). Thinking Sociologically. Oxford: Blackwell Ltd, pp.1-14. Available online at
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=9d85c978-a988-e711-80cb-005056af4099

Additional reading
Alastalo, M. (2008). The history of social research methods, in: Alasuutari, P., Bickman, L. and
Brannen, J. (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods. London: Sage. pp. 26-41.
Available online via Library website.
Bryman, A. (2016). Chapter 1: The nature and process of social research, in Social Research
Methods. 5th Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 2-15
Savage, M. & Burrows, R. (2007). The Coming Crisis of Empirical Sociology. Sociology 41(5): 885-
899. Available at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0038038507080443 with
university username and password.

Tutorial 1
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, we will work in small groups to discuss the purpose of sociological research, what
sociology’s role is in an age of social media and what challenges lie ahead.

8
Week 2
Lecture 2: The ethics of social research
What does it mean to be an ethical social researcher? This lecture will take a look at historical and
contemporary research studies in the social sciences that have pushed the boundaries of ethics,
morality and law. We'll go from Philip Zimbardo's (1971) infamous prison experiment and Laud
Humphrey's covert ethnographic study of men who have sex with men in public toilets (1970) right
up to Alice Goffman's (2014) controversial ethnographic study of young black males living in
constant threat of police arrest in a low income neighbourhood in Philadelphia. We will then look
at four main principles that guide modern day research: voluntary participation, informed consent,
no harm to participants and anonymity and confidentiality, and discuss both the practicalities and
reflexivity involved in conducting ethical social research.

Required reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 6 Ethics and Politics in Social Research, in Social Research Methods,
5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.120-146.

Additional reading
Babbie, E. (2004) Laud Humphreys and research ethics. International Journal of Sociology and
Social Policy, Vol. 24 Issue: 3/4/5, pp.12-19. Available online at
https://doi.org/10.1108/01443330410790849 with university username and password
British Sociological Association (2017) Statement of Ethical Practice. Available online at
https://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/24310/bsa_statement_of_ethical_practice.pdf
Sieber, J. E. & Tolich, M. B. (2013) Chapter 5 Journalist Ethics Does Not Equal Social Scientist’s
Ethics in Planning Ethically Responsible Research pp.72-92. Sage Publications Ltd.: London.
Available online at https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-
binaries/54198_Chapter_5.pdf

Tutorial 2
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above. You should also read through the case studies that have provided to you in this
week’s folder on Blackboard.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, we will work in small groups to discuss the case studies that have been provided to
you about previous research that has taken place and what potential ethical, moral and legal
issues could arise in these projects.

9
Week 3
Lecture 3: What is qualitative social research?
Qualitative research is often thought of as the main way that sociologists test out their theories
about the social world. In this lecture we will discuss how sociological theory and data from the
real world are brought together to create sociological knowledge, and how world views
(ontological and epistemological stances) shape the frameworks within which qualitative
sociologists design research studies, collect data and analyse it. We will also think through how
results from qualitative studies can (or cannot) be generalised as well as considering the strengths
and limitations of qualitative research.

Required reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 17: The nature of qualitative research, in Social Research Methods,
5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.374-406.
Mason, J. (2002) Introduction: The Challenge of Qualitative Research, in Qualitative Researching,
2nd edn. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp.1-10

Additional reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 18: Sampling in qualitative research, in Social Research Methods,
5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.407-421.
Dickson-Swift, V., James, E. L., Kippen, S. & Liamputtong, P. (2009) Researching sensitive topics:
qualitative research as emotion work, Qualitative Research, 9(1), 61-79. Available online at
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468794108098031 with university username
and password.
Gunaratnam, Y (2003) Researching ‘Race’ and Ethnicity, in Researching 'Race' and Ethnicity:
Methods, Knowledge and Power. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp.3-27 [Available online via
university library].
Mason, J. (2002) Part 1: Questions of Strategy, in Qualitative Researching, 2nd edn. London: Sage
Publications Ltd, pp.11-48

Tutorial 3
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above. You should also read the example research proposal that has been provided to
you on Blackboard.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will form small groups to discuss the design of the research proposal that has
been provided to you; the materials will be in this week’s folder in Blackboard. You should
consider whether you think it has been designed well.
 Has the researcher considered their epistemological/ ontological stance?
 Is the sample well defined?
 Is there enough detail in the methods section?
 Have they explained exactly how the analysis will be done?
 How could the research proposal be improved?

10
Week 4
Lecture 4: Doing Interviews and Focus Groups
Over the next 3 weeks, we will look at different qualitative methods of data collection that are
widely used in Sociology, and the Social Sciences more generally. We begin with interviews and
focus groups – two of the most widely used data gathering processes. Although conducting an
interview for research purposes may seem straightforward, there are many things to consider to
ensure that the data collected are usable i.e. will the interview be semi-structure or unstructured?
How will you ensure your interview questions yield data that can be used to answer your research
questions? How will your own positionality (your ethnicity, gender, class, other characteristics) as
a researcher affect what the participant discloses or does not disclose to you? How will you create
a rapport with the participant? Similarly, focus groups also bring potential problems that need to
be thought through when planning your research; the main source of potential problems being
conflict between participants. After this lecture, you will be in a good position to start planning
your own research project for the non-assessed assignment due for submission in Week 7.

Required reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 20: Interviewing in qualitative research, in Social Research Methods,
5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.465-499. [INTERVIEWS]
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 22: Focus groups, in Social Research Methods, 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, pp.500-524. [FOCUS GROUPS]

Additional reading
Gunaratnam, Y (2003) Messy Work: Qualitative Interviewing Across Difference, in Researching
'Race' and Ethnicity: Methods, Knowledge and Power. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp.79-105
[Available online via university library]. [INTERVIEWS]
Kitzinger, J. (1994). The methodology of focus groups: the importance of interactions between
research participants. Sociology of Health and Illness, 16, pp. 103-21. Available online at
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9566.ep11347023 [FOCUS GROUPS]
Mason, J. (2002) Chapter 4: Qualitative Interviewing, in Qualitative Researching, 2nd edn. London:
Sage Publications Ltd, pp.62-83. Available online at
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=af0a52c8-2439-e611-80bd-0cc47a6bddeb
[INTERVIEWS]
Smithson, J. (2008). Focus groups, in: Alasuutari, P., Bickman, L. and Brannen, J. (eds) The SAGE
Handbook of Social Research Methods. London: Sage. pp.357-370. Available online via Library
website [FOCUS GROUPS]

Tutorial 4
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above. You must also bring along ideas for the research proposal you are going to write
for the non-assessed assignment.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will form small groups to discuss ideas of how you will write your research
proposal for the non-assessed assignment. It is expected that you will speak about your own ideas
and give feedback to your classmates on their ideas. You will also receive input from your tutor in
this tutorial.

11
Week 5
Lecture 5: Ethnography and Participant Observation
Ethnography and participant observation refer to the embedding of the researcher in the social
world of the participants that they are researching. The time and emotional commitment involved
in undertaking this kind of research is very heavy, and researchers have reported feelings of deep
empathy with their participants, to the extent that they feel they are living their participants’ lives.
We will begin our lecture with an introduction to the life and work of Erving Goffman, the most
renowned ethnographer in the history of sociology. From here we will look at how ethnography
and participant observation have developed in Sociology and in what areas of social research they
have been used. You will recall in Week 2 that we considered the ethical implications of
undertaking covert ethnographic research; in this week’s lecture we will revisit this issue to
deepen and extend our knowledge.

Required reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 19: Ethnography and participant observation, in Social Research
Methods, 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.422-464.

Additional reading
Duneier, M. & Back, L. (2006) Voices from the sidewalk: Ethnography and writing race, Ethnic and
Racial Studies, 29:3, pp.543-565. Available online at
https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870600598113 with university username and password.
Goffman, E. (1989) On Fieldwork, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 18(2), pp.123-32
Available online at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/089124189018002001 with
university username and password.
Ward, J. (2008) Researching Drug Sellers: An ‘experiential’ account from the ‘field’, Sociological
Research Online, 13(1)14, http://www.socresonline.org.uk/13/1/14.html

Tutorial 5
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will conduct a mini digital-ethnography in pairs. Details of the exercise will be
on Blackboard in this week’s folder.

12
Week 6
Lecture 6: Online research methods
The possibilities and mechanisms for conducting qualitative social research online are ever-
increasing. With the widespread use of internet and e-mail, techniques such as e-mail interviewing,
analysis of social media profiles and blog analysis are just some of the techniques that have been
used in Sociology to research the social world. This lecture will consider the advantages of
disadvantages of conducting research online as opposed to face to face, as well as highlighting
some of the ethical issues that apply particularly to online data collection methods.

Required reading
Eynon, R., Schroeder, R. & Fry, J. (2009) New techniques in online research: challenges for research
ethics, Twenty-First Century Society, 4:2, 187-199. Available at
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17450140903000308 with university username
and password

Additional reading
Gaiser, T. (2008) Online Focus Groups, in Fielding, N., Lee, R. M. & Blank, G. (eds.) The SAGE
Handbook of Online Research Methods. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp.290-306. Available
online via university library.
Hookway, N. (2009) ‘Entering the blogosphere’: some strategies for using blogs in social research,
Qualitative Research, 8(1), 91-113. Available at
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1468794107085298 using university username and
password.
O’Connor, H., Madge, C., Shaw, R. & Wellens, J. (2008) Internet-based interviewing in Fielding, N.,
Lee, R. M. & Blank, G. (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Online Research Methods. London: Sage
Publications Ltd, pp.271-289. Available online via university library.

Tutorial 6
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial you will take place in an online focus group with your tutorial group. Materials for
the activity are provided in this week’s Blackboard folder.

13
Week 7
Lecture 7: Thematic Analysis
Once you have collected your qualitative data, what do you do with it? In the next 3 lectures we
will look at different ways in which data can be analysed. We will start with one of the most
common ways of analysing qualitative data: thematic analyses. We will look at how to identify and
record themes from the data. Themes are commonly occurring patterns from across the
interviews that describe a phenomenon. These themes are then used to inform the categories that
are used for the analysis. Thematic analysis is performed through the process of coding in six
phases to create established, meaningful patterns. These phases are: familiarisation with the data,
generating initial codes, searching for themes among codes, reviewing themes, defining and
naming themes, and producing the final report.

Required reading
Boyatzis, R.E. (1998) Chapter 2 – Developing Themes and Code, in Transforming qualitative
information: thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks: Sage. pp.29-54.
Available online at https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=10500e90-47ff-e711-80cd-
005056af4099

Additional reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 24: Qualitative Data Analysis: Thematic Analysis, in Social Research
Methods, 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.584-589.
Mason, J. (2002) Chapter 8: Organizing and Indexing Qualitative Data, in Qualitative Researching,
2nd edn. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp.147-172.

Tutorial 7
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will conduct your own thematic analysis of interview transcripts that will be
provided to you. The materials can be found in this week’s folder on Blackboard.

REMINDER:
 Semester 1 Non-assessed Assignment is due this week at 2pm on Thursday 15th
November 2018. Submit your assignment via Blackboard.
 STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT WILL BE SUBJECT TO A 5% PENALTY ON SEMESTER 1
ASSESSED ASSIGNMENT

14
Week 8
Lecture 8: Narrative Analysis
Narrative analysis is one tool used to make sense of the social world. It focuses on the way in
which people use stories to make sense of their lives and the world around them. Importantly, in
qualitative research, narratives are not thought of as a set of truths about the social world but
instead as social products produced by people in a particular context, at a particular time and for a
particular purpose. Hence, narratives are interpretive devices used by people to represent
themselves and perform in the social world. In this lecture we will consider how narrative analysis
can be used to analyse interview and focus group data.

Required reading
Squire, C., Davis, M., Esin, C., Andrews, M., Harrison, B., Hydén, L. & Hydén, M. (2014) What is
narrative research? Starting out, In What is Narrative Research? (The 'What is?' Research
Methods Series, pp. 1–22). New York: Bloomsbury Academic. Available online at
https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/what-is-narrative-research/ch1-what-is-
narrative-research-starting-out

Additional reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 24: Qualitative Data Analysis: Narrative Analysis, in Social Research
Methods, 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.589-593.
Conway, D. (2008) Masculinities and narrating the past: experiences of researching white men
who refused to serve in the apartheid army, Qualitative Research, 8(3), 347-354. Available
online at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468794106093631 with university
username and password.
May, V. (2008) On being a ‘good’ mother: The moral presentation of self, Sociology, 42: 470–486.
Available online at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038508088836 with
university username and password.
Williams, G. (1984) The genesis of chronic illness: narrative re-construction, Sociology of Health
and Illness, 6(2), 175-200. Available online at
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468794106093631 with university username
and password.

Tutorial 8
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will conduct your own narrative analysis of a text that will be provided to you.
Materials can be found in this week’s folder on Blackboard.

15
Week 9
Lecture 9: Analysing Visual Data
In this lecture we will look at the ways in which we can analyse visual data. Although visual
materials are often seen as secondary to written materials in social research, we increasingly live
in a world dominated by visual images. Hence social researchers are making use of a wide range of
media, from postcards, to photographs and films in their work to look at the socially constructed
nature of ‘ways of seeing’. We will look at the different ways in which researchers analyse these
materials, specifically focussing on the use of mixed methods approaches.

Required reading
Ali, S. (2012) Visual analysis, In: C. Seale (ed.) Researching Society and Culture. 3rd edn. London:
Sage, pp. 457-474. Available online at https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=d98b2449-
09fd-e711-80cd-005056af4099

Additional reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 24: Ethnography and Participant Observation: The rise of visual
ethnography, in Social Research Methods, 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.451-459.
Fahmy, E. & Pemberton, S. (2012) A Video Testimony on Rural Poverty and Social Exclusion,
Sociological Research Online, 17(1)2. Available online at
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.5153/sro.2611 with university username and
password.
Mason, J. (2002) Chapter 6: Using Visual Methods and Documents, in Qualitative Researching, 2nd
edn. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp.103-119.
Schwartz, D. (1989) Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research, Qualitative
Sociology, 12(2), 119-154. Available online at
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00988995 with university username and password.
Winddance Twine, F. (2006) Visual ethnography and racial theory: Family photographs as archives
of interracial intimacies, Ethnic & Racial Studies, 29(3), 487-511. Available online at
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870600597909 with university username
and password.

Tutorial 9
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will conduct your own visual analysis of photographs that will be provided to
you. Materials can be found in this week’s folder on Blackboard.

16
Week 10
Lecture 10: Using Secondary Qualitative Data
This semester we have learnt how qualitative research is designed, how data are collected and
different methods of analysis. Many of the examples that we discussed were primary data
collection i.e. data collected by researchers to answer research questions that they designed.
However, in tutorials we have analysed some secondary data i.e. data that has been collected by
one researcher and analysed by other researchers for a purpose different to the original intention
of the data collectors. In this lecture we will learn about places (primarily the UK Data Service) we
can access secondary qualitative data and the potential uses and pitfalls of using such data.

As this is our last lecture on qualitative data collection and analysis, we will also evaluate
qualitative methods as a technique for social research in Sociology. Finally, guidance will be
provided for the qualitative research report you will submit for your Semester 1 Assessed
Assignment.

Required reading
Heaton, J. (2008). Secondary analysis of qualitative data, in: Alasuutari, P., Bickman, L. and
Brannen, J. (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods. London: Sage. pp. 506-519.
Available online via Library website.

Additional reading
Lyon, D. & Crow, G. (2012) The Challenges and Opportunities of Re-Studying Community on
Sheppey: Young People’s Imagined Futures, The Sociological Review, 60, 498-517. Available
online at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2012.02096.x with
university username and password.
Thompson, P. (2000). Re-using Qualitative Research Data: a Personal Account. Forum Qualitative
Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research [Online Journal], 1(3). Available online at
http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1044

Tutorial 10
Preparation required
There is no reading this week.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will have the opportunity to ask any questions relating to the qualitative
research you will undertake and write up for the Semester 1 Assessed Assignment. You are
strongly encouraged to use this tutorial for this purpose before the Christmas break.

REMINDER: Semester 1 Assessed Assignment is due at 2pm on Tuesday 15th January 2019.
Submit your assignment via Blackboard.

17
 Semester 2: Quantitative data collection and analyses

Week 11
Lecture 11: What is quantitative social research?
The discipline of Sociology in the UK is largely seen as a qualitative endeavour. Historically,
sociologists have viewed quantitative methods as something that is not relevant to the pursuit of
knowledge in the sociological field. This is quite different to the sociological tradition in other parts
of Europe and in the United States of America, where quantitative Sociology is on a par with, or is
even seen as superior to qualitative research in the field. However, we have started to see an
increase in the number of sociologists in the UK using quantitative methods although they are still
in the minority. This lecture introduces what quantitative research is and how it can be used in
sociology to answer research questions of social value.

Required reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 7: The nature of quantitative research, in Social Research Methods,
5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.148-169.

Additional reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 18: Sampling in quantitative research, in Social Research Methods,
5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.170-196.

Tutorial 11
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will form small groups to discuss the infographics you have been provided with.
Consider the following:
 What data are being displayed in the infographics? How were the data collected?
 Are the data displayed well? Do you understand what the infographics are trying to tell you?

18
Week 12
Lecture 12: Social Network Analysis & Social Media Analysis
Social Network Analysis (SNA) emerged in the twentieth century in Sociology as a quantitative way
of mapping social relations to understand how groups of people operate, which actors can be
considered as key players and to understand the diffusion of information. In this lecture we will
chart the history of social network analysis and use examples from the sociology of health and
illness to understand how data are collected using social network methods, and how these data
are analysed using specialist software.
In addition, we will also turn our attention to how social media data can be used for analysis in
Sociology; our main area of focus will be how sociologists have used Twitter data to understand
social phenomenon.

Required reading
Prell, C. (2012) Chapter 2: A Brief History of Social Network Analysis, in Social Network Analysis:
History, Theory & Methodology. London: Sage Publications Ltd., pp.19-58.
Vis, F. (2012) Reading the Riots on Twitter. Available online at
http://opentranscripts.org/transcript/reading-the-riots-on-twitter/ [read the transcript of
Farida Vis’ presentation or alternatively watch the video of her talk]

Additional reading
Kapadia, D., Nazroo, J. & Tranmer, M. (2018). Ethnic differences in women’s use of mental health
services: do social networks play a role? Findings from a national survey. Ethnicity & Health,
23(3): 293-306. Available online at
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13557858.2016.1263283
Kawachi, I. & Berkman, L. F. (2001) Social Ties and Mental Health. Journal of Urban Health, 78(3),
458-467. Available online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3455910/
Lewis, P., Newburn, T., Taylor, M., Mcgillivray, C., Greenhill, A., Freeman, H., & Procter, R. (2011)
Reading the Riots: Investigating England’s Summer of Disorder. Available online at
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/46297/1/Reading%20the%20riots%28published%29.pdf

Tutorial 12
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will be given some network data to analyse. Materials for the activity can be
found in this week’s folder on Blackboard.

19
Week 13
Lecture 13: Content Analysis
Content analysis refers to a specific type of approach to analysing documents and text (and even
visual materials) that quantifies (or counts) the content in terms of a categories that are decided
by the researcher before they begin analysis. The method can equally be applied to physical
documents and online material. In this lecture we will look at how content analysis has been
applied in sociology both offline and online.

Required reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 13: Content analysis, in Social Research Methods, 5th edn. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, pp.283-307.

Additional reading
Davis, K., Randall, D. P., Ambrose, A. & Orand, M. (2015) ‘I was bullied too’: stories of bullying and
coping in an online community, Information, Communication & Society, 18:4, 357-375.
Available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2014.952657
Harrison, R. (2018) Star Wars Women: the stats. Cinema + discussion blog. Available online at
http://www.writingonreels.uk/blog
Hendriks, H., Van de Putte, B., Gebhardt, W.A. & Moreno, M.A. (2018) Social drinking on social
media: Content analysis of the social aspects of alcohol-related posts on Facebook and
Instagram, Journal of Medical and Internet Research, 20(6), e226. Available online at
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6035352/

Tutorial 13
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial you will be provided with material to perform a content analysis on. Materials can
be found in this week’s folder on Blackboard.

20
Week 14
Lecture 14: Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Mapping
We begin this lecture by going back to the 19th Century and examining the work of W. E. B. Du Bois,
a black American sociologist and one of the most prominent African American Civil Rights activists
of the 20th century. He was the first African American to gain a degree from Harvard University,
and the first scholar to systematically study African American urban life. As part of his work, he
and his team produced hundreds of hand-drawn maps and data visualisations of the racial
inequalities faced by African Americans. His data and maps have been re-visualised by scholars
using modern technology such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Mapping. We will
evaluate the use of GIS a tool in Sociology for examining racial and ethnic inequalities using W. E. B.
Du Bois’ work as one example.

Required reading
Brown, L. Mapping Ethnic Segregation and Diversity in a Digital Age, Ethnicity and Race in a
Changing World: A Review Journal, 4(1). Available online at
https://ercw.openlibrary.manchester.ac.uk/index.php/ercw/article/view/76/72

Additional viewing
Library of Congress (2018) African American Photographs Assembled for 1900 Paris Exposition.
Available online at
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=%22lot%2011931%22%20NOT%20medal&st=grid&co=
anedub&loclr=blogpic

Tutorial 14
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial, you will perform create your own map of data using mapping software. Materials
can be found in this week’s folder on Blackboard.

21
Week 15
Lecture 15: How do we analyse UK Census Data?
For the next 4 lectures in our course, we will be using real UK quantitative data to learn techniques
for analysing these data. In the first of these lectures, we will be using Census data for England and
Wales to explore how they can be used to investigate ethnic inequality in the UK. The most recent
Census took place in 2011 in the UK. Figures from the Census provide a detailed picture of the
country we live in and help to plan local services based on important demographic information.
The Census data we will use are ‘aggregate data’ i.e. they tell us something about a whole country
or region rather than give us individual level data. As well as learning where to access these data,
and how to analyse them in Excel, we will discuss the benefits and limitations of using aggregate
data for social research.

Required reading
Jivraj, S. and Simpson, L. (2015). Ethnic identity and inequalities in Britain: The dynamics of
diversity. Bristol: Policy Press. Chapter 1 (Introduction), Chapter 11 (Have ethnic inequalities in
the labour market persisted?) and Chapter 12 (Is there an ethnic group educational gap?).

N.B. If you are having trouble getting a copy of this book, please read these briefings instead
which are shorter versions of Chapters 11 and 12:
Lymperopoulou, K. and Parameshwaran, M. (2014). How are ethnic inequalities in education
changing? Available online at
http://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/code/briefingsupdated/how-are-ethnic-
inequalities-in-education-changing.pdf
Nazroo, J. and Kapadia, D. (2013a). Ethnic inequalities in labour market participation? Available
online at:
http://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/code/briefingsupdated/Ethnic%20inequalities%
20in%20labour%20market%20participation.pdf
Nazroo, J. and Kapadia, D. (2013b). Have ethnic inequalities in employment persisted between
1991 and 2011? Available online at:
http://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/code/briefingsupdated/have-ethnic-
inequalities-in-employment-persisted-between-1991-2011%20(1).pdf

Additional reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 18: Sampling in quantitative research, in Social Research Methods,
5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.170-196.

Tutorial 15
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial you will use Excel to analyse UK Census data in relation to ethnic inequalities in
employment. We will learn how to calculate percentages using formulae, and create charts from
data. In this tutorial, you will get into groups for your non-assessed presentations that you will do
in tutorials in Weeks 19 and 20.

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Week 16
Lecture 16: Survey Design
This week, we will be looking at how surveys are designed and what constitutes ‘good’ survey
questions. Surveys ask different types of questions (open, closed) that produce different types of
data or variables. It is important to understand the difference in measurement levels as they will
determine what types of descriptive analyses can be done and what sorts of statistics need to be
produced. We will introduce a new programme, SPSS, for data analysis in this lecture, and you will
have a chance to practise using this package for data analysis in the next 3 tutorials.

Required reading
De Leeuw, E. (2008). Self-Administered Questionnaires and Standardized Interviews, in: Alasuutari,
P., Bickman, L. and Brannen, J. (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods. London:
Sage. pp. 313-327. Available online via Library website.

Additional reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 9: Structured interviewing; Chapter 10: Self-administered
questionnaires; Chapter 11: Asking questions, in Social Research Methods, 5th edn. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, pp.197-264.

Tutorial 16
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial you will design a short survey (maximum 10 questions) as a class. Everyone will fill
in the survey and you will create an SPSS file to input these data. Your tutor will guide you in this
group based exercise.

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Week 17
Lecture 17: Secondary quantitative survey datasets & Univariate Analysis in SPSS
Collecting survey data ourselves is very time consuming, expensive and often we cannot sample
very many people as independent researchers undertaking projects. An alternative to collecting
our own data is to make use of the large collection of survey datasets that are housed by the UK
Data Service. This is one of the largest collections of survey data in the world, with thousands of
survey datasets available for analysis by interested researchers. In this lecture you will learn about
the different types of surveys that are available (cross-sectional, repeated cross sectional,
longitudinal, cohort), as well as where to access and explore these data online. We will also discuss
how these large social surveys are designed so as to be able to make something called ‘inference’
or generalisations from the people that were sampled in the survey to the general population. This
lecture will also introduce you to ‘measurement levels’ in quantitative data analysis and illustrate
the appropriate ways in which you can describe these different types of data. This lecture will
describe how this is done for one variable by itself (univariate).

Required reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 14: Using existing data, in Social Research Methods, 5th edn. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, pp.308-328.

Additional reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 16: Using IBM SPSS Statistics, in Social Research Methods,
5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.352-372 (this can be read over Weeks 17 to 18 as
we cover each type of analysis in the chapter)

Tutorial 17
Preparation required
In preparation for the tutorial you should read at least the required reading specified in the
reading list above.

Tutorial Tasks
We will continue using SPSS to do some basic descriptive analysis i.e. producing frequency tables,
calculating percentages, mean, median, mode, as well as learning how to produce some basic
charts, tables and graphs.

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Week 18
Lecture 18: Bivariate Analysis in SPSS
In our final lecture on quantitative analysis we will learn how to analyse data so we can look at
associations between two variables (bivariate analysis). We will use some surveys from the UK
Data Service to explore associations in our data with a particular focus on gender differences.
Bivariate analysis is a key concept and building block of a lot of the quantitative data analysis we
perform on survey data: looking for associations or patterns between two variables of interest. By
the end of this lecture you will have a range of quantitative analysis tools to choose from when
preparing your group presentations for tutorials in Weeks 19 and 20.

Additional Reading
Turnbull, P. and King-Hele, S. (2014). What is SPSS 20 for Windows? UK Data Service: University of
Essex & University of Manchester. Available at:
https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk/media/342808/usingspssforwindows.pdf

Tutorial 18
Preparation required
There is no preparation required for this class. Use your own study time to work in your groups to
prepare your oral presentation for Weeks 19 and 20.

Tutorial Tasks
In this tutorial we will continue to learn more skills in SPSS. We will use a dataset from the UK Data
Service to analyse two categorical variables at a time in relation to gender differences.

25
Week 19
Lecture 19: Mixed methods research
Mixed methods research is research that combines both qualitative and quantitative work.
Although in principle, this may seem quite straightforward, there are many issues to consider
when undertaking mixed methods research. There are even debates within the discipline of
Sociology as to whether mixed methods research should be undertaken at all, given the markedly
different ontological and epistemological stances of qualitative and quantitative researchers. We
will consider different examples of mixed methods research in Sociology and evaluate the
usefulness and validity of such studies.

Required reading
Bryman, A. (2016) Chapter 27: Mixed methods research: combining quantitative and qualitative
research, in Social Research Methods, 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.634-660.

Additional reading
Fahmy, E. & Pemberton, S. (2012) A Video Testimony on Rural Poverty and Social Exclusion,
Sociological Research Online, 17(1)2. Available online at
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.5153/sro.2611 with university username and
password.
Mason, J. (2002) Chapter 6: Using Visual Methods and Documents, in Qualitative Researching, 2nd
edn. London: Sage Publications Ltd, pp.103-119.
Schwartz, D. (1989) Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research, Qualitative
Sociology, 12(2), 119-154. Available online at
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00988995 with university username and password.
Winddance Twine, F. (2006) Visual ethnography and racial theory: Family photographs as archives
of interracial intimacies, Ethnic & Racial Studies, 29(3), 487-511. Available online at
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870600597909 with university username
and password.

Tutorial 19
Preparation required
Non-assessed assignments (oral group presentations) take place in weeks 19 & 20.

Tutorial Tasks
Non-assessed assignments (oral group presentations) take place in weeks 19 & 20.

26
Week 20
Lecture 20: Course round-up and advice on Semester 2 Assessment
In our final lecture, we will summarise the research tools (both qualitative and quantitative) that
we have been using over the course and look at how they have been useful for answering
sociological research questions. In addition, we will talk about what is expected in the research
report that you will write for your second semester assignment.

Required reading
There is no reading for this week

Tutorial 20
Preparation required
Non-assessed assignments (oral group presentations) take place in weeks 19 & 20.

Tutorial Tasks
Non-assessed assignments (oral group presentations) take place in weeks 19 & 20.

27
 D. ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS

1. Semester 1 Non-Assessed Assignment

Deadline: 2pm on Thursday 15th November 2018

Write a 750 word (+/ - 10%) research proposal for a research study about one of the topics listed
below. You must use interviews or a focus group as your method of data collection. The proposal
you write for this non-assessed assignment will be carried out and written up for your Semester 1
Assessed Assignment.

Research Topics:

1. Ethnic inequalities in education or employment

2. The use of social media and effects on mental health
3. Gender inequality in the domestic sphere
4. The meaning and performance of ‘class’ in everyday lives

Your research proposal must include a literature review, methods section, consideration of
researcher position, a proposed method of analysis, a reference list and an interview schedule or
focus group schedule as an appendix.

The participants for your planned research study must be people known to you. We will not be
gaining ethical approval for your research study and hence we cannot approach members of the
general public. Therefore it is imperative that you do not conduct your interviews or focus group
with people unknown to you, nor with children or vulnerable people.

Further Guidance:

 Further guidance will be provided in Week 4’s Lecture; review the slides on Blackboard or
the podcast for this week to access this material.
 Check the Blackboard folder for this assessment for further written guidance.

Note: this non-assessed assignment is a research proposal. DO NOT carry out the study for this
assignment. You will carry out the study and write it up for your Semester 1 Assessed
Assignment.

Note: Marks for compulsory non-assessed essays or plans should not be considered a 'predicted
grade' for the course overall. The feedback and any grade provided are to allow you to judge
your understanding of the course material.
Failure to submit your essay will result in a 5% reduction in your mark for the Semester 1
Assessed Assignment.

28
2. Semester 1 Assessed Assignment
Deadline: 2pm on Tuesday 15th January 2019
Write a 1,500-word (+/- 10%) qualitative research report based on the research that you planned
earlier in the semester, and have undertaken for this assignment. The method of data collection
for your report must be interviews or a focus group.
The participants in your research study must be people known to you. We will not be gaining
ethical approval for your research study and hence we cannot approach members of the general
public. Therefore it is imperative that you do not conduct your interviews or focus group with
people unknown to you, nor with children or vulnerable people.

Your report must contain a literature review, methods section, results, discussion, conclusion and
an appendix.

Further Guidance:

 Further guidance will be provided in Week 10’s Lecture; review the slides on Blackboard or
the podcast for this week to access this material.
 Check the Blackboard folder for this assessment for further written guidance.

3. Semester 2 Non-Assessed Assignment

Carry out a piece of quantitative data analysis using one of the datasets that have been provided to
you, and present your findings in an oral group presentation. You must explore the association
between two variables in your analysis. Your allocated time for the presentation and for the
tutorial group to ask you questions will be 15 minutes.

Students will undertake group oral presentations in groups of 2 or 3 students in their tutorial
groups (scheduled for Weeks 19 and 20). There will be a 3 secondary datasets available to
students on Blackboard in order to complete a piece of quantitative data analysis to answer a
research question of your choice in the broad topics listed below. An example question is provided
within each topic.
Research Topics
1. Gender: Are women more likely than men to be turned down for a promotion in the
workplace?

2. Ethnicity: Are ethnic minority people more likely to feel unsafe in public places compared
with the White majority population?

3. Class: Are older people more likely to experience class conflict?

4. Crime: Are women more likely to be victims of crime than men?

29
Other topics are acceptable but must be discussed with your tutor prior to undertaking analysis for
your presentation.
Students will be expected to use PowerPoint for their presentations. However, it is also acceptable
for students to use other computer-based presentation programmes (e.g. Prezi, Apple Keynote,
Google Slides). It is the responsibility of the students to ensure that their chosen presentation
programme is compatible with the University computer system. Please e-mail your lecturers and/
or your tutors if you need help with software compatibility.
Further Guidance:

 Further guidance will be provided in Week 18’s Lecture; review the slides on Blackboard or
the podcast for this week to access this material.
 Check the Blackboard folder for this assessment for further written guidance.

Failure to present in your group will result in a 5% reduction in your mark for the assessed
assignment for Semester 2.

4. Semester 2 Assessed Assignment

Produce a 1,500-word (+/- 10%) quantitative research report based on a research question of your
choice (subject to approval by your seminar tutor). You will be expected to perform secondary
quantitative data analysis of one of the 3 datasets that have been provided to you on Blackboard.
You must perform a crosstabulation (at a minimum) as part of your data analysis.

Example questions from previous years:

Does age influence how people perceive immigration?

How reliant are young people upon smartphones?
Does social class affect level of participation in higher education?
How does gender affect feelings of personal safety outside the home?

Your question can be quite simple. These examples are good because they clearly identify two
variables. It is the relationship between these two variables that you will be exploring.

Further Guidance:

 Further guidance will be provided in Week 20’s Lecture; review the slides on Blackboard or
the podcast for this week to access this material.
 Check the Blackboard folder for this assessment for further written guidance.

30
Word Count

Note: You must include an accurate word count on the front page of your coursework. Failure to
do so will lead to an automatic 2-mark deduction. Your word count should include all text in the
coursework (including any in-text references, tables and so on) but does not include the
bibliography/ reference list. The word count must fall within 10% of the stated limit (above or
below) to avoid loss of marks.

Assessed Coursework Deadlines

You must submit your essay by 2pm on the deadline day given on p.2 above unless given course
specific instructions by email. Deadlines for the submission of assessment will also be posted on
Blackboard. Ensure that you regularly consult the Blackboard site and University email.
Coursework Submission
Coursework must be typed, double-spaced in a reasonable font (e.g. 12 point in Arial or Calibri).
Coursework should be submitted online via Blackboard by 2pm on the deadline day above unless
given course specific instructions by email. Full details of how to submit online are available in the
‘Submission of Coursework’ folder in the relevant section on the course Blackboard website.
Ensure you have familiarised yourself with the system and give yourself plenty of time for
submission as technology problems will not be an acceptable reason for late or non-submission of
work. If you have serious problems submitting on the day please contact the SoSS Undergraduate
Office in the Arthur Lewis Building urgently.
When you have successfully submitted your essay you will be able to download and print a receipt.
You must keep a copy of your submission receipt until all work on this course is complete and you
have received your final grades.
Note that our online submission system includes TurnItIn plagiarism detection software. Be sure
that you fully understand what plagiarism is; links for further details are included in section 5
below. If, after reading the guidance, you are at all unsure about what counts as plagiarism then
you should contact your Academic Advisor to discuss it.
Please include your Student IDs (not your name) on your submission and in a header at the top
of your essay so your essay can be identified and marked anonymously.
Policy on Late Submission
Any work that has been submitted after a deadline has passed is classed as late except in
cases where an extension has already been agreed. There are no discretionary periods or
periods of grace. A student who submits work at 1 second past a deadline or later will
therefore be subject to a penalty for late submission.

This relates to first attempts only. Students who submit referral (resit) assignments after the
deadline will be automatically subject to a mark of zero. There is no sliding scale in
operations for resits/referrals.

31
Mitigating Circumstances
Extensions may be granted to students where there are exceptional mitigating circumstances (e.g.
strong medical reasons). In such cases, an online Mitigating Circumstances Form must be
completed and submitted. Full guidance on mitigating circumstances is available here:
https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/help-and-support/

32
 3. FEEDBACK
All sociology courses include both formative feedback – which lets you know how you are getting
on and what you could do to improve – and summative feedback – which gives you a mark for
your assessed work. This course uses the following
mechanisms for feedback:
Save Your Feedback
Informal verbal feedback will be given during Feedback via

KNOW HOW
lectures and tutorials for individual and group TurnItIn/GradeMark on the
work. (You will need to contribute regularly to Blackboard system is only
group discussions to make the best use of this.) accessible while you are
Written formative feedback will be given on studying this particular module.
Download a pdf version of your
your non-assessed assignment in Semester 1
feedback to refer to later by
and made available via Blackboard. Oral
using the print icon in the
formative feedback will be given for the non-
bottom left corner of
assessed assignment in Semester 2. the feedback screen.
Written formative and summative feedback
will be given on your assessed coursework,
available via Blackboard

Additional Office Hours will be provided to discuss planning for coursework assessments and
feedback. These will be advertised in lectures and via Blackboard announcements.

Your Feedback to Us

We are continually working to improve our teaching practices – for that we need your feedback.
Towards the end of the semester you will be asked to fill out a Unit Survey for each of your
modules – please do! The survey is designed to be very short and easy to fill out, but the results
are really valuable for our monitoring of teaching quality. We want to hear from you whether your
opinion on the course was good, bad or indifferent.
All of your Unit Surveys are available via Blackboard – simply go to ‘Unit Evaluation’ on the left
hand menu of the Blackboard website to begin. Alternatively, you can download a smartphone
app called EvaluationKit to fill out Unit Surveys for all of your course units.

33
 4. YOUR COMMITMENT
Study Schedule
Each 20 credit module requires that you study for a minimum of 12 hours per week. This is
comprised of teaching and independent study in these proportions:
 3 hours lectures and tutorials (2.5 in the first year);
 At least 3 hours reading the Key Reading;
 At least 3 hours reading an additional text from the reading list;
 At least 3 hours written work for assessed and non-assessed assignments.
This leaves 80 hours study time remaining to be used in independent study over the duration of
the course. For 10 credit courses these distributions will be proportionally reduced but should be
slightly higher than half the commitment for a 20 credit course.

Tutorial Preparation
Tutorials are a central part of the course module structure. They provide you with an opportunity
to discuss, apply and enhance your knowledge, and to build confidence in your skills of analysis,
comprehension and presentation. What you will gain from tutorials is dependent upon your
preparation and willingness to participate. It is thus essential that you familiarise yourself with the
Tutorial Guide for each course, undertake the required tutorial preparation, and bring all relevant
materials (hardcopies of the Key Reading, notes on the Key Reading, preparation exercises etc.) to
every tutorial. It is not acceptable to attend a tutorial without being fully prepared.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your programme.
It is also expected that you arrive on time. Absence and late arrival are recorded on your
University record. Inappropriate amounts of absence or late arrival at class, without extenuating
circumstances, will be treated seriously and may result in exclusion from the course. In addition,
you should be aware that prospective employers almost always ask for information about
attendance and punctuality, as well as matters such as your record on completing work to
deadlines.

Absences
If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or another good reason you should notify
the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator in advance if possible
([email protected] or telephone 0161 275 3953). This is especially important if you
are due to make a presentation to the class. Absences of more than a few days should be backed
up by medical or other evidence.
All absences will be reported to the relevant Tutor, who will then monitor your performance. A
record of indifferent attendance will be held against you if your examination results are marginal;
you should not expect to be shown sympathy by the Board of Examiners in such circumstances.

34
If you have missed a class, you should be sure to catch up on what you have missed by further
independent reading of materials on the reading list and/or consulting any available lecture notes
or PowerPoint slides if these are provided, or asking other students whether they might allow you
to consult theirs.

Email and Blackboard

Your commitment is also to check your University email and Blackboard at least every other day
in order to make sure that you are informed of any communications from tutors or administrative
staff. These might, for example, concern important meetings with staff, changes of room,
notification of course options registration, or course-relevant information from your lecturer.
Being unaware of arrangements because you have not checked your email or Blackboard is not an
acceptable excuse.

35
 5. REFERENCING AND PLAGIARISM
The lack of a proper bibliography and appropriate reference in assessed essays will potentially
greatly affect the mark for the work and may be considered plagiarism, which is a serious offence.
All essays must employ the scholarly apparatus of references and a bibliography. There are
different acceptable referencing styles. In sociology we recommend use of the Harvard system of
referencing, which is described in detail here:
http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard
In short, Harvard referencing means that you refer to the author and date of publication in
brackets within the text, wherever you are referring to the ideas of another writer. Where you
quote an author you must always include quotation marks
and a page number in the reference.
Cite it Right

KNOW HOW
All essays must include a References List which lists your
sources in alphabetical order by author's surname. This You can learn how to
should include all (and only) the sources you have directly reference properly in 15
minutes – head to the online
referenced in the text. Whatever your source is, you need tutorial, Citing it right, at:
to provide a full set of publication details as described in http://libassets.manchester.a
the guide linked above. All academic texts you read will c.uk/mle/introduci
include bibliographies and these should give you plenty of ng-referencing/
examples of what information to include.

Plagiarism

The University defines plagiarism as ‘presenting the ideas,

Avoiding Plagiarism
work or words of other people without proper, clear and
KNOW HOW

You can learn how to avoid unambiguous acknowledgement.’ It is an example of

plagiarism in 20 minutes – head
academic malpractice and can lead to very serious
to the online tutorial, Original
penalties up to exclusion from the University. You should
Thinking Allowed, at:
read the University’s guidelines here:
http://libassets.manc
hester.ac.uk/mle/avo http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=
iding-plagiarism 2870
There is additional useful guidance on plagiarism and
referencing in the Crucial Guide:
http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-life/support/referencing-and-
plagiarism/

36
 6. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Sociology student’s work is assessed into different class categories by using the following criteria:
High First Class (75+) Such answers fully answer the question in a coherent manner and can be expected to
show excellence with respect to the following criteria:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression
 Knowledge of the relevant literature.
First Class (70-74) Such answers are highly competent and provide a near-full and well-structured answer
to the question and can be expected to indicate some of the following qualities:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression
 Good knowledge of the relevant literature.
Upper-second Class (60-69) Such answers are overall competent and provide a generally well-structured
answer to the question and can be expected to indicate most of the following qualities:
 A reasonable-to-good understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis, of argument and of expression
 At least selective knowledge of the relevant literature.
Lower-second Class (50-59) Such answers indicate some understanding of the issues and provide an
adequate answer to the question. They can be expected to show most of the following features:
 A basic understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis and argument, albeit limited in extent
 Some awareness of the relevant literature.
Note: What distinguishes a high Lower-second Class from a low Upper-second Class is greater extent of
understanding of material and clarity of analysis and argument, as well as at least some selective
knowledge of the relevant literature, not mere awareness of its existence.
Third Class (40-49) Such answers indicate only a rudimentary understanding of the issues and offer only
partial answers to the question. They can be expected to show the following features:
 Sparse coverage of the material with several key topics missing
 Unsupported assertions and little clear analysis or argument
 Important errors and inaccuracies.
Fail (0-39) Such answers, at the upper end, fail to deal with the question in a way that suggest more than a
fragmented and shallow acquaintance with the subject, while, at the lower end, they fail to demonstrate
the ability to engage with the question at all.

37
 7. ESSAY TIPS AND READING STRATEGIES
Essay writing is an essential skill, helping you organise your learning, deepen your understanding
and, of course, evidence your progress in coursework and exams. You will probably have already
written assessed essays as part of your degree – it is important that you bear in mind your current
strengths and weaknesses when sharpening your skills. Go back over your feedback from previous
modules: what did you do well, what could you improve? If you’re having problems making sense
of your past feedback you could arrange a meeting with your academic advisor to discuss your
general skill levels and strategies for improvement.
The following are more general tips for good essay writing.
Always make a plan and write a first draft before completing any significant piece of writing.
Writing is a very good way of coming to understand things - so don’t expect to get it right the first
time. Some lecturers work on eight or more drafts of an article before they submit it for
publication!
Planning. Always start with as detailed a plan as possible. It should include a breakdown of the
essay question so you know what each section of your essay is doing; some mention of the really
important literature to reference; and details of any data you are going to present. You don’t
necessarily have to stick with your plan, but if going off the plan consider why you’re doing so, and
whether the material you are adding remains relevant.
Structure and focus. The point of planning is to end up with a well structured answer that is
entirely focused on the question. Structure works at several levels. Overall, of course, you should
have an introduction, a main body and a conclusion. Your main body should have several sub-
sections, and the use of subheadings to organise your writing is strongly recommended. Within
those sections, your paragraphs should be grammatically correct and contribute to the flow of the
essay to aid comprehension. That is, each paragraph should deal with an identifiable topic that
links to the next paragraph. When your essay is well structured it is easier to ensure that it
remains focused on the question at hand.
Topic sentences. One exercise you can do to check structure and focus is to examine the first
sentence of every paragraph. It should introduce the topic of that paragraph in some way, and
should follow on logically from the material presented in the preceding paragraph. Try writing a
separate document, where you write one ‘topic sentence’ for each paragraph, aiming to
summarise that paragraph in a nutshell. If you find it difficult to express the idea in a single
sentence consider whether the paragraph really hangs together coherently. Should it be broken
into separate paragraphs? Or perhaps you need to remove some material that is not relevant?
When you have your list of topic sentences it is easy to see the overall flow of the essay – does it
make sense?
Critical engagement. ‘Critical’ in this sense does not necessarily mean to claim that something is
wrong, it might, on the contrary, affirm some argument in the literature. However, to engage
critically you need to think about claims, arguments and evidence from a number of different

38
angles. Does the claim make sense? Does it apply equally to different contexts, or does it only
apply in one country, industry or to particular group of people? Does the evidence for the claim
really stack up? If you can bring other material to bear that either confirms or denies some claim
made in the literature then you know you are engaging critically.
Quoting and Referencing. Limit your use of quotations, we want to read your words. Bear in mind
that quotations never tell the whole story since they have been taken out of their original context.
You should be using quotations to illustrate points you’ve made yourself, or should be reflecting
on them after presenting them. For all quotations, and any other ideas that are attributable to
someone else, you should use the Harvard system of referencing and a full bibliography. (For
details see the Cite It Right link above, or examine the library’s online resources.)
Beware plagiarism. Plagiarism is: “any unreferenced use of the material of other people, from
whatever media it is taken” (School Regulations, see also the University guidance on plagiarism).
Evidence of plagiarism will lead, at least, to a zero mark for your work and may involve more
serious penalties. Avoid plagiarism in the following ways:
1. Try to express ideas in your own words, including a full reference if the ideas come directly
from others’ work; doing this in your preparatory notes helps you understand the material
and avoid mistakes.
2. Always use quotation marks and a full reference to the source if using other people’s
words.
3. Start your work early.
4. Most important: think for yourself!

Reading Strategies and Tips

Tips for reading effectively. Bear in mind that reading from paper is typically 15% faster than
reading from a computer screen. It’s a good idea to make your own copies of readings and
personalise them by writing notes in the margins. NEVER write on library books or journals in the
Library. When you have read something summarise the main points at the top of the article so
that you will instantly remember its central points when you go back to it.
Use the e-journals in the library, i.e. access through the computer. Different journals have
different ways of logging in when you are working off-campus. Generally, if you start by searching
for the journal via the library search facility and then look for ‘login via your institution’ or
‘shibboleth login’ when you get to the journal’s website you should be able to access anything the
library subscribes to with your usual IT username and password.
Remember to check the bibliographies of anything you are reading for additional material that
may be of interest to you. This is how you begin research - by searching out materials.
When reading if you have any things you do not understand make a list and then ask the tutor. It
is highly likely that if you have not understood something there are plenty of other students who
will be looking for answers to the same questions.

39
Strategies for finding further readings
The readings offered on the course outline below should be considered starting points for your
exploration of the issues you are most interested in. A good quality essay will show evidence that
the student has read academic work beyond the readings offered on the list. To make sense of the
huge wealth of material available you need to focus your reading by using good literature search
techniques. Here are some hints:
1. Use textbooks.
Textbooks are especially useful when you are exploring an area for the first time, with little
background knowledge. Use the detailed contents pages and index to find text relating to your
areas of interest in order to get some background knowledge. Most good textbooks will offer short
guides to further readings. The benefit of this is that the references will generally be widely
respected. However they will also often be of a rather general nature, so you'll need to use other
strategies to find more focused readings.
Some very general, introductory textbooks are in the reading list for lecture 1.
2. Use bibliographies.
When reading materials from the course outline or found elsewhere, make good use of references
and bibliographies - that's what they're there for! Try to remain focused in choosing what to read
next, the position of the reference in the text should give you a very good idea of the issues dealt
with by the referred book or article, and even an evaluative judgement of the worth of the work.
Look out for particular references that come up time and again in relation to the issues you're
interested in – often-cited pieces may turn out to include seminal arguments that can be a very
useful guide in your own writing.
3. Use databases.
When using databases your choice of search terms is all important - so you should use them only
after getting a general overview of the area from lectures, seminars and introductory readings.
Simply entering terms from an essay title into Google before you’ve given the topic any thought is
a sure-fire way of wasting time on irrelevant materials and/or producing an incoherent essay.
The Library Catalogue is the first port of call for using keywords or author names to search for
books held in stock in the library. But, this is quite simple searching, potentially throwing up long
lists of only marginally relevant readings. Having identified a relevant area, however, you can use
the classification system and go and browse books on nearby shelves.
(http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/searchresources/librarysearch/#)
Google Scholar offers another excellent resource for keyword searching and will return a mixed
bag of articles, books, book reviews and research reports rank ordered by number of citations
from other (academic and non-academic) writings. If you are searching from the University
campus you can use the 'Find it via JRUL' links to see if the work is stocked in the University's
libraries. (http://scholar.google.co.uk)

40
An alternative, and in some ways preferable, source is the Web of Knowledge/Web of Science
database to which the University subscribes. Under the 'General Search' option this offers more
complex search possibilities, utilising a number of different fields, logic options and wildcards -
view the 'General Search Tutorial' on the Web of Science website to find out how these help. In
addition to getting a list of very specific references from journals that match your search criteria,
you can also call up the abstracts of all the articles. So, you can quickly get an overview of the
literature, narrow the selection to those sources that look most useful, or modify your search
terms if you are a bit off-target. Web of Science only returns articles published in genuine
academic journals. This means that compared with Google Scholar you are more likely to find high
quality, relevant sources through Web of Science, although it also means that you miss out on
finding relevant academic books.

41
 Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences

SOCIOLOGY COURSE UNIT GUIDE 2018-19

SOCY10441 Media, Culture & Society

Semester: 1
Credits: 20
Convenor: Owen Abbott
Contents
1. Essential Information
2. Course Content
A. Aims & Outcomes
B. Lectures & Reading List
C. Tutorial Guide
D. Assignments & Assessments
3. Feedback
4. Your Commitment
5. Referencing & Plagiarism
6. Assessment Criteria

Please read this guide and bring any questions with you to the lecture.
Note: This course guide should be read in conjunction with the Blackboard website for the
course and the Degree Handbook for your degree programme. Degree Handbooks for social
science programmes are available here:
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/course-
information/
If your degree is based in another school, please contact your Programme Administrator for
your handbook.
 1. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Contacts
Lecturer(s): Dr Owen Abbott
Room: Arthur Lewis Building, office 3.039
Telephone: Owen: Ext. 52921
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Tuesday 12-1 and Thursday 2-3
Tutors: Natalie-Anne Hall, Deborah Giustini, Emma Fraser,
Marta Franasca
Administrator: Chantel Riley
UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building; (0161) 2753953;
[email protected]

Times and Dates

Lectures: 16:00 – 18:00, Stopford Building, Theatre 2
Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student
System. This is compulsory and on a first come, first served
basis.
Reading week: Monday 29th October – Friday 2nd November 2018
Feedback half-day: Thursday 13th December
Coursework Submission: Thursday 8th November
Examination Period: 14th January – 25th January 2019
Resit Examination Period: 19th August – 30th August 2019

Assignments and Assessments

 One compulsory non-assessed essay (5% penalty for non-submission) due November
8th, week 7.
 One presentation (non-assessed) either tutorial 9 (Week 10) or tutorial 10 (Week 11) (5%
penalty for non-completion)
 One assessed two-hour unseen examination to be taken at the end of the course worth
100% of the total mark
Review the following pages for full details of the assignments and assessments required on
this course.

Communication
Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be
communicated in this way. It is sometimes necessary to make changes such as seminar
rooms and assessment details and such changes will be communicated by email. Failing to
check your emails will not be an acceptable excuse for non-attendance or missed deadlines.
2. COURSE CONTENT

Course Aims
• To interrogate common sense assumptions Get Organised
of media influence against different
sociological accounts of the way the media Use this guide to find out:
works.  Where and when to

KNOW HOW
• To introduce the critical analysis of media attend classes.
and cultural forms through the study of  What to read before
industries and organizations, public lectures and tutorials.
discourse and politics, technology,  Where to start your
subcultures and globalization. reading for
assessments.
• To introduce key sociological concepts,  How your progress will
such as ‘representation’, ‘identity’, ‘ideology’, be assessed.
‘political economy’, ‘consumer culture’,
‘postmodernism’ and ‘surveillance’. Read on to ensure that you
know how to get the most
Learning Outcomes out of your degree.
On completion of this unit successful
students will:
 Have gained a deeper understanding of the relationship between the state,
media and the public
 Be able to apply diverse sociological theory to everyday media artefacts
 Be able to analyse the significance of media and culture in contemporary
social and political life
 Be able to construct and defend their own normative arguments in an
analytically rigorous fashion

General Course Readings

Some required readings may be made available electronically via the course website.
All other readings should be available from the University Main Library. Most reading
is specific to particular topics as described in the reading list below. The following
more general textbooks are helpful and recommended:
 Long, P. & Wall, T. (2009) Media Studies, Texts, Production and Context,
Harlow: Paerson.
 Branston, G. & Stafford, R. (2010) The Media Student’s Book, London:
Routledge.
 Fleming, D. (2000) Formations: A 21st Century Media Studies Textbook,
Manchester University Press.
 Inglis, D. & Hughson, J. (2003) Confronting Culture: Sociological Vistas,
London: Polity.
 Lewis, J. (2002) Cultural Studies: The Basics, London: Sage.
  Storey, J. (2000) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction,
Prentice Hall.
 Athique, A. (2013) Digital Media and Society: An Introduction, Cambridge:
Polity Press.
The following two are light-hearted, graphic-driven and entertaining little
pocket books, but are nonetheless useful basic complements to the above
books.
 Sardar, Z. and Van Loon, B. (2010) Introducing Cultural Studies: A Graphic
Guide, New York: Totem Books.
 Sardar, Z. and Van Loon, B (2010) Introducing Media Studies: A Graphic
Guide, New York: Totem Books.
If you have not done any Sociology before, then it is recommended that you
read a basic Sociology textbook to understand some of the key concepts,
such as:
 Sociology: A Global Introduction, Macionis, J. and Plummer, K (2012).
 Sociology, James Fulcher and John Scott (2007).
 Formations of Modernity, Stuart Hall et al (1992).

Lectures and Reading List

This course critically explores the concepts of media and culture and investigates
their significance for contemporary social and political life. It begins by exploring why
it is important to study the media before considering a range of theoretical and
substantive topic-areas. It offers an approach that involves critical analysis of media
forms, as well as encouraging students to think about the ways in which media
organizations and culture industries are organized and regulated. It will offer
students some of the key theoretical tools from developments in media and cultural
studies in order to begin to appreciate the scope of the field and the breadth of the
impact of media and culture upon contemporary life. By the very nature of the topics
covered in this course (e.g. mass media, news output, popular culture, consumerism
and digital media), the lectures and tutorial will make extensive reference to
contemporary cultural artefacts (e.g. popular television, music, advertising and social
media) and prominent news events (e.g. WikiLeaks, Brexit, the reporting of
contemporary war and the refugee crisis, the controversies around the Channel 4
show Benefits Street, etc.).

Lecture 1: Media, Culture and Society: An Introduction (27/09)

In this session, we will consider why it is important to study media and culture in the
first place and why sociologists have sought to consider the impact of the media
upon contemporary social life. Rather than accepting intuitive and oversimplified
assumptions of the media’s influence, the lecture will begin to outline certain key
aspects of media processes and their relationship with cultural forms. We will
consider why culture is a hotly contested category and consider how media and
culture are often at the centre of deeply politicized debates about the condition of
society.

Required reading
 Bazalgette, C. (2000) ‘Why Media Studies is Worthwhile’ in D. Fleming (ed.),
Formations: A Twenty First Century Media Studies Textbook, Manchester:
Manchester University Press.

Additional reading
 Storey, J. (2001) ‘What is Popular Culture?’ in Cultural Theory and Popular
Culture.
 Williams, R. (1976) ‘Culture’ in Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society
London: Fontana.
 Inglis, D & Hughson, J. (2003) ‘Introduction: Sociology and Culture’, in
Confronting Culture: Sociological Vistas London: Polity.
 Jordan, G. and Weedon, C. (1995) Cultural Politics: Class, Race and Gender
in the Postmodern World, Oxford, Blackwell.

Lecture 2: Mass Society and Media Industry (4/10)

This lecture considers the emergence of mass media and situates it in the wider
context of major 20th Century social processes. The mass media emerges alongside
key social changes, primarily urbanisation, which creates the body of people able to
consume the media on offer. Indeed, it is the masses that were seen by producers
and critical scholars alike to be the principle target of media. A critical view hereby of
the concept of ‘the masses’ itself allows us to see how changes in the way that the
media is conceptualised are always driven by the interdependence between
producers, content and consumers. The advent of global communication technology
now means that all of the earth has potential access to media (and often the same
media products), yet the question of access and ‘manufactured tastes’ remains
pertinent.

Required reading
 C. Wright Mills: Mass Society Theory found in: Barlow D and Mills B, (2009)
Reading Media Theory, pp. 178-198
Stretch Reading
 Hall, S. (1980) ‘Encoding/Decoding’ (A very influential piece, good for any
topic)

 Long P and Wall T (2009) ‘Media Studies, Texts, Production and Context’, Ch.
11.
Additional reading
 Carey, J. (1992) The Intellectuals and The Masses, London: Faber and Faber.
 Dworkin, D. (1997) Cultural Marxism in Postwar Britain, London: Duke.
 Bourdieu, P. (1998) ‘Return to television’, in Acts of Resistance. Cambridge:
Polity, Downing, J. D. H. (2000) Radical Media: Rebellious Communication
and Social Movements. London: Sage.
 Keans, J. (1991) The Media and Democracy, Cambridge: Polity.
 Stevenson, N. (1995) Understanding Media Cultures, London: Sage.
 Thompson, J. (1995) The Media and Modernity, Cambridge: Polity.

Lecture 3: Media and Power (11/10)

Many contemporary arguments about media power are resonant of the early
arguments made by the Frankfurt School regarding their concerns about social
change during periods of industrialisation and the rise of mass production. Marcuse,
Adorno, Benjamin, Horkheimer (and later Habermas) form a Humanist Marxist
school whose particular critical position is informed by a critique of the processes of
production as applied to the culture industries. We consider their concerns about the
‘ideological’ character of mass culture and investigate the contemporary purchase of
their arguments.

Required reading
 Horkheimer, M. and Theodor Adorno (1972), ‘The Culture Industry:
Enlightenment as Mass Deception’ in The Dialectic of Enlightenment.
Stretch Reading
None for this week as the above Adorno and Horkheimer text is sufficiently
challenging and influential to merit multiple readings.

Additional reading
 Jeffcutt, P., J. Pick and R. Protherough (2000) ‘Culture and Industry:
Exploring the Debate’, Culture and Organization 6(2): 129-143.
 Adorno, T. (1996), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture
London: Routledge.
 Benjamin, W. (1969), ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’
in Illuminations New York, Schocken.
 Docker, J. (1994) Postmodernism and popular culture: a cultural history.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 4.
 Gendron, B. (1986) ‘Theodor Adorno Meets the Cadillacs’ In T. Modleski (ed)
Studies in Entertainment Bloomington Indiana University Press.
 Hesmondhalgh, D. (2002) ‘Introduction: Change and Continuity, Power and
Creativity’, in The Culture Industries, London: Sage.
 Marcuse, H. (1974) One-Dimensional Man Boston: Beacon Press.
 Strinati, D. (1995) ‘The Frankfurt School and the Culture industry’ in An
Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture London: Routledge.
Lecture 4: Making the News (18/10)
This lecture focuses upon the relationship between the organization of media
institutions (corporations, advertisers, and government) and the content of news
media. We consider the role that news gathering techniques and public relations
systems play in the broadcasts/dissemination that we then get to see and read.
Sociology asks important questions about whether these systems of organization
have an ideological influence upon the versions of news that are often offered to us
as ‘impartial’ truth and also considers the categorical differences in ‘types’ of news
media. Other important terms central to news production such as ‘populism’ will also
figure prominently here.

Required reading
 Herman, E. and Chomsky, N. (2001/1994) ‘A Propaganda Model’ reprinted in
Durham, M. and Kellner, D. Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, Oxford:
Blackwell.
Stretch Reading
 Branston, G. and Stafford R. (1999) ‘The News and its Futures’ Chapter 12 in
The Media Student’s Book.

Additional reading
 Allen, S. (1999) News Culture, Open University Press.
 Carter, C., Branston, G., and Allen S. (eds.) (1998) News, Gender and Power,
London: Routledge.
 Cohen, Stanley (1972 [2002]) Folk Devils and Moral Panics, Abingdon:
Routledge Classics.
 Curran, J. & Seaton, J. (1991) Power Without Responsibility, London:
Routledge.
 GUMG (1995) Glasgow Media Groups Readers I and II, London: Routledge.
 Gripsrud, J. (1999) Chapter 10: ‘Production: Creativity, contexts and power’ in
Understanding Media Culture, Arnold: London.
 Herman, E. and Chomsky, N. (1994) Manufacturing Consent: The Political
Economy of the Mass Media, Vintage.
 Hesmondhalgh, D. (2002) Ch 5: ‘Ownership, Organisation and Cultural Work’
in The Cultural Industries, London: Sage.
 Lacey, N. (2002) ‘The Media Business’ in Media Institutions and Audiences,
Palgrave.
 McNair (1996) News and Journalism in the UK, London: Routledge.
  Murdoch, G. (2000) ‘Corporate Dynamics and Broadcasting Futures’ in
Mackay and O’Sullivan, The Media Reader: Continuity and Transformation,
Open University: Sage.
 Norris, P., Montague, K. and Just, M. (2003) Framing Terrorism, London and
NY Routledge.
 Shawcross, W. (1997) Murdoch: the making of a media empire (ed.) New
York: Simon & Schuster.
 Thussu, D.K. (2003) War and the Media: Reporting conflict 24/7, London:
Sage.

Lecture 5: Media and Social Movements (25/10)

This lecture builds on the previous week’s discussion of news and politics, but does
so from the vantage point of political resistance. Specifically, this lecture addresses
the significant sociological theme of social movements. The lecture considers the
relationship between media and social movement in a number of related ways. It
considers media representations of protest, social movements' own use of media,
protest as a specific instantiation of media ‘event’, the specific role played by self-
professed ‘Activist media’ (e.g. Indymedia, Schnews), and the relationship between
social movements and social media. Engagement with these multiple themes not
only allows for a broader and varied understanding of how media figures within
social relations, but it also equips students with an understanding of resistance and
social protest as a major sociological theme.

Required Reading
 DeLuca, K. M. and Peeples, J. (2002) ‘From public sphere to public screen:
democracy, activism and the “violence” of Seattle’ in Critical Studies in Media
Communication, 19:2.

Additional reading
 Martin, Greg (2015) Understanding Social Movements. New York: Routledge.
‘Chapter 8: Media and Movements’

 Routledge, Paul (1997) ‘The Imagineering of Resistance: Pollok Free State

and the Practice of Postmodern Politics’ in Transactions of the Institute of
British Geographers Vol. 22 No. 3 pp 359-376
 Gerbaudo, Paolo (2012) Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and
Contemporary Activism. London: Pluto Press ‘Introduction’
  DeLuca, Kevin M. (2002) ‘From public sphere to public screen: democracy,
activism and the “violence” of Seattle. In Critical Studies in Media
Communication Vol. 19 Issue 2.
 Gamson, William A., and Gadi Wolfsfeld (1993) ‘Movements and Media as
Interacting Systems’ in Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science Vol. 528, Citizens, Protest, and Democracy (Jul., 1993), pp.
114-125

 Juris, Jeffrey (2008) ‘Performing Politics: Image, embodiment and affective

solidarity during anti-corporate globalization protests’ in Ethnography, March
2008 Vol 9 No. 1,

 Carroll, William K. and R. S. Ratner (1999) ‘Media Strategies and Political

Projects: A Comparative Study of Social Movements’ in The Canadian Journal
of Sociology / Cahiers canadiens de sociologie Vol. 24, No. 1 (Winter, 1999),
pp. 134

 Ryan, Charlotte (1991) Prime Time Activism: Media Strategies for Grassroots
Organizing. Boston: South End Press.

 Todd Gitlin (1980) The Whole World is Watching: Mass media in the making
and unmaking of the new left. University of California Press, Berkeley CA.

 Delicath, John W. and Kevin DeLuca (2003) ‘Image Events, the Public Sphere,
and Argumentative Practice: The Case of Radical Environmental Groups’ in
Argumentation Sept 2003 Vol 17 Issue 3. Pp. 315-333

READING WEEK Monday 29th October – Friday 2nd

November 2018

Lecture 6: Representation and Social Identity (8/11)

This lecture will visit the processes through which identities are constructed - how
individuals perceive themselves as well as those around them – with particular
attention to the role of mass/popular media in shaping these constructions. The
mass media is an important site at which the descriptive criteria applicable to making
these everyday, common-sense identity-distinctions are established. Here, students
will be introduced to the uneven power relations which prefigure such
representations, whereby, certain subject-types (like the ‘chav’ or non-
heteronormative sexuality) are represented by dominant discourses (e.g. popular
media) in ways which reinforce their marginal status.
Required reading
 Hall, Stuart (1997) ‘The Spectacle of the ‘Other’’ in Representation: Cultural
Representations and Signifying Practices, London: Sage, pp 223-290.
Stretch Reading
 Davis, F. (2009) ‘Media Representations’ in Long, Paul and Wall, Tim (eds.)
Media Studies: Texts, Production and Context, Harlow: Pearson, pp 78-100.

Additional reading
 Hall, Stuart (1996) ‘The Question of Cultural Identity’ in Hall, S. Held, D. and
McGrew, T. (eds.) Modernity and its Futures, Cambridge: Polity.
 Fanon, Franz (1952 [1967]) ‘The Fact of Blackness’ in Black Skin, White
Masks, New York: Grove Press.
 Dyer, Richard (1997) White, London: Routledge.
 Mercer, Kobena (1994) Welcome to the Jungle, New York: Routledge.
 Said, Edward (1994 [1978]) Orientalism, New York: Random House.
 Anderson, Benedict (2006 [1983]) Imagined Communities, London: Verso.
 Althusser, Louis (1971) ‘Ideology and Ideological State Apparatus’ in Lenin
and Philosophy and Other Essays, London: New Left Books.
 Foucault, Michel (1978) History of Sexuality: An Introduction, Volume I, New
York: Random House.
 Haskell, Molly (1974) From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in
the Movies, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
 Craig, Steve (1992) Men, Masculinity and the Media, London: Sage.
 Doster, Leigh (2013). Millennial teens design and redesign themselves in
online social networks. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 12(4), pp.267-279.

Lecture 7: From Mass Society to Consumer Society (15/11)

Whilst television and newspapers are the best examples of media catering for mass
consumption and have historically typified the mass society, the shift to a more
individualised consumption oriented social and economic order has meant greater
prominence of other forms of media. Perhaps the best example of media in the
context of a consumer society is that which is not often considered a media form:
namely, advertising. These days, scholars argue, it is not what you can do with the
product that counts, but what you can be via the product. We look at the emergence
of big-name brands and the role of advertising techniques in the production of their
brand value and thereby explore the broader configurations of our contemporary
‘consumer age’. We also look at how digital media has extended the prominence of
advertising whilst also allowing for the rise of some anti-consumerist media groups
like ‘Adbusters’ and ‘Copyranter’, who produce ‘spoof adverts’ as part of their tactic
of ‘culture jamming’.

Required reading
 Williams, R. (1980) Advertising: The magic system in Problems in Materialism
and Culture. London: Verso, 170-195.

Stretch Reading
 Klein, N. (2000) No Logo, London: Flamingo. Introduction, Ch. 2 and Ch. 12.
For chapter 2, click on the link below:

Additional reading
 Gobe, M. (2001) ‘Emotional branding: Fuel for the Twenty-First Century’, in
Emotional branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People,
New York: Allworth Press.
 Arvidsson, A. (2005) ‘Brands: a critical perspective’, Journal of Consumer
Culture 5(2): 235-258.
 Arvidsson, A. (2006) Brands: Meaning and Value in Media Culture, London:
Routledge.
 Brierley, S. (1995) The Advertising Handbook, London: Routledge.
 Cronin, Anne (2000) Advertising and Consumer Citizenship: Gender Images
and Rights, London and New York: Routledge.

 Haug, W. (1986) Critique of Commodity Aesthetics, Minneapolis: Minnesota.

 Holt, D.B. (2002) ‘Why do brands cause trouble? A dialectical theory of
consumer culture and branding’ Journal of Consumer Research 29: 70-90.
 Lewis, D. (2001) The Soul of the Consumer, London: Nicholas Brealey
Publishing.
 Lury, C. (1996) Consumer Culture, London: Polity Press.
 Lury, C. (2004) Brands: The Logos of the Global Economy London: Routledge.
 McFall, Liz (2000) ‘A Mediating Institution: Using an Historical Study of
Advertising Practice to Rethink Culture and Economy’ Cultural Values, 4(3):
314-338.
 McFall, L. (2004) Advertising: A Cultural Economy, London: Sage.
 Myers, G. (1999) Ad worlds: Brands, Media, Audiences, London: Arnold.
 Nava, M. A. Blake, I. MacRury and B. Richards Buy This Book: Studies in
Advertising and Consumption, London and New York: Routledge.
  Nixon, S. (2003) Advertising Cultures: Gender, Commerce, Creativity, London:
Sage.
 Sturken, M. and Cartwright, L. (2001) ‘Consumer Culture and the
Manufacturing of Desire’ in Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual
Culture, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
 Wernick, Andrew (1991) Promotional Culture, London: Sage.
 Williamson, J. (1978) Decoding Advertisements, London: Marion Boyars.

Lecture 8: Digital Media 1: The Internet, Convergence and Social Media’ (22/11)
(Guest Lecture by Natalie-Anne Hall)

Central to the thesis of media dominance in social processes is the role of

information technologies. The convergence of mediated forms of communication -
radio, television, print, film - around new digital platforms and the ease of distribution
of these forms has meant an immense proliferation of media objects, which have
become embedded in our daily lives. All students taking this course are likely to be
‘digital natives’, having grown up with e-learning, music downloads, social media,
online music and video platforms, online gaming, online shopping and so on. With
the spread of what is called Web 2.0 from 2004 and its emphasis on interactivity, we
can now all deliver and share Web content rather than just passively consume it, as
well as interact and collaborate through blogs, wikis, social media sites and apps, etc.
In light of such developments, new sociological concepts such as, niche-casting (as
opposed to broadcasting), virtual selves, the network society, ‘clictivism’, and the
idea that the public and the private are being increasingly blurred, attain increased
prominence. What these concepts help establish is not only new processes
regarding communication and interaction but also the both old and new constraints
which arise within these seemingly novel domains. This lecture will also discuss
debates regarding the effect of digital technology on society.

Required reading
 Hardaker, C., & McGlashan, M. (2016). “Real men don’t hate women”: Twitter
rape threats and group identity. Journal of Pragmatics, 91, 80-93.
Stretch Reading

 Susan Halford & Mike Savage (2010), ‘Reconceptualizing Digital Social

Inequality’, Information, Communication and Society, 13 (7), pp 937-55

Additional reading
 New Media and Society journal: http://journals.sagepub.com/loi/nmsa
 Nancy K. Baym (2010) Personal Connections in the Digital Age..
 Zizi A. Papacharissi (eds) (2010) A networked self: identity, community and
culture on social network sites
 José van Dijck. (2013) The culture of connectivity : a critical history of social
media /
 Manuel Castells (1996) The rise of the network society.
 Danah boyd, (2015) Participatory culture in a networked era
 Sunstein, C. R. (2017). #Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social
Media: Princeton University Press
 van Dijck, J. (2013). The culture of connectivity. New York: Oxford University
Press.
 Horsti, K. (2017). Digital Islamophobia: The Swedish woman as a figure of
pure and dangerous whiteness. New Media & Society, 19(9), 1440-1457.
 Nagle, A. (2017). Kill all normies: online culture wars from 4chan and Tumblr
to Trump and the alt-right: Zero Books
 Pariser, Eli (2011). The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You.
New York: Penguin Books Lefebvre The Coming of the Book , London,
VersoAyers. N., ed. (2006), Cyber Sounds: Essays on Virtual Music Culture,
New York: Peter Lang.
 Bauman, Z. (2005), Liquid Life, Cambridge: Polity Press.
 Berker, T, Hartmann, M., Punie, Y. and Ward, K., eds. (2006), Domestication
of Media and Technology. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
 Crampton, J. (2003), ‘Geographies of the Digital Divide’ in The Political
Mapping of Cyberspace, Edinburgh University Press, pp. 141-170.
 Friedman, T, (2005), Electric Dreams: Self: Computers and the Human Spirit.
Cambridge, MIT Press.
 Palfrey, J. and Gasser, U. (2008), Born Digital: Understanding the First
Generation of Digital Natives. Basic Books.
 Shirky, C. (2009). Here Comes Everybody: How Change Happens when
People Come Together. Penguin.
  Warschauer, M. (2003), Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the
Digital Divide, Cambridge, MIT Press. The first two chapters are available at:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=9239&mode=toc
 Webster, F., ed. (2004), The Information Society Reader, London: Routledge.

Lecture 9: Digital Media II - Digital Technology and Social Change (29/11)

(Guest Lecture by Emma Fraser)

Building on the previous lecture, we examine the relationship between new digital
technologies and social change. Drawing on key thinkers such as Michel Foucault,
Judy Wajcman, and Manuel Castells, we will consider the ways in which technology
mediates our social relations, producing new practices and types of behaviour. We
look in particular at three forms of digital technology. First, we consider the
relationship between recently prominent notions of Big Data and the technology
underpinning the giants of the digital economy, such as Google, Amazon and
Facebook. We will explore these industries’ use of computer programs that collect
mass amounts of personal information and process it to make immense profits.
Reflecting on these changes, we will then consider the implications for work and
labour by looking at video games, Esports, and gamification – how work changes
play, and play changes work in a digital media context. Finally, we look at network
technologies that have emerged in the last decade, such as peer-to-peer file sharing
networks and Bitcoin. We will explore whether such technologies have profoundly
changed our world, or just reinforced social relations that already existed before the
digital era.

Required reading
 Athique, A. (2014) ‘Under Scrutiny’ in Digital Media and Society: An
Introduction, Cambridge: Polity Press, pp 210-227
Stretch reading
 Livingstone, S, and Helsper, E. (2007). ‘Gradations in digital inclusion:
children, young people and the digital divide’, New Media & Society 9:4 pp
671-696.
Highly Recommended Reading
 Terranova, T. (2000) 'Free Labor: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy',
Social Text, 18:2, pp 33-58
 Owen, T. (2015) Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age,
Oxford: University Press
 Lanier, J. (2014) Who Owns the Future?, London: Penguin
  Latour, B. (1992) 'Where are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few
Mundane Facts', http://www.bruno-latour.fr/sites/default/files/50-MISSING-
MASSES-GB.pdf
 Sauter, T (2013) ‘‘What’s on your mind?’: Writing on Facebook as a tool for
self-formation’, New Media And Society, 0:0, pp 1-17
 Foucault, M. (1977) Discipline and Punish, London: Penguin

 Dahlgren, P. (2005) ‘The Internet, Public Spheres and Political

Communication: Dispersion and Deliberation’, Political Communication, 22(2):
147-62. David Lyon (2007), Surveillance Studies: An Overview (read intro and
parts that interest you)
 David Lyon’s (and other) papers are available electronically at
http://qsilver.queensu.ca/sociology/Surveillance/publications_archive.htm
Chada K and Kavoori A, ‘Beyond the global/local: examining contemporary
media globalization trends across national contexts’ in Curran J (ed.) (2005)
Mass Media and Society. Available as pdf on Blackboard
 Chadwick, Andrew (2006), Internet Politics: States, Citizens and New
Communication Technologies Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapters
‘Interest Groups and Social Movements’ and ‘Community, Deliberation, and
Participation: E-democracy’. Clink on link below:
 Livingstone, S. (2002), ‘The Media-Rich Home: Balancing Public and Private
Lives’ In Young People and New Media London: Sage. Click on the link below:
 Poster, M. (1990) ‘Foucault and Databases: Participatory Surveillance’ in The
Mode of Information, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, pp 69-98
 Turkle, S. (1999), ‘Identity in the Age of the Internet’ In Mackay, H and
O’Sullivan, T. The Media Reader: Continuity and Transformation. London:
Sage. Click on the link below:
 Beer, D. and Burrows, R. 2007. ‘Sociology of and in Web 2.0: Some Initial
Considerations’, Sociological Research Online, 12(5).

Additional reading
 Bell, D. and Kennedy, B. (ed), The Cybercultures Reader London: Routledge
 Calhoun, Craig (2004), 'Information Technology and the International Public
Sphere', pp.1-28 in Douglas Schuler and Peter Day (eds), Shaping the
Network Society Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
 Chadwick, Andrew (2006), Internet Politics: States, Citizens and New
Communication Technologies Oxford: Oxford University Press
 Dalhberg, L. (2001), ‘The Internet and Democratic Discourse: Exploring the
prospects of Online Deliberative Forums Extending the Public Sphere’,
Information, Communication and Society 4(4): 615-33. (Full article can be
accessed through the library ‘Electronic Journals’).
 Feenberg, A. and Barney, D. (2004) (eds), ‘Part III: The Democratic Potential
of the Internet’ in Community in the Digital Age: Philosophy and Practice,
Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield
  Grodin, D. and Lindlof, T. (eds.) (1996), Constructing the Self in a Mediated
World London: Sage.
 Kahn, R. and Kellner, D. (2004), ‘New Media and Internet Activism: from the
Battle of Seattle to Blogging’, New Media and Society 6(1): 87-95
 Kellner, D. (1995), Media Culture: Cultural Studies, identity and Politics
between the modern and the postmodern London: Routledge.
 Livingstone, S. (2002), Young People and New Media London: Sage
 Miller, D. and Slater, D. (2000), The Internet: An Ethnographic Approach
Oxford, NY: Berg.
 Morley, D. (2000), Home Territories: Media, Mobility and Identity London:
Routledge
 Papacharissi, Z. (2002) ‘The Virtual Sphere: the internet as a public sphere’,
New Media and Society
 Schneider, S. (1996) ‘Creating a Democratic Public Sphere Through Political
Discussion: A case study of abortion conversation on the internet’, Social
Science Computer Review 14(4): 373-93
 Seiter, E. (1999), Television and New Media Audiences Oxford University
Press.
 Terranova, T. (2004) Network Culture: politics for the information age. London:
Pluto.
 Donk, Wim B. H. J. van de, et al (eds), Cyberprotest: New Media, Citizens
and Social Movements Routledge

Lecture 10: Course Review and Exam Preparation (6/12)

This session will involve summarizing the course and refreshing your knowledge of
the ideas that we have visited over the last couple of months. It will offer advice for
preparing for the exam and be a space to answer any questions that you might have.
You should think in advance of any problems that you have come across and be
prepared to ask them in the lecture, although your tutors will also be prepared to help
you with any queries.

Required reading
 McVea, H. and Cumper, P. (1996) Learning Exam Skills, London: Blackstone.
See also the resources on BlackBoard entitled ‘Revision and Exam Preparation’ and
‘Being Analytical’.

Consultation/feedback week: You can arrange to come and see me about exams
and/or further essay feedback from the 10th - 14th December. Please schedule a
specific time by email.
Assignments and Assessments
Non-Assessed Assignment Details
Students are required to complete a 1500-word non-assessed essay and a
presentation (NOTE: 10 marks in total will be deducted from your final module mark
if you do not make a presentation (5) and if the essay is not submitted (5) or if you
score a zero on the essay. It is also now school policy to impose a 2% penalty on
essay marks where students have not included their word count.

Important information about the non-assessed essay:

• The deadline for the essay is 2pm, 8th November. You may submit during the
week commencing Monday 5th November but the absolute deadline is
Thursday 8th. This must be submitted via Turnitin (see below).

• The essay titles are given at the end of this course outline – choose ONE to
answer.

• The assessment criteria are the same as for assessed Sociology coursework
and are detailed below.

• The essay should be 1,500 words (plus/minus 10%) and over-short or over-
length essays will be penalised in the final mark.

• Your tutor will mark and return your essay with feedback. The tutor will also
provide verbal group feedback in the relevant tutorial and you are also
welcome to discuss your feedback with Owen.

Note: Marks for compulsory non-assessed essays should not be considered a

'predicted grade' for the course overall. The feedback and any grade provided are to
allow you to judge your understanding of the course material.

Important information for Presentations:

A 10 minute group presentation based on one of the course readings during either
tutorial 9 or 10. Your group’s specific slot will be established during Tutorial 7.
Your tutorial colleagues as well as tutor will provide verbal feedback on your
presentation (peer-review).
Non-completion of this task will result in a 5 point deduction from your final course
mark.
 Essay Questions
1) Critically examine the relationship between mass media and mass society.
2) How useful is the concept of ‘Culture Industry’ when considering
contemporary media output? Provide examples from two media sectors.
3) Apply the Herman and Chomsky ‘propaganda model’ to a contemporary
newspaper item and assess its value for understanding the article and how
news media are produced.
4) Does media constrain or enable social movements and protest actions?
5) Critically discuss how mainstream media impacts upon social identity.
6) ‘Consumer society is defined by advertising.’ Discuss this claim giving
examples from specific media.
7) Does inequality and power remain relevant in the era of new media?

Coursework Submission
Coursework must be typed, double-spaced in a reasonable font (e.g. 12 point in
Times New Roman or Arial).
Essays should be submitted online via Blackboard by 2pm, 8th November 2017.
Full details of how to submit online are available in the ‘Submission of Coursework’
folder in the relevant section on the course Blackboard website. Ensure you have
familiarised yourself with the system and give yourself plenty of time for submission
as technology problems will not be an acceptable reason for late or non-submission
of work. If you have serious problems submitting on the day please contact the SoSS
Undergraduate Office in the Arthur Lewis Building urgently. When you have
successfully submitted your essay you will be able to download and print a receipt.
You must keep a copy of your submission receipt until all work on this course is
complete and you have received your final grades.
Note that our online submission system includes TurnItIn plagiarism detection
software. Be sure that you fully understand what plagiarism is; links for further details
are included in section 5 below. If, after reading the guidance, you are at all unsure
about what counts as plagiarism then you should contact your Academic Advisor to
discuss it.
If your essay is submitted late your grade will be reduced by 10 marks per day for 5
days, after which it will receive a mark of zero. For clarity a ‘day’ is 24 hours,
beginning immediately after the published deadline. *Deadlines will be strictly
enforced in all cases*. The mark published through TurnItIn will show your mark
*before* the late penalty is applied. The final mark, with the late penalty applied, will
be recorded on the student system and used to calculate your overall course unit
mark.

Mitigating Circumstances
Extensions may be granted to students where there are exceptional mitigating
circumstances (e.g. strong medical reasons). In such cases an online Mitigating
Circumstances Form must be completed and submitted. Full guidance on mitigating
circumstances is available here:

https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-
intranet/undergraduate/help-and-support/

Examination Details
Students are required to complete a two-hour exam (100%) – the questions follow
closely the essay questions (see above). The exam date will be made known to you
nearer the time. You will be required to answer two questions from a selection of
eight in two hours. You are encouraged to answer on the same two topics as
covered in your formative non-assessed essay and presentation, respectively.

Examination past papers are available online via My Manchester. Go to the ‘Exam
Information’ portlet and click ‘Past Papers’ where you will be able to search for
papers by the course code.

Examination timetables are released later in the semester and you will be notified.

If you miss an examination through illness or another serious reason you should
contact the SoSS Undergraduate Office as soon as possible. You will need to submit
a Mitigating Circumstances Form (see link above) along with relevant evidence.
 3. FEEDBACK
All sociology courses include both formative feedback – which lets you know how
you’re getting on and what you could do to improve – and summative feedback –
which gives you a mark for your assessed work. This course uses the following
mechanisms for feedback:
 Informal verbal feedback will be Save Your Feedback
given during lectures and tutorials for
individual and group work. (You’ll Feedback via
TurnItIn/GradeMark on the

KNOW HOW
need to contribute regularly to group
discussions to make the best use of Blackboard system is only
this.) accessible while you are
 Written formative feedback will be studying this particular
given on your non-assessed module. Download a pdf
assignment and made available via version of your feedback
Turnitin/GradeMark. to refer to later by using
the print icon in
 Verbal formative feedback on your
the bottom left
presentation will be offered by your
corner of the
peers and tutor.
feedback screen.
 You will be able to receive further
feedback from the lecturer if you
arrange for a specific time with Owen, preferably during the consultation week
specified above.
 Exam results are published only as a grade. If you wish to discuss your exam
performance with your lecturer please book an office hour slot by email and
let your lecturer know in advance that this is what you want to do.

Your Feedback to Us
We’re continually working to improve our teaching practices – for that we need your
feedback. Towards the end of the semester you’ll be asked to fill out a Unit Survey
for each of your modules – please do! The survey is designed to be very short and
easy to fill out but the results are really valuable for our monitoring of teaching quality.
We want to hear from you whether your opinion on the course was good, bad or
indifferent.
All of your Unit Surveys are available via Blackboard – simply go to ‘Unit Evaluation’
on the left hand menu of the Blackboard website to begin. Alternatively, you can
download a smartphone app called EvaluationKit to fill out Unit Surveys for all of
your course units.
 4. YOUR COMMITMENT
Study Schedule
Each 20 credit module requires that you study for a minimum of 12 hours per week.
This is comprised of teaching and independent study in these proportions:
 3 hours lectures and tutorials;
 At least 3 hours reading the Key Reading;
 At least 3 hours reading an additional text from the reading list;
 At least 3 hours written work for assessed and non-assessed assignments.
This leaves 80 hours study time remaining to be used in independent study over the
duration of the course. For 10 credit courses these distributions will be proportionally
reduced but should be slightly higher than half the commitment for a 20 credit course.

Tutorial Preparation
Tutorials are a central part of the course module structure. They provide you with an
opportunity to discuss, apply and enhance your knowledge, and to build confidence
in your skills of analysis, comprehension and presentation. What you will gain from
tutorials is dependent upon your preparation and willingness to participate. It is thus
essential that you familiarise yourself with the Tutorial Guide for each course,
undertake the required tutorial preparation, and bring all relevant materials
(hardcopies of the Key Reading, notes on the Key Reading, preparation exercises
etc.) to every tutorial. It is not acceptable to attend a tutorial without being fully
prepared.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your
programme. It is also expected that you arrive on time. Absence and late arrival are
recorded on your University record. Inappropriate amounts of absence or late arrival
at class, without extenuating circumstances, will be treated seriously and may result
in exclusion from the course. In addition, you should be aware that prospective
employers almost always ask for information about attendance and punctuality, as
well as matters such as your record on completing work to deadlines.

Absences
If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or other good reason you
should notify the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator in advance
if possible ([email protected] or telephone 0161 275 3953). This is
especially important if you are due to make a presentation to the class. Absences of
more than a few days should be backed up by medical or other evidence.
All absences will be reported to the relevant Tutor, who will then monitor your
performance. A record of indifferent attendance will be held against you if your
examination results are marginal; you should not expect to be shown sympathy by
the Board of Examiners in such circumstances.
If you have missed a class, you should be sure to catch up on what you have missed
by further independent reading of materials on the reading list and/or consulting any
available lecture notes or PowerPoint slides if these are provided or asking other
students whether they might allow you to consult theirs.

Email and Blackboard

Your commitment is also to check your University email and Blackboard at least
every other day in order to make sure that you are informed of any communications
from tutors or administrative staff. These might, for example, concern important
meetings with staff, changes of room; notification of course options registration, or
course-relevant information from your lecturer. Being unaware of arrangements
because you have not checked your email or Blackboard is not an acceptable
excuse.
 5. REFERENCING & PLAGIARISM
The lack of a proper bibliography and appropriate reference in assessed essays will
potentially greatly affect the mark for the work and may be considered plagiarism,
which is a serious offence.
All essays must employ the scholarly apparatus of references and a bibliography.
There are different acceptable referencing styles. In sociology we recommend use
of the Harvard system of referencing, which is described in detail here:
http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard
In short, Harvard referencing means that you refer to the author and date of
publication in brackets within the text, wherever you are referring to the ideas of
another writer. Where you quote an author you must always include quotation marks
and a page number in the reference.
All essays must include a References List which
Cite it Right
lists your sources in alphabetical order by

KNOW HOW
author's surname. This should include all (and You can learn how to
only) the sources you have directly referenced in reference properly in 15
the text. Whatever your source is, you need to minutes – head to the
provide a full set of publication details as online tutorial, Citing it right,
described in the guide linked above. All at:
academic texts you read will include http://libassets.m
anchester.ac.uk/
bibliographies and these should give you plenty
mle/introducing-
of examples of what information to include.
referencing/
Plagiarism
The University defines plagiarism as
Avoiding Plagiarism
‘presenting the ideas, work or words of other
KNOW HOW

You can learn how to avoid people without proper, clear and unambiguous
plagiarism in 20 minutes – acknowledgement.’ It is an example of
head to the online tutorial, academic malpractice and can lead to very
Original Thinking Allowed, serious penalties up to exclusion from the
at: University. You should read the University’s
http://libassets.ma guidelines here:
nchester.ac.uk/ml http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.asp
e/avoiding-plagiarism x?DocID=2870
There is additional useful guidance on
plagiarism and referencing in the Crucial Guide:
http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-
life/support/referencing-and-plagiarism/
 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Sociology students’ work is assessed into different class categories by using the
following criteria:
High First Class (75+) Such answers fully answer the question in a coherent manner and can be
expected to show excellence with respect to the following criteria:

 Insight and depth of understanding of the material

 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression

 Knowledge of the relevant literature.

First Class (70-74) Such answers are highly competent and provide a near-full and well-structured
answer to the question and can be expected to indicate some of the following qualities:

 Insight and depth of understanding of the material

 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression

 Good knowledge of the relevant literature.

Upper-second Class (60-69) Such answers are overall competent and provide a generally well-
structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate most of the following qualities:

 A reasonable-to-good understanding of the material

 Clarity of analysis, of argument and of expression

 At least selective knowledge of the relevant literature.

Lower-second Class (50-59) Such answers indicate some understanding of the issues and provide
an adequate answer to the question. They can be expected to show most of the following features:

 A basic understanding of the material

 Clarity of analysis and argument, albeit limited in extent

 Some awareness of the relevant literature.

Note: What distinguishes a high Lower-second Class from a low Upper-second Class is greater extent
of understanding of material and clarity of analysis and argument, as well as at least some selective
knowledge of the relevant literature, not mere awareness of its existence.
Third Class (40-49) Such answers indicate only a rudimentary understanding of the issues and offer
only partial answers to the question. They can be expected to show the following features:

 Sparse coverage of the material with several key topics missing

 Unsupported assertions and little clear analysis or argument

 Important errors and inaccuracies.

First and Second Years: Compensatable Fail (30-39)
Such answers fail to deal with the question in a way that suggest more than a fragmented and shallow
acquaintance with the subject. They are often error-prone and lack coherence. NB – it is not possible
to get a compensated pass for compulsory course on your degree programme. There is also a limit to
the number of compensated fails allowed in a single year. Please see your Programme Handbook for
details.
First and Second Years: Uncompensatable Fail (0-29) Such answers fail to demonstrate the ability
to engage with the question.
 Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences

SOCIOLOGY COURSE UNIT GUIDE 2018-19

SOCY10462: Global Social Challenges

Semester: 2
Credits: 20
Convenor: Kevin Gillan

Contents
1. Essential Information
2. Course Content
A. Aims & Outcomes
B. Lectures & Reading List
C. Tutorial Guide
D. Assignments & Assessments
3. Feedback
4. Your Commitment
5. Referencing & Plagiarism
6. Assessment Criteria

Please read this guide and bring any questions with you to the lecture.
Note: This course guide should be read in conjunction with the Blackboard website
for the course and the Degree Handbook for your degree programme. Degree
Handbooks for social science programmes are available here:
https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-
intranet/undergraduate/course-information/
If your degree is based in another school, please contact your Programme
Administrator for your handbook.

1
 1. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Contacts
Lecturer(s): Kevin Gillan, Alina Rzepnikowska-Phillips, Tine Buffel,
Ulrike Ehgartner, Richie Nimmo, Hilary Pilkington, Dan
Welch
Room: 3.058 Arthur Lewis Building
Telephone: Ext. 66909
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: 11-12 on Wednesdays and 4-5 on Fridays. Book in
advance by email
Tutors: Isaac Ali Siles, Georgia Hibbert, Andrea Loyola
Administrator: Chantel Riley
UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building; (0161)
2753953; [email protected]

Times and Dates

Lectures: Fridays 12-2pm, Stopford Theatre 2 (map)
Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student
System. This is compulsory and on a first come, first
served basis.
Coursework Submission: Two pieces of compulsory, non-assessed coursework
to be submitted via TurnItIn; details in Section 2
below.
Examination Period: 13th May 2019 – 7th June 2019
Resit Examination Period: 19th August 2019 – 30st August 2019

Assignments and Assessments

 Two compulsory non-assessed blog posts (5 point penalty per non-submission).
Deadlines: 11th March 2019; 5th April 2019.
 One two-hour unseen examination to be taken at the end of the course worth 100%
of the total mark
Review the following pages for full details of the assignments and assessments
required on this course.

Communication
Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be
communicated in this way. It is sometimes necessary to make changes such as
seminar rooms and assessment details and such changes will be communicated by
email. Failing to check your emails will not be an acceptable excuse for non-
attendance or missed deadlines.
2
3
 2. COURSE CONTENT

Course Aims
This course will introduce students to a Get Organised
range of current social issues affecting
Use this guide to find out:
human society on a large scale. Examples
might include global inequality, climate  Where and when to
attend classes.
change, migration, economic crises, and so
 What to read before

KNOW HOW
on. Students will discover a sociological lectures and tutorials.
approach to major social challenges through  Where to start your
emphases on: reading for
assessments.
 Understanding pressing social problems  How your progress will
through reference to their social and be assessed.
cultural dimensions.
Read on to ensure that you
 Analysing competing explanations for know how to get the most
contemporary global social issues. out of your degree.
 Assessing potential solutions to
contemporary social challenges in relation to the ways in which they are
embedded in society and culture.
As a result, students will be able to critically assess debate on key social challenges
in a way that does not reduce them to purely technical-scientific, political or
economic discourses and allows them to deconstruct popular accounts encountered
through a variety of media sources.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will:
 Be able to describe and interpret a range of pressing social challenges existing in
global society.
 Be able to contextualise social issues in relation to wider global trends and
structures, including inequality and globalisation.
 Be able to critically assess debates on the explanations for, and potential
solutions to, global social challenges through the application of core sociological
concepts.

General Course Readings

Some required readings will be made available electronically via the course website.
All other readings will be available from the University Main Library. Most reading is
specific to particular topics as described in the reading list below. The following more
general textbooks are helpful and recommended:
 Beck, U. (2008). World at Risk (2nd edition). Cambridge; Polity Press.

4
 Castells, M. (2009). The Rise of the Network Society. (2nd edition). Chichester;
Wiley-Blackwell.
 Castells, M. (2009). The Power of Identity. (2nd edition). Malden, MA: Wiley-
Blackwell.
 Cohen, R., & Kennedy, P. (2013). Global Sociology (3rd edition). Basingstoke:
Palgrave.
 Jenkins, R. (2002). Foundations of Sociology: Towards a Better Understanding of
the Human World. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Lectures and Reading List

Topic Overview
1
1 Introduction: Social Challenges and Public Sociology (Kevin Gillan)
Feb
8
2 New Migrations (Alina Rzepnikowska-Phillips)
Feb
15
3 Inequalities in a Global Age (Kevin Gillan)
Feb
22
4 Feminism and Sustainable Development (Ulrike Ehgartner)
Feb
1
5 Climate Change and Society (Richie Nimmo)
Mar

8
6 Population Ageing: A Global Challenge (Tine Buffel)
Mar
15
7 Understanding Radicalisation (Hilary Pilkington)
Mar
22 The Corporation in Global Society: Psychopath or Social Innovator?
8
Mar (Dan Welch)
29
9 Global Protest: Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere (Kevin Gillan)
Mar
10 5 Apr A Sociological Perspective on Global Challenges (Kevin Gillan)
Spring Break: 8th Apr – 26th Apr 2019
11 Consultation / Revision week (Tutorials continue)

12 Consultation / Revision week

Exam period: 13th May 2019 – 7th June 2019

5
Lecture 1: Introduction: Social Challenges and Public Sociology (Kevin Gillan)
This introductory lecture sets out two intellectual drivers behind this course. The first
is by setting out a role for social scientific research in not only understanding the
world around us, but providing key insights that can be used in tackling the key
social challenges of the present age. Understanding these problems as both global
and social are key steps toward coming up with relevant and workable solutions. The
second drive behind the course is the argument that if the social sciences really do
generate knowledge useful in this way, then it is a social responsibility of social
scientists to communicate that knowledge effectively. This dovetails with recent
efforts towards and ethic of ‘public sociology’.
This lecture additionally sets out the structure and requirements of the course.
Required reading
Read at least one of the following choices ahead of your first tutorial:
 Burawoy, M. (2005). 2004 ASA Presidential Address: For Public Sociology.
American Sociological Review, 70(1), 4–28.
 Wright, E. O. (2013). Transforming Capitalism through Real Utopias. American
Sociological Review, 78(1), 1–25. (NB It is particularly 1-12 on an emancipatory
social science that are relevant for this topic; reading further is encouraged but
don’t worry if you get lost in the details there.)
Additional reading
There is no additional reading list for this topic – use your time to read ahead on the
course.

Lecture 2: New Migrations – the case of Central and East European migrants in
the UK (Alina Rzepnikowska-Phillips)

International migrations have changed the face of societies as they increase ethnic
and cultural diversity of migrant-receiving countries. This lecture will focus on Central
and East European migration to the UK, followed by the expansion of the European
Union in 2004. It will examine the ways in which immigration continues to be
politically significant in the UK and how migrants arriving from Central and East
Europe since 2004 have been constructed initially as welcome, hardworking and
needed in the UK, but in the context of the economic crisis in 2008 and the EU
Referendum in 2016 became unwanted and constructed as a ‘problem’. The
empirical examples from ethnographic research conducted in Manchester will shed
light on the lived experiences of Polish migrants and their interactions with the local
population.

Required reading

 Fox, J.E., Morosanu, L. and Szilasy, E. (2012) ‘The racialization of the new
European migration to the UK’, Sociology, 46 (4): 680-95.

6
  Rzepnikowska, A. (2018) ‘Racism and xenophobia experienced by Polish
migrants in the UK before and after Brexit vote’, Journal of Ethnic and
Migration Studies, 45 (1): 61-77

Additional reading
 Botterill, K. and Burrell, K. (2018) ‘(In)visibility, privilege and the performance
of whiteness in Brexit Britain: Polish migrants in Britain’s shifting migration
regime’, Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space,
https://doi.org/10.1177/0263774X18811923
 Castles, S. and Miller, M. J. (2014) Chapter 1: Introduction. The Age of
Migration. International Population Movements in the Modern World.
Basingstoke: Palgrave
 Cook, J., Dwyer, P. and Waite, L. (2011a) ‘The Experiences of Accession 8
Migrants in England: Motivations, Work and Agency’, International Migration,
49(2), 54-79.
 Fox, J. E. (2013) ‘The uses of racism: whitewashing new Europeans in the
UK’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(11): 1871-1889.
 Rzepnikowska, Alina (2017) ‘Conviviality in the workplace: the case of Polish
migrant women in Manchester and Barcelona’, Central and Eastern European
Migration Review, 6 (2): 51-68.
 Virdee, S. and McGeever, B. (2018) ‘Racism, Crisis, Brexit’, Ethnic and Racial
Studies, 41(10): 1802-1819.
 White, A. (2011) ‘Polish Migration in the UK – local experiences and effects’,
AHRC Connected Communities Symposium: Understanding Local
Experiences of New Migration. Sheffield, 26 September 2011, 1-20.
http://opus.bath.ac.uk/26615/1/A._White_Polish_Migration_in_the_UK.pdf

Lecture 3: Inequalities in a Global Age (Kevin Gillan)

Not so long ago economic inequality was seen primarily as a concern of the political
left. The more politically mainstream argument was that inequality didn’t really matter
in a world where globalisation appeared to be reducing overall levels of extreme
poverty: so long as the poorest were benefiting, why not allow the rich to become
even richer? Since the global economic crisis of 2008 and the consequent period of
austerity, however, even highly orthodox economic institutions such as the
International Monetary Fund have started to question whether economic inequality is
now so stark that it is producing significant social harm. This lecture sets out the
facts of economic inequality – both between and within nations – and considers the
various impacts that economic inequality has on global society.
Required reading
 Wilkinson, R. G. & Pickett, K. (2010). The spirit level: why equality is better for
everyone. London: Penguin. Read: Ch. 2: Poverty or Inequality?

7
Additional reading
 Dicken, P. (2014). Global shift: mapping the changing contours of the world
economy (Seventh edition). New York: The Guilford Press. Especially Chapter 10,
‘Winning and Losing: Where you live really matters’.
 Dorling, D. (2015). Inequality and the 1%. Verso. Especially Chapter 1, ‘Can we
afford the superrich?’
 Fligstein, N. (2014). The Sociology of Picketty’s Capital. Contemporary Sociology,
43(6), 791–794. (A short but interesting book review.)
 Milanović, B. (2010). The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic
History of Global Inequality. Basic Books. (NB Library stock ordered)
 Milanović, B. (2016). Global inequality: a new approach for the age of
globalization. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press.
 Moellendorf, D. (2009). Global Inequality Matters. Springer Nature.
 Olsen, G. (2010). Power and Inequality: A Comparative Introduction. Toronto:
OUP Canada. (NB Library stock ordered)
 Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the twenty-first century. (A. Goldhammer, Tran.).
Cambridge Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press,.
 Stiglitz, J. E. (2013). The price of inequality (Paperback edition.). London:
Penguin Books.
 Therborn, G. (2013). The Killing Fields of Inequality. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Esp. Ch. 4: 'Three kinds of (in)equality and their production' (digitised) and chs 3
& 6.
 Tilly, C. (1998). Durable inequality. Berkeley ; London, Berkeley: University of
California Press.
 Walby, S. (2009). Globalization and Inequalities: Complexity and Contested
Modernities. Los Angeles: Sage Publications Ltd. (This is an advanced reading.
Most relevant for the course are Chapters 7 & 9, but to make sense of them you'd
need to read Chapters 1 & 2 first. It is rewarding if you make the effort.)
 Wilkinson, R. G., & Pickett, K. (2010). The spirit level: why equality is better for
everyone. London: Penguin. (Especially chapters 2, 3 & 13)

Lecture 4: Feminism and Sustainable Development (Ulrike Ehgartner)

This session explores the co-evolution of feminist scholarly perspectives with those
that theorise and advance understanding and awareness of women’s relationship
with the environment. While ecofeminist perspectives are divided and contested,
they have much to contribute to the analysis of global processes of consumption and
production and agendas that seek to ameliorate conditions of environmental
degradation. The lecture/session will outline key contentions of this debate and will
explore what the aims of feminism and sustainable development have in common.

8
Required reading
 Meinzen-Dick, R., Kovarik, C., & Quisumbing, A. R. (2014). Gender and
Sustainability. In Gadgil, A and Liverman, DM (Ed.), ANNUAL REVIEW OF
ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES, VOL 39 (Vol. 39, p.
29+). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-101813-013240 (see attached).
Additional readings
 Baker, S. (2016) Sustainable Development (London: Routledge): ‘The
Concept of Sustainable Development’, esp. chs 1-4
 Weller, I. (2017). Gender dimensions of sustainable consumption. In S.
MacGregor (Ed.), Routledge Handbook on Gender and Environment.
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
 MacGregor, S. (2010) A stranger silence still: the need for feminist social
research on climate change, The Sociological Review, 57 (2) 124- 140.
Additional reading
 Agarwal, B. (1992) ‘The Gender and Environment Debate: Lessons from
India’, Feminist Studies, Vol. 18, no. 1, Pp. 119-58.
 Barry, J. (2007) Environment and Social Theory, 2nd Edition, (Oxon,
Routledge). Chapter 7: ‘Gender, the non-human world and social thought’. NB
If accessing the 1999 first edition this is Chapter 5.
 Banerjee, S. B. (2003) ‘Who Sustains Whose Development: Sustainable
Development and the Reinvention of Nature’, Organization Studies, 24(1),
143-180.
 Bryson, V. (2003) Feminist Political Theory: An Introduction, Palgrave
Macmillan.
 Dobson, A. (1998) Justice and the Environment: Conceptions of
Environmental Sustainability and Dimensions of Social Justice, (Oxford:
Oxford University Press).
 Merchant, C. (1996) Earthcare: Women and the Environment, Chapter 7
(Women and the American Environmental Movement) Routledge, New York.
 Shiva, V. (2009) Soil not Oil: Climate Change, Peak Oil and Food insecurity,
London: Zed.
Relevant Online Resources
 Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO). Access their
website via the following link, and browse issues according via the ‘Focus Area’
portal. http://wedo.org/
 United Nations, The Beijing Platform for Action Turns 20. See:
http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/in-focus/environment
 Gender Equality And Food Security: Women’s Empowerment as a Tool against
Hunger. See the following report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) available at this link: http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/ar259e/ar259e.pdf

9
 See UNEP’s take on ‘Women and the Environment’ at WikiGender on:
http://www.wikigender.org/wiki/women-and-the-environment/

Lecture 5: Climate Change, Capitalism and Society (Richie Nimmo)

Global climate change is now upon us, and is arguably the defining issue facing
humanity in the 21st century. Our current trajectory will see global temperature rises
in excess of 2 degrees well before the end of the century, which climate scientists
agree equates to radical, chaotic and spiralling changes in the bio-physical systems
that support life on earth. This in turn will dramatically exacerbate and amplify major
global problems facing human civilisation, both socio-political and environmental,
including accelerating inequality, democratic instability, resource depletion,
geopolitical conflict, species and biodiversity loss, food-system unsustainability,
desertification and ocean acidification, as well as disease transmission. There is no
longer a chance of avoiding climate change, but there is still a chance of effective
adaptation and mitigation to avoid the most catastrophic effects. This lecture looks at
what contribution sociology has and can make to understanding the driving forces of
climate change, its social implications, obstacles to mitigation, and what kinds of
social and political transformations are required in order to avoid the worst-case
scenario.
Required reading
 Urry, J. (2009) ‘Sociology and Climate Change’, The Sociological Review, 57(s2):
84-100.
Additional reading - Academic Sociology:
 Beck, U. – ‘Global Public Sphere and Global Subpolitics, or: How Real is
Catastrophic Climate Change?’, Chapter 5 in Beck (2008) World At Risk,
Cambridge: Polity, pages 81-108.
 Clark, B. and York, R. (2005) ‘Carbon Metabolism, Global Capitalism, Climate
Change and the Biospheric Rift’, Theory, Culture and Society, 34: 391-428.
 Dunlap, R. and Brulle, P. (eds) (2015) Climate Change and Society: Sociological
Perspectives, New York: Oxford University Press USA.
 Lever-Tracy, C. (2008) ‘Global Warming and Sociology’, Current Sociology, 56:
445-466.
 Giddens, A. (2009) The Politics of Climate Change, Cambridge: Polity. See in
particular Chapter 3, ‘The Greens and After’, pages 48-71, and Chapter 7, ‘The
Politics of Adaptation’, pages 163-184.
 Grundmann, R. and Stehr, N. (2010) ‘Climate Change: What Role for Sociology?’,
Current Sociology, 27: 289-305.
 Swyngedouw, E. (2010) ‘Apocalypse Forever? Post-political Populism and the
Spectre of Climate Change’, Theory, Culture and Society, 27: 213-232.

10
 Urry J. (2011) Climate Change and Society, Cambridge: Polity. See in particular
Chapter 9, ‘Alternative Future Societies’, pages 139-154, and Chapter 10, ‘A
Manifesto for Bringing Society into Climate Change’, pages 155-168.
Additional Reading - Popular Science/Journalism/Activism:
 Klein, N (2014) This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, New York:
Simon and Schuster. See in particular Chapter 2, ‘Hot Money: How Free-Market
Fundamentalism Helped Over Heat the Planet’, pages 64-95, and also Chapter
10, ‘Love Will Save This Place: Democracy, Divestment, and the Wins So Far’,
pages 337-366.
 Lovelock (2006) The Revenge of Gaia, London: Allen Lane. See in particular
Chapter 1, ‘The State of the Earth’, pages 1-18, Chapter 7, ‘Technology for a
Sustainable Retreat’, pages 128-134, and Chapter 8, ‘Beyond the Terminus’,
pages 146-158.
 Monbiot, G. (2016) How Did We Get Into This Mess? Politics, Equality, Nature,
London: Verso. See in particular Chapter 5, ‘Energy Vampires’, and Chapter 6,
‘Riches and Ruins’.
Relevant Online/Media Resources
 The Guardian Environment section: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/environment.
 George Monbiot’s website: http://www.monbiot.com/category/climate-change/
The following documentary films are also relevant:
 ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ – 2006 Film.
 ‘The Truth About Climate Change’ – 2008 Film.
 ‘The Age of Stupid’ – 2009 Film.
 ‘Planetary’ – 2016 Film.

Lecture 6: Population Ageing: A Global Challenge (Tine Buffel)

Population ageing is a global phenomenon not only affecting regions with an already
high representation of older people but also low and middle-income countries set to
‘grow old before they grow rich’. This lecture will consider the process of ageing both
at an individual and population level. It will address global trends in demographic
change, the causes and implications of population ageing, as well key questions for
research and policy responses.
Required Reading

 Phillipson, C. (2013) Ageing. Polity Press. Ch. 2: Aging Societies in a Global

Perspective
 Hochlaf, D. and Franklin, B. (2017). When I’m 64. The ILD-UK Factpack on
retirement transitions.

11
 http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/index.php/publications/publication_details/when_im_6
4_the_ilc_uk_factpack_on_retirement_transitions
(download pdf at the bottom of the webpage).

Additional Reading

 Buffel, T., Handler, S. and Phillipson, C. (2018) (eds.) Age-friendly cities and
communities: A global perspective. Bristol: Policy Press.
 Grenier, A. (2012) Transitions and the life course: Challenges and the
construction of the life course. Bristol: Policy Press.
 Higgs, P. and Formosa, M. (2013) Social class in later life: Power, identity and
lifestyle. Bristol: Policy Press.
 Lloyd-Sherlock, P. (2010) Population ageing and international development.
Bristol: Policy Press.
 McDaniel, S.A., Zimmer, Z. (2013) (Eds) Global ageing in the twenty first
century. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
 Scharf, T. and Keating, N. (2012) From inclusion to exclusion in old age: A
global challenge. Policy Press.
 Timonen, V. (2008). Ageing societies: A comparative introduction.
Maidenhead and New York: Open University Press.
 Victor, C. (2005). The social context of ageing: A textbook of
gerontology. Oxfordshire Routledge.
 World Health Organization (2015) World Report on Ageing and Health. WHO:
Geneva. (available online at: http://www.who.int/ageing/events/world-report-
2015-launch/en/)

Lecture 7: Understanding Radicalisation (Hilary Pilkington)

12
‘Radicalisation’ began to be discussed as a phenomenon distinct from ‘terrorism’ in
the wake of the September 11 (2001) attacks. Initially used to signify a process
whose outcome is not radicalism (itself not necessarily anti-democratic) but violent
extremism, the concept has since broadened to incorporate both ideological
radicalisation (the process of coming to hold radical or extremist views) and
behavioural radicalisation (engagement in violent extremist actions or terrorism).
‘Radicalisation’ is used today across a range of ideological and religious contexts
although it remains most frequently applied in the discussion of Islamist extremism.
To understand radicalisation, therefore, is to understand why and how people
become extremists.
Radicalisation is viewed often as an individual, psychological process. However,
radicalisation takes place in specific geo-political contexts, characterised by
particular conflicts, inequalities and grievances. There are thus structural as well as
individual factors driving radicalisation making it a global challenge of concern to
sociologists. In this lecture we will consider: radicalisation discourse; motivations for,
pathways into and socio-demographic factors related to extremism; processes of
radicalisation; and counter-radicalisation policies.
Required reading
 Sedgwick, M. (2010) ‘The Concept of Radicalisation as a Source of Confusion’,
Terrorism and Political Violence, 22(4): 479-94.
 Lindekilde, L. (2012) ‘Neo-liberal Governing of “Radicals”: Danish Radicalization
Prevention Policies and Potential Iatrogenic Effects’, International Journal of
Conflict and Violence, 6 (1): 109-125.
Additional reading
Items that are particularly useful are marked with *
 Abbas, M-S (2018) ‘“I grew a beard and my dad flipped out!” Cooption of British
Muslim parents in countering “extremism” within their families in Bradford and
Leeds’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, DOI:
10.1080/1369183X.2018.1466694
 Acik, N. and Pilkington, H. (2018) Youth mobilisations of ‘suspect communities’,
Final report for the H2020 PROMISE: Promoting Youth Involvement and Social
Engagement: Opportunities and challenges for conflicted young people across
Europe project (May, 2018). Available at:
http://www.promise.manchester.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Youth-
mobilisations-of-%E2%80%98suspect-communities%E2%80%99.pdf
 Ahmed, R. and Pisoiu, D. (2014) ‘Foreign fighters: An overview of existing
research and a comparative study of British and German foreign fighters’,
Working Paper 8, Hamburg: Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at
the University of Hamburg. Available at: https://ifsh.de/file-
ZEUS/pdf/ZEUS_WP_8.pdf

13
 Bakker, E. and de Bont, R. (2016) ‘Belgian and Dutch Jihadist Foreign Fighters
(2012–2015): Characteristics, motivations, and roles in the war in Syria and Iraq’,
Small Wars & Insurgencies, 27 (5): 837-857.
 Bartlett, J. and Miller, C. (2012) ‘The Edge of Violence: Towards Telling the
Difference Between Violent and Non-Violent Radicalization’, Terrorism and
Political Violence, 24: 1–21.
 Blackwood., L., Hopkins, N. and Reicher, S. (2015) ‘”Flying While Muslim”:
Citizenship and Misrecognition in the Airport’ Journal of Social and Political
Psychology, 3 (2): 148–170.
 Breen-Smyth, M. 2014. ‘Theorising the “Suspect Community”: Counterterrorism,
Security Practices and the Public Imagination’, Critical Studies on Terrorism, 7 (2):
223–40.
 Busher, J. and Macklin, G. (2015) ‘Interpreting “Cumulative Extremism”: Six
Proposals for Enhancing Conceptual Clarity’, Terrorism and Political Violence,
27(5): 884-905.
 Busher, J., Choudhury, T., Thomas, P. and Harris, G. (2017) What the Prevent
duty means for schools and colleges in England: An analysis of educationalists’
experiences. Research Report. Aziz Foundation. Available at:
http://azizfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/What-the-Prevent-Duty-
means-for-schools-and-colleges-in-England.pdf
 Choudhury, T. and Fenwick, H. (2011) The impact of counter-terrorism measures
on Muslim Communities, Equality and Human Rights Commission Research
Report 72. Available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-
download/research-report-72-impact-counter-terrorism-measures-muslim-
community
 Dawson, L. and Amarasingam, A. (2017) ‘Talking to Foreign Fighters: Insights
into the Motivations for Hijrah to Syria and Iraq’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism,
40 (3): 191-210.
 Garland, J. and Treadwell, J. (2011) ‘Masculinity, marginalization and violence: A
case study of the English Defence League’, British Journal of Criminology, 51(4):
621-34.
 *Horgan, J. (2008) ‘From Profiles to Pathways and Roots to Routes: Perspectives
from Psychology on Radicalisation into Terrorism’, Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, 618: 80-94.
 *Kundnani, A. (2012) ‘Radicalisation: the journey of a concept’, Race and Class,
54 (2): 3-25. [This is largely reproduced as ‘The myth of radicalization’ (Chapter 4)
in Kundnani, A. (2014) The Muslims are coming! Islamophobia, extremism and
the domestic war on terror, London: Verso, pp.115-52.]
 Linden, A. and Klandermans, B. (2007) ‘Revolutionaries, Wanderers, Converts,
and Compliants: Life Histories of Extreme Right Activists’, Journal of
Contemporary Ethnography, 36(2): 184-201.
 McDonald, K. (2018) Radicalization, Cambridge: Polity.

14
 Picart, C. (2015) ‘Imagined Relations in the Self-Radicalization of Colleen
LaRose (Jihad Jane)’, Societies, 5: 354-83.
 Sageman, M. (2008) Leaderless Jihad. Terror networks in the twenty-first century,
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
 *Schmid, A. (2013) Radicalisation, De-Radicalisation, Counter-Radicalisation: A
Conceptual Discussion and Literature Review, ICCT Research Paper, The Hague:
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. Available at:
http://www.icct.nl/download/file/ICCT-Schmid-Radicalisation-De-Radicalisation-
Counter-Radicalisation-March-2013.pdf
 Simi, P., Bubolz, B.F. and Hardman, A. (2013) ‘Military Experience, Identity
Discrepancies, and Far Right Terrorism: An Exploratory Analysis’, Studies in
Conflict & Terrorism, 36 (8), 654-671.
 Taylor, M., Currie, P.M. and Holbrook, D. (eds) (2013) Extreme right wing political
violence and terrorism, London: Bloomsbury Press, especially: I. van der Valk
‘Youth engagement in right-wing extremism: Comparative cases from the
Netherlands’ (Chapter 7); D. Holbrook ‘Far right and Islamist extremist discourses:
Shifting patterns of enmity’ (Chapter 11) and P.M. Currie ‘Conclusion’ (Chapter
12).
 Thomas, P. (2016) ‘Youth, terrorism and education: Britain’s Prevent programme’,
International Journal of Lifelong Education, 35 (2): 171-187.
Relevant online resources
 http://www.radicalisationresearch.org/category/debate/
NB this is not strictly a blog site but carries short articles (usually based on
substantial research). Some are blogs (usually republished from other blog sites)

Lecture 8: The Corporation in Global Society: Psychopath or Social Innovator?

(Dan Welch)
The corporation is the dominant economic institution in the world today and its role in
society is hotly debated. Its modern form only emerged in the nineteenth century—
earlier versions of the corporate form existed as institutions with intrinsically public or
national purposes. Today the dominant model of the corporation identifies
maximising ‘shareholder value’ as the corporation’s legitimate goal. Joel Bakan
(2004) has argued that the modern corporation is a social institution “made in the
image of the human psychopath” (p. 135). Others argue that corporations have a
positive role to play as technological, social, environmental innovators — Paul
Poulson, CEO of Unilever, the world’s third largest consumer goods company, has
said that short–term speculators are “not welcome” as shareholders of the company,
and that Unilever has “obligations towards multiple stakeholders” to tackle issues like
food security or climate change (Forbes, 2015). How can sociological perspectives
help us understand the role and responsibilities of corporations in today’s globalised
society?

15
Required reading
 King, B.G. and Pearce, N.A. (2010) “The Contentiousness of Markets: Politics,
Social Movements, and Institutional Change in Markets” Annual Review of
Sociology. Vol. 36: 249-267

Recommended reading (especially Chapter 1)

 Bakan, J. (2004) The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power.
New York: Free Press
Additional Reading
 Bartley, T. and Curtis C. (2014) “Shaming the Corporation: The Social Production
of Targets and the Anti-Sweatshop Movement.” American Sociological Review
79(4):653-679
 Bartley, T., Koos, S., Samel, H., Sterini, G. and Summers, N. (2015) Looking
Behind the Label: Global Industries and the Conscientious Consumer.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press
 Bolton, S.C. and Laaser, K. (2013) “Work, employment and society through the
lens of moral economy” Work, employment and society 27 (3): 508–525
 Davis, G.F. (2013) “After the corporation” Politics & Society 41: 283–308
 Davis, G.F. and Kim, S. (2015) “Financialization of the Economy” Annual Review
of Sociology 41:203–21
 Prudham, S. (2009) “Pimping climate change: Richard Branson, global warming,
and the performance of green capitalism” Environment and Planning A, 41 (7):
1594-1613.
 Shin, T. (2013) “The Shareholder Value Principle: The Governance and Control
of Corporations in the United States” Sociology Compass 7(10): 829–840
 Stubbs, W. (2017) Characterising B Corps as a sustainable business model: An
exploratory study of B Corps in Australia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 144:
299-312
 Film – ‘No Logo: Brands, Globalization, Resistance’ available at
https://manchester.kanopy.com/video/no-logo

Lecture 9: Global Protest: Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere (Kevin Gillan)
In this lecture we look at waves of global protest, from the global justice movement,
which grew out of the 1990s protests against the World Bank, IMF and G8, to the
more recent Occupy Protests and the European Anti-austerity movements. These
global protest waves have been variously concerned with the conflicts and
inequalities resulting from globalization, capitalism, and neoliberalism. We examine
the emergence, characteristics, and tactics of these protest movements, as well as
considering why protest has gone global. To this end, we engage with the work of

16
Spanish sociologist Manual Castells, whose ideas on power, networks and the
internet age help us to understand why and how it is ‘kicking off everywhere’.
Required reading
 Castells, M. (2012) Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the
Internet Age. Wiley Press. Read Ch. 8 ‘Occupy Wall Street: Harvesting the Salt of
the Earth’.
Additional reading
 Bennett, W. L. (2003), ‘Communicating Global Activism: Strengths and
Vulnerabilities of Networked Politics’, Information, Communication and Society
6(2): 143-68
 Callinicos, A. (2003) An Anti-capitalist Manifesto Cambridge: Polity Press.
 Castells, M. (2004) ‘No Globalization without Representation!’: the Anti-
globalization Movement’, in The Power of Identity (Vol II of the Information Age
trilogy), second edition, pp. 145-166.
 Castells, M. (2012) Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the
Internet Age. Wiley.
 Edwards, G. (2014) Social Movements and Protest, Cambridge University Press.
Esp. Ch. 6 From National to Global Social Movements: Network Movements,
Alternative Globalization and New Media.
 Flesher Forminaya, C. and Cox, L. (2013) (eds) Understanding European
Movements: New Social Movements, Global Justice Struggles, Anti-Austerity
Protest. Routledge (covers Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Iceland, UK).
 Gitlin, T. (2012) Occupy Nation: The Roots, the Spirit, and the Promise of Occupy
Wall Street. It Books.
 Juris, J. S. (2005) ‘The New Digital Media and Activist Networking in the Anti-
Corporate Globalization Movement’, The Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science, 597:189-208.
 Klein, N. (2000) No Logo, London: Flamingo/ Harper Collins..
 Klein, N. (2007) The Shock Doctrine: the rise of disaster capitalism. London:
Allen.
 Mason, P. (2013) Why It’s Still Kicking Off Everywhere: the New Global
Revolutions. Verso books.
 Notes from Nowhere (2003). We are Everywhere: the irresistible rise of global
anti-capitalism. London: Verso.
 Pleyers, G. (2010) Alter-Globalization: Becoming Actors in the Global Age. Polity.
 Starr, A. (2000), Naming the Enemy: Anti-Corporate Movements Confront
Globalization. London: Zed.

Lecture 10: A Sociological Perspective on Global Challenges (Kevin Gillan)

In this final lecture I will pull together the various threads of argument seen
throughout the course. Now we have examined eight global social challenges in
separation we are able to consider what they might have in common. Do some of
17
these challenges have common roots or consequences that might teach us
something significant about how global society operates? What can we learn from
the differences between these challenges? At this point we can also reflect on the
role of social scientific knowledge in society more widely. For instance, what roles
might the kind of knowledge presented throughout the course have in informing
social change to deal productively with such challenges? And how might social
scientists (and indeed social science students) help to produce more informed policy
in an era of ‘post-truth politics’ and apparent disregard for expertise?
Required reading
For this week you should select two topics from weeks 2-9 on the course, and read
at least one further reading item for each of those topics. This will help you prepare
for the tutorial as well as for your exam.

Tutorial Guide

Full tutorial guidance is available in a separate document on Blackboard under ‘Key

Information’ in the left-hand menu. Tutorials run in weeks 2-11, with topics running a
week behind lecture topics. (I.e. The lecture in week 1 feeds into the tutorial in week
2.) Also note:
 Attendance at tutorials is compulsory.
 All tutorials require reading and preparation prior to the session – see the
online guidance document for details.
 Students who have not prepared may be asked to leave by the tutor and
marked as absent.

Assignments and Assessments

Non-Assessed Coursework Details

You will be required to submit two short pieces of writing in the style of blog posts.
Each carries a 5 point penalty for non-submission. Further guidance on writing your
blog posts will be made available via Blackboard (in the ‘Blog Assignments’ section)
early in the semester. Additionally, you can see a selection of past students’ blog
posts at: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/global-social-challenges/

Deadlines

11th March 2019, 4pm Blog 1 (750 words), relating to any of Topics 2-5

5th April 2019, 4pm Blog 2 (750 words), relating to any of Topics 6-9

Blog Assignments will be marked by the Course Tutors with moderation by the
Convenor. Note: Marks for compulsory non-assessed coursework should not be

18
considered a 'predicted grade' for the course overall. The feedback and any grade
provided are to allow you to judge your understanding of the course material.

Submission of Coursework
Your blog posts should be submitted as MS Word format documents (.docx) online
via Blackboard by 4pm on the deadline dates given above unless given course
specific instructions by email. Full details of how to submit online are available in the
‘Submission of Coursework’ folder in the relevant section on the course Blackboard
website. Ensure you have familiarised yourself with the system and give yourself
plenty of time for submission as technology problems will not be an acceptable
reason for late or non-submission of work. If you have serious problems submitting
on the day please contact the SoSS Undergraduate Office in the Arthur Lewis
Building urgently.
Note that our online submission system includes TurnItIn plagiarism detection
software. Be sure that you fully understand what plagiarism is; links for further details
are included in section 5 below. If, after reading the guidance, you are at all unsure
about what counts as plagiarism then you should contact your Academic Advisor to
discuss it.
If your essay is submitted late your grade will be reduced by 10 marks per day for 5
days, after which it will receive a mark of zero. For clarity a ‘day’ is 24 hours,
beginning immediately after the published deadline. *Deadlines will be strictly
enforced in all cases*. The mark published through TurnItIn will show your mark
*before* the late penalty is applied.
Mitigating Circumstances
Extensions may be granted to students where there are exceptional mitigating
circumstances (e.g. strong medical reasons). In such cases a Mitigating
Circumstances Form must be completed online. Full guidance on mitigating
circumstances is available here:

https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/help-
and-support/mitigating-circumstances/

Examination Details
This course includes a 2 hour examination in which you will be required to answer
two questions from a selection of 8. It is possible to see all past papers for the
course by searching for ‘SOCY10462’ here:

http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/pastexams.aspx

Examination timetables are released later in the semester and you will be notified
with instructions by email from the Undergraduate Administrator.

19
If you miss an examination through illness or another serious reason you should
contact the SoSS Undergraduate Office as soon as possible. You will need to submit
a Mitigating Circumstances Form (see link above) along with relevant evidence.

20
 3. FEEDBACK
All sociology courses include both formative feedback – which lets you know how
you’re getting on and what you could do to improve – and summative feedback –
which gives you a mark for your assessed work. This course uses the following
mechanisms for feedback:
 Informal verbal feedback will be Save Your Feedback
given during lectures and tutorials for
individual and group work. (You’ll Feedback via
need to contribute regularly to group TurnItIn/GradeMark on the
discussions to make the best use of Blackboard system is only

KNOW HOW
this.) accessible while you are
studying this particular
 Written formative feedback will be
module. Download a pdf
given on your non-assessed
version of your feedback
assignments and made available via
to refer to later by using
Blackboard.
the print icon in the bottom
 You can additionally make use of
left corner of the feedback
Tutors’ or Convenors’ office hours at
screen.
any time during the semester to
discuss your academic progress.
 Exam results are published only as a grade. If you wish to discuss your exam
performance with your lecturer please book an office hour slot by email and
let your lecturer know in advance that this is what you want to do.

Your Feedback to Us

We’re continually working to improve our teaching practices – for that we need your
feedback. Towards the end of the semester you’ll be asked to fill out a Unit Survey
for each of your modules – please do! The survey is designed to be very short and
easy to fill out but the results are really valuable for our monitoring of teaching quality.
We want to hear from you whether your opinion on the course was good, bad or
indifferent.
All of your Unit Surveys are available via Blackboard – simply go to ‘Unit Evaluation’
on the left hand menu of the Blackboard website to begin. Alternatively, you can
download a smartphone app called EvaluationKit to fill out Unit Surveys for all of
your course units.

21
 4. YOUR COMMITMENT

Study Schedule
Each 20 credit module requires that you study for a minimum of 12 hours per week.
This is comprised of teaching and independent study in these proportions:
 3 hours lectures and tutorials (2.5 in the first year);
 At least 3 hours reading the Key Reading;
 At least 3 hours reading an additional text from the reading list;
 At least 3 hours written work for assessed and non-assessed assignments.
This leaves 80 hours study time remaining to be used in independent study over the
duration of the course. For 10 credit courses these distributions will be proportionally
reduced but should be slightly higher than half the commitment for a 20 credit course.

Tutorial Preparation
Tutorials are a central part of the course module structure. They provide you with an
opportunity to discuss, apply and enhance your knowledge, and to build confidence
in your skills of analysis, comprehension and presentation. What you will gain from
tutorials is dependent upon your preparation and willingness to participate. It is thus
essential that you familiarise yourself with the Tutorial Guide for each course,
undertake the required tutorial preparation, and bring all relevant materials
(hardcopies of the Key Reading, notes on the Key Reading, preparation exercises
etc.) to every tutorial. It is not acceptable to attend a tutorial without being fully
prepared.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your
programme. It is also expected that you arrive on time. Absence and late arrival are
recorded on your University record. Inappropriate amounts of absence or late arrival
at class, without extenuating circumstances, will be treated seriously and may result
in exclusion from the course. In addition, you should be aware that prospective
employers almost always ask for information about attendance and punctuality, as
well as matters such as your record on completing work to deadlines.

Absences
If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or other good reason you
should notify the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator in advance
if possible ([email protected] or telephone 0161 275 3953). This is
especially important if you are due to make a presentation to the class. Absences of
more than a few days should be backed up by medical or other evidence.
All absences will be reported to the relevant Tutor, who will then monitor your
performance. A record of indifferent attendance will be held against you if your
examination results are marginal; you should not expect to be shown sympathy by
the Board of Examiners in such circumstances.

22
If you have missed a class, you should be sure to catch up on what you have missed
by further independent reading of materials on the reading list and/or consulting any
available lecture notes or PowerPoint slides if these are provided or asking other
students whether they might allow you to consult theirs.

Email and Blackboard

Your commitment is also to check your University email and Blackboard at least
every other day in order to make sure that you are informed of any communications
from tutors or administrative staff. These might, for example, concern important
meetings with staff, changes of room; notification of course options registration, or
course-relevant information from your lecturer. Being unaware of arrangements
because you have not checked your email or Blackboard is not an acceptable
excuse.

23
 5. REFERENCING & PLAGIARISM
The lack of a proper bibliography and appropriate reference in assessed essays will
potentially greatly affect the mark for the work and may be considered plagiarism,
which is a serious offence.
All essays must employ the scholarly apparatus of references and a bibliography.
There are different acceptable referencing styles. In sociology we recommend use
of the Harvard system of referencing, which is described in detail here:
http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard
In short, Harvard referencing means that you refer to the author and date of
publication in brackets within the text, wherever you are referring to the ideas of
another writer. Where you quote an author you must always include quotation marks
and a page number in the reference.
All essays must include a References List which
Cite it Right
lists your sources in alphabetical order by
author's surname. This should include all (and You can learn how to

KNOW HOW
only) the sources you have directly referenced in reference properly in 15
the text. Whatever your source is, you need to minutes – head to the
provide a full set of publication details as online tutorial, Citing it
right, at:
described in the guide linked above. All
http://libassets.manchest
academic texts you read will include er.ac.uk/mle/introducing-
bibliographies and these should give you plenty referencing/
of examples of what information to include.

Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism
The University defines plagiarism as
You can learn how to avoid
‘presenting the ideas, work or words of other
plagiarism in 20 minutes –
KNOW HOW

people without proper, clear and unambiguous

head to the online tutorial,
acknowledgement.’ It is an example of
Original Thinking Allowed,
academic malpractice and can lead to very
at:
serious penalties up to exclusion from the
http://libassets.manchester. University. You should read the University’s
ac.uk/mle/avoiding- guidelines here:
plagiarism
http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.asp
x?DocID=2870
There is additional useful guidance on plagiarism and referencing in the Crucial
Guide:
http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-
life/support/referencing-and-plagiarism/

24
 6. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Sociology students’ work is assessed into different class categories by using the
following criteria:
High First Class (75+) Such answers fully answer the question in a coherent
manner and can be expected to show excellence with respect to the following criteria:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of
expression
 Knowledge of the relevant literature.
First Class (70-74) Such answers are highly competent and provide a near-full and
well-structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate some of the
following qualities:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of
expression
 Good knowledge of the relevant literature.
Upper-second Class (60-69) Such answers are overall competent and provide a
generally well-structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate
most of the following qualities:
 A reasonable-to-good understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis, of argument and of expression
 At least selective knowledge of the relevant literature.
Lower-second Class (50-59) Such answers indicate some understanding of the
issues and provide an adequate answer to the question. They can be expected to
show most of the following features:
 A basic understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis and argument, albeit limited in extent
 Some awareness of the relevant literature.
Note: What distinguishes a high Lower-second Class from a low Upper-second
Class is greater extent of understanding of material and clarity of analysis and
argument, as well as at least some selective knowledge of the relevant literature, not
mere awareness of its existence.
Third Class (40-49) Such answers indicate only a rudimentary understanding of the
issues and offer only partial answers to the question. They can be expected to show
the following features:
 Sparse coverage of the material with several key topics missing
 Unsupported assertions and little clear analysis or argument
 Important errors and inaccuracies.

25
First and Second Years: Compensatable Fail (30-39)
Such answers fail to deal with the question in a way that suggest more than a
fragmented and shallow acquaintance with the subject. They are often error-prone
and lack coherence. NB – it is not possible to get a compensated pass for
compulsory course on your degree programme. There is also a limit to the number of
compensated fails allowed in a single year. Please see your Programme Handbook
for details.
First and Second Years: Uncompensatable Fail (0-29)
Such answers fail to demonstrate the ability to engage with the question.
Third years: Fail (0-39) Such answers, at the upper end, fail to deal with the
question in a way that suggest more than a fragmented and shallow acquaintance
with the subject, while, at the lower end, they fail to demonstrate the ability to engage
with the question at all.

26
 Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences

SOCIOLOGY COURSE UNIT GUIDE 2018-19

SOCY10471: Sociology of Personal Life

Semester: 1
Credits: 20
Convenor: Dr Luke Yates

Contents
1. Essential Information
2. Course Content
A. Aims & Outcomes
B. Lectures & Reading List
C. Tutorial Guide
D. Assignments & Assessments
3. Feedback
4. Your Commitment
5. Referencing & Plagiarism
6. Assessment Criteria

Please read this guide and bring any questions with you to the lecture.
Note: This course guide should be read in conjunction with the Blackboard website for the
course and the Degree Handbook for your degree programme. Degree Handbooks for social
science programmes are available here:
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/course-
information/sociology/
If your degree is based in another school, please contact your Programme Administrator for
your handbook.

1
 1. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Contacts
Lecturer(s): Dr Luke Yates, plus colleagues from the Morgan Centre for
the Study of Everyday Lives: Leah Gilman, Sue Heath,
Petra Nordqvist, and Elisa Pieri.
Room: 178 Waterloo Place
Telephone: Ext. (0161 275) 8619
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Luke: Tuesdays 2-3pm, Wednesdays 2-3pm
Please book in advance by email if you would like to come
and see me
Tutors: Tutorials will be given by: Georgia Hibbert, Jessica Mancuso
and Mahwish Rana
Administrator: Chantel Riley
UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building; (0161) 2753953;
[email protected]

Times and Dates

Lectures: Wednesday 10.00-12.00, Sam Alex SLG.12
Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student
System. This is compulsory and on a first come, first served
basis.
Reading week: Monday 29th October – Friday 2nd November 2018

Feedback half-day: 12 December 9.30am-12.30pm

Essay deadline 6th November
Examination Period: 14th January – 25th January 2019
Resit Examination Period: 19th August – 30th August 2019

Assignments and Assessments

 One compulsory non-assessed essay (5% penalty for non-submission)
 One compulsory non-assessed presentation (5% penalty for non-submission)
 One two-hour unseen examination to be taken at the end of the course worth 100% of
the total mark
Review the following pages for full details of the assignments and assessments required on
this course.
Communication
Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be
communicated in this way. It is sometimes necessary to make changes such as seminar
rooms and assessment details and such changes will be communicated by email. Failing to
check your emails will not be an acceptable excuse for non-attendance or missed deadlines.

2
 2. COURSE CONTENT

Course Aims Get Organised

• To introduce students to a Use this guide to find out:

KNOW HOW
sociological approach to the study of  Where and when to attend
personal life classes.
 What to read before
• To examine how personal lives have lectures and tutorials.
changed over time and in relation to social  Where to start your
changes reading for assessments.
 How your progress will be
• To explore how wider social changes assessed.
have impacted upon personal life Read on to ensure that you
• To provide conceptual tools for know how to get the most out
of your degree.
understanding the micro level of day-to-day
The course will start with an introduction to what is meant by ‘personal life’ with the
help of practical examples. This will provide a basis for the lectures that follow.
These will address demographic shifts that have occurred in the area of personal life
over the last century or so, as well as how these wider social changes have been
visible on the level of individual lives. We will unpack different areas of ‘personal life’
and examine how these have changed in relation to wider social phenomena. One
important area is that of different personal relationships such as family, kinship and
friendships. Other aspects of personal life that we will address include sexualities,
the impact of new reproductive technologies, the link between the personal and the
political, and the meaning of home. The course will end with a lecture that provides a
summary and overview of what personal life means in sociology.

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit successful students will:
 Apply their knowledge of sociological theory of changes to intimate life,
sexuality, family, friendship etc to enable them to recognise the nature of
sociological questions in this field.
 Appreciate, understand and interpret the complexity of the role of the
individual in society, including conducting sociological analysis of diverse
aspects of personal life, e.g. the relationship between the personal and the
political, housing and home, and public space.
 Reason critically about personal life and how it is shaped socially. This for
example through the study of gender and couple relationships.
 Critically assess the interplay between the past and the present in personal
life.
 Develop an analysis of a substantive topic, e.g. the home, public space.

3
  Develop skills in communication and presentation and engage constructively
and effectively with others through workshop participation and especially
group work based presentations.
 Interpret and critically evaluate evidence about society and personal life using
a variety of sources.

General Course Readings

Some required readings may be made available electronically via the course website.
All other readings should be available from the University Main Library. Most reading
is specific to particular topics as described in the reading list below. The following
more general textbooks are helpful and recommended:
Lectures and tutorials are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to studying at
university. Lectures will provide an overview of some of the main arguments and
debates relating to a specific topic, whilst tutorials allow you to discuss some of
these arguments in greater depth and with your peers. However, the bulk of your
study time in relation to each of your modules will be spent on reading and private
study. We cannot underestimate the importance of reading as widely as possible!
This document contains a wide variety of recommended readings linked to the
sociological study of personal life, and you should make as much use of these
references as possible. As you become more confident in your use of the library and
of on-line journals, you will also begin to discover resources for yourself.

Recommended textbook
It is recommended that you purchase a copy of the following introductory textbook:

Vanessa May (Ed.) (2011) Sociology of Personal Life, Basingstoke: Palgrave.

This book, recently published, has been jointly written by staff from the University’s
Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives (the Centre is named after
Professor David Morgan, a world-renowned sociologist of the family). Collectively,
the Centre’s staff members are responsible for designing and teaching this unit. You
will meet the book’s editor, Dr Vanessa May, who gives two of the lectures on the
module. The book covers most of the topics included in the module – hardly
surprising, given that it based on the content of this module as it has evolved over
the years! There will be multiple copies of this book available to purchase in
Blackwell’s bookshop on Oxford Road.

General introductory textbooks

The following is a list of more general introductory texts, which provide useful
overviews of the subject matter of this module. You are encouraged to dip into these
books over the course of the module. All can be found in the University Library
and/or are available as ebooks via the Library website.

4
 McCarthy, J and Edwards, R (2011) Key Concepts in Family Studies, London:
Sage.
 McKie, L and Callan, S (2012) Understanding Families: A Global Introduction,
London: Sage.
 Morgan, David. (2009) Acquaintances: The Space Between Intimates and
Strangers, Buckingham: Open University Press.
 Scott, Susie (2009) Making Sense of Everyday Life, Cambridge: Polity.
 Smart, Carol. (2007) Personal Life: New Directions in Sociological Thinking.
Cambridge: Polity.(E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)

Weekly required readings for lectures and tutorials

Each lecture and seminar has a set reading attached. All the required readings for
the lectures and the tutorials are available electronically via links from this unit’s
Blackboard site. All other readings (listed as ‘further reading’) should be available in
hard copy form from the John Rylands University Library, with many available in the
‘High Demand’ section of the library (books kept in this section can only be borrowed
for very short periods of time or can only be consulted in the library) and some are
available as e-books. Some of the further readings are also available via links from
the Blackboard site.

IMPORTANT: The lists of further reading should be used to extend your

knowledge of a particular topic, and should be consulted when writing your
non-assessed essay, non-assessed presentation and revising for the exam.
You are not expected to read everything on the lists, but for the purposes of
essay, presentation and revision you should familiarise yourself with at least
two or three additional readings. The more widely you read, and the more you
draw upon this reading in your assignments, the more you will get out of the
course and the better you are likely to do.

Making use of journals

Many of you will until now have relied largely, or solely, on published text books as
key sources for your studies. Degree-level study requires that you also make
extensive use of articles (also referred to as ‘papers’) published in scholarly journals.
Scholarly journals are the source of some of the most recent and up-to-date
research and scholarship, with each journal publishing several issues a yearand
typically including around eight short articles. Journals can be fairly general in
nature, eg the journal Sociology is published by the British Sociological Association
and includes articles on a wide range of sociological topics, or they can be very
specialist journals, eg the journals Gender, Place and Culture or Sexualities only
publish articles in the very specific fields of research suggested by their titles. Most
journals are now available online, and this is how we recommend you access the
journal articles included in these reading lists (see the heading below for more on
this).

5
The reading lists within this document include a mix of books, book chapters and
journal articles. For example, for lecture 2 the list of further reading includes the
following references:

McRae, S (ed) (1999) Changing Britain: Families and Households in the1990s,

Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Smart, C. (2008) ‘’Can I Be Bridesmaid?’ Combining the Personal and Political in
Same-Sex Weddings’, Sexualities, 11(6): 761-776

The first of these is a reference to a book (a book reference usually ends with the
place of publication and the name of the publisher, as in the example above). The
second of these is a journal article – the tell-tale sign is the numbering that comes
after the title Sexualities: 11 (6) 761-776. This means Volume 11, Issue 6,
Pages761-776.

In this first semester you will be given assistance in accessing online journal articles,
and where they are specified as key readings we will ensure that there are direct
links from the Blackboard site. However, it is important that you learn to identify and
locate journal articles as soon as possible, as you will be expected to find them for
yourself from semester 2 onwards.

Accessing journal articles online

There are several ways to access online journal articles: the easiest way is probably
to Google the title of the article (in the example above, the article title is ‘Can I be
bridesmaid? Combining the Personal and Political in Same-Sex Weddings’), and you
will be able to follow links to the website of the relevant journal. Alternatively, you
could search for the title of the journal (in the same example, ‘Sexualities’), either via
Google or via the list of electronic journals available on the John Ryland’s library
website (just put the title and/or author in the ‘Library search’ box (and choose
‘search everything) on the library’s home website.

If you are accessing the article from a computer based on campus nine times out of
ten you will have direct access to the article and won’t need to sign in. If, however,
you are accessing the article from an off-campus computer, you will need to sign in
to gain access – this can be the tricky bit, as the process for signing in is not always
clear, and differs from journal to journal. In some cases you will be prompted to just
enter your university user name and password, but more often than not you will first
have to identify that you are a Manchester University user – if the sign in procedures
include a link to ‘Shibboleth’ login, select this option. If prompted, choose ‘UK Higher
Education’ or a similar UKaccess rights option, and then select ‘University of
Manchester’ from the list of institutions which will pop up (ignore any other
permutations of University of Manchester, eg University of Manchester MIDAS). You
will then be prompted for your personal username and password, which will gain you
access to the article.

The link below will take you to a short document produced by the library on how to
identify and access journal articles via the library electronic resources link:

6
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/academicsupport/findajournalarticle/_files/How-
to-find-a-journal-article.pdf

Lectures and Reading List

On this course we explore a series of different, but related, aspects of personal life.
We shall look sociologically at topics that are often considered deeply personal, but
which are, we shall discover, socially patterned and also changing over time. In the
first lecture, we give an overview of the course, and also over how we approach the
study of personal life. In lecture two we then go on to explore intimate life and so
couple relationships, and how social patterns of ‘how we love’ and how marriage,
divorce and cohabitation has shifted and changed over time. This links in with the
topic of the third and fourth lecture, which is on sexualities (and the social
significance of love, heterosexuality and non-heterosexualities) and the issue of
households, how people live and the rise in ‘single living’. We thereafter look beyond
the individual and the couple and turn our focus to wider aspects of personal life.
First, we explore the meaning of family of origin and kinship. Thereafter we
investigate the link between personal life and politics, linking back to the lectures on
intimate lives and sexualities. We thereafter, in week 8, go on to explore the meaning
and importance of friendship. In lecture 9 and 10 we move on to analysing ‘the home’
and ‘personal life in public spaces’, and so explore personal life as something that
happens both ‘in private’ and ‘in public’. In the last lecture we go through exam
preparation and also summarise and draw links between topics covered in the
module.

7
Weekly outline of the lecture topics and lecturers
Week Lecture Date Lecture title Tutorial
Week 1 Lecture w1 26 Sept Introduction: what is Tutorial w1
‘personal life’? (Luke Yates)
Week 2 Lecture w2 3 October Relationships and changing Tutorial w2
intimacy (Sue Heath)
Week 3 Lecture w3 10 October Sexualities (Petra Nordqvist Tutorial w3

Week 4 Lecture w4 17 October Family and kinship (Petra Tutorial w4

Nordqvist)

Week 5 Lecture w5 24 October Living alone and ‘living Tutorial w5

apart together’, Introduction
to essay writing (Luke
Yates)
Week 6 Reading 31 October Reading week – no lecture No tutorial
week
Week 7 Lecture w7 7 Personal life and politics Tutorial w7
Essay November (Luke Yates)
deadline
Tuesday 6
November
Week 8 Lecture w8 14 Friendship (Leah Gilman) Tutorial w8
November
Week 9 Lecture w9 21 The Home (Sue Heath) Tutorial w9
November
Week 10 Lecture w10 28 Personal life in public Tutorial
November spaces (Elisa Pieri) w10

Week 11 Lecture w11 5 Exam preparation and Tutorial

December thematic summary (Luke w11
Yates)
Week 12 Consultation 12 CONSULTATION DAY: NO No tutorial
day (no December LECTURE – you can come
lecture) 9.30am- and see Luke or book some
12.30pm time with other course tutors
during their office hours

8
Lecture w1 Introduction: what is ‘personal life’? (Dr Luke Yates)
This first session will provide an introduction to the unit and to its organisation. In the
first part of the session we will explain our ‘contract’ with you: what we will deliver,
and what we expect of you. We will explain the structure and practical running of the
course, as well as the purpose of the lectures and the tutorials. The session will then
move on to provide a general introduction to the module. We will explore questions
such as ‘What is personal life’ and ‘What is sociological about personal life’.

There is no expected reading for this lecture but you may wish to have a look at one
of the following:

Smart, Carol. (2007) Personal Life: New Directions in Sociological Thinking.

Cambridge: Polity – chapter 1, ‘A sociology of personal life’. (E-book: available online
through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
May, Vanessa (2011) Sociology of Personal Life, Basingstoke: Palgrave – chapter 1,
‘Introducing a sociology of personal life’ (by Vanessa May) and chapter 2,
‘Conceptualising the personal’ (by David Morgan) - this is the recommended text for
this module.

Additional reading
Eldén, S. (2016) ‘An ordinary complexity of care: Moving beyond ‘the family’ in
research with children’, Families, Relationships and Societies, 5(2): 175-192
Edwards, R., Ribbens McCarthy J. and V. Gillies (2012) ‘The politics of concepts:
family and its (putative) replacements’, British Journal of Sociology, 63(4): 730-746
Finch, J. 2007 ‘Displaying families’, Sociology, 41(1): 65-81.
Gillis, V. (2011) ‘From function to competence: Engaging with the new politics of
family’, Sociological Research Online, 16(4)
Morgan, D. (1996) Family Connections.An introduction to Family Studies.Polity
Press. Chapter ‘Introduction’ (pp. 1-14) and Chapter ‘Conclusion (pp. 186-200)
Morgan, D. (2013) Rethinking Family Practices.Basinstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Roseneil. S. and Ketokivi, K. (2016) ‘Relational persons and relational processes:
Developing the notion of relationality for the sociology of personal life’, Sociology,
50(1): 143-159
This session will explore how forms of intimacy have changed over the last century
as greater equality becomes more significant and as people (especially women)
have greater choice over how to organise their personal relationships. Heterosexual
marriage is declining, cohabitation is increasing and alternative (including non-
heterosexual) forms of intimacy are becoming more common and visible. Given that
divorce has become a widely shared experience, we will explore research on the
everyday life experience of divorce, and its consequences. We will consider these
trends and then explore some of the explanations for these trends which have been
forwarded by contemporary sociologists.

9
Required reading
May, Vanessa (2011) Sociology of Personal Life, Basingstoke: Palgrave – chapter 4,
‘Close relationships and personal life’ (by Carol Smart)
Or

Giddens, A. (1992) The Transformation of Intimacy, Cambridge: Polity, Chapter 4:

‘Love, commitment and the pure relationship’.

Additional reading
Aeby, G and van Hoof, J. (2018) ‘Who gets custody of the friends? Online narratives
of changes in friendship networks following relationship breakdown’, Families,
Relationships and Societies, Online article:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tpp/frs/pre-prints/content-
ppfrsd1700016r3;jsessionid=g1im6f3j7ti3a.x-ic-live-01
Baker, M. and Elizabeth, V. (2014) ‘A “brave thing to do” or a normative practice?
Marriage after long-term cohabitation’, Journal of Sociology, 50: 393
Beck, U (1992) Risk Society, London: Sage.
Beck, U and Beck-Gernscheim, E (1995) The Normal Chaos of Love, Cambridge:
Polity Press.
Heaphy, B. Smart, C. & Einersdottir, A. (2013) Same-Sex Marriages: New
Generations, New Relationships. Palgrave Macmillan - chapter 7: Couple Worlds (E-
book: available online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Heaphy, B. (2018) ‘Troubling traditional and conventional families? Formalised
same-sex couples and ‘the ordinary’’, Sociological Research Online,
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1360780418754779
Heath, S and Cleaver, E (2003) Young, Free and Single? Twenty-Somethings and
Household.Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.– chapter 3, ‘Risk, individualisation and
the single life’. (E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Jamieson, L. (1998) Intimacy: Personal Relationships in Modern Societies,
Cambridge: Polity, Chapter 1: ‘Introduction’.
Jamieson, L. (1999) ‘Intimacy transformed? A critical look at the ‘pure relationship’,
Sociology 33:477-494 (journal article, available online).
Jamieson, L. (2011) ‘Intimacy as a concept: Explaining social change in the context
of globalisation or another form of ethnocentricism?’, Sociological Research Online,
16 (4) 15. Available at http://www.socresonline.org.uk/16/4/15.html
Lewis, J. (2001) The End of Marriage? Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, Chapter 2:
‘Changing patterns: the decline of marriage and the rise of cohabitation’.

10
Maillochon, F., & Castrén, A.-M. (2011). ‘Making family at a wedding: bilateral
kinship and equality’. In R. Jallinoja & E. D. Widmer (Éd.), Families and Kinship in
Contemporary Europe (p. 31-44). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Nordqvist, P (2012) ‘‘I don’t want us to stand out more than we already do’:
Complexities and negotiations in lesbian couples’ accounts of becoming a family
through donor conception’, Sexualities, Vol 15 (5-6): 644-661 (discusses the power
of same sex marriage to ‘normalise’ lesbian relationships’)
Smart, C. (2008) ‘’Can I Be Bridesmaid?’: Combining the Personal and Political in
Same-Sex Weddings’, Sexualities, 11(6): 761-776 (journal article, available online).
Weeks, J. (2007) The World We Have Won: The Remaking of Erotic and Intimate
Life. London: Routledge. – Chapter 5 ‘Chaotic pleasures: Diversity and the new
individualism’. (E-book: available online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)

Lecture wk3 Sexualities (Dr Petra Nordqvist)

This week’s lecture focuses on a topic that is considered fundamental to who we are,
namely sexuality. It is common practice to define oneself through one’s sexuality as
straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual or asexual. We are all familiar with the media interest
that follows the ‘coming out’ of a celebrity as gay, lesbian or bisexual. In the first part
of the session we will examine the history of sexuality and how constructions of
'heterosexuality' and 'queer' sexualities have changed over time. We then go on to
explore how sexualities shape personal life, in particular, the everyday experiences
of same sex couples in a world where heterosexuality is still the norm.
Required reading
Einarsdottir, Anna (2011) ‘“Marriage” and the Personal Life of Same Sex Couples’, in
May, Vanessa (ed.) Sociology of Personal Life, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
or
Neary, Aoife (2016) ‘Civil Partnership and marriage: LGBT-Q political pragmatism
and the normalization imperative’, Sexualities, 19(7): 757-779.
Additional reading
Acosta, Katie (2016) ‘Cultivating a lesbian seria identity’, Sexualities 19(5-6): 517-
534.
Almack, Kathryn (2007) ‘Out and about: Negotiating the Layers of Being Out in the
Process of Disclosure of Lesbian Parenthood’, Sociological Research Online, 12(1),
http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/1/almack.html
Andersson, Catrine (2017) ‘Governing through love: Same-sex cohabitation in
Sweden’, Sexualities, 20(5-6): 604-621.

11
Beasley, Chris (2005) Gender & Sexuality: Critical Theories, Critical Thinkers,
London: Sage. Chapter 12 ‘Social constructionism: Jackson, Weeks’ [Available
online through the library catalogue]
Callis, A. S. (2014) ‘Bisexual, pansexual, queer: Non-binary identities and the sexual
borderlands’, Sexualities, 17(1/2) 63–80.
Carrera, María Victoria, DePalma, Renée & Lameiras, Maria (2012) ‘Sex/gender
identity: Moving beyond fixed and ‘natural’ categories’, Sexualities, 15(8): 995-1016.
Chauncey, George (1995) ‘Privacy could only be had in public: Gay uses of the
streets’, in Gieseking, J. J. & Mangold, W. (eds.) The People, Place, and Space
Reader, London: Routledge, pp. 202-206. (E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Carroll, Megan (2018) ‘Managing Without Moms: Gay Fathers, Incidental Activism,
and the Politics of Parental Gender’, Sexualities, 39(13): 3410-3435.
Heaphy, B. (2007) Late Modernity and Social Change: Constructing Social and
Personal Life, London: Routledge, Chapter 7: ‘Reflexive Relating and Intimacies?’
(E-book: available online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Heaphy, Brian, Smart, Carol and Einarsdottir, Anna (2013) Same-Sex Marriages:
New Generations, New Relationships, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Chapter 3
'Relationships, partnerships and marriage' pp. 41-59 (E-book: available online
through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Ingraham, C. (2006) ‘Thinking straight, acting bent: Heteronormativity and
homosexuality’, in Davis, K., Evans, M. & Lorber, J. (eds) Handbook of Gender and
Women’s Studies. London: Sage.
Johnson, C. (2002) ‘Heteronormative citizenship and the politics of passing’,
Sexualities, 5(3), 317-336.
Johnson, P. (2005) Love, Heterosexuality and Society. London: Routledge,
‘Introduction: Making love, doing heterosexuality’.
Onishenko Dawn and Erbland, Julie (2017) ‘An equal marriage retrospective in two
voices: Where have ten years taken us?’ Sexualities, 20(3): 261-280.
Peel, E. & Harding, R. (2008) ‘Editorial introduction: Recognizing and celebrating
same-sex relationships: Beyond the normative debate?, Sexualities, 11(6): 659-666.
(This is a special issue of the journal Sexualities, and students are advised to have a
look at least one other article in this journal eg Harding’s, Smart’s or Weeks’s
articles.)
Richardson, Diane & Monro, Surya (2012) Sexuality, Equality & Diversity,
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Chapter 1 ‘Equality and diversity’
Seidman, S., Fischer, N. & Meeks, C. (eds.) (2011) Introducing the New Sexuality
Studies (2nd edn), Chapter 2 ‘The social construction of sexuality: Interview with
Jeffrey Weeks’.

12
Shipman, Beccy & Smart, Carol (2007) ‘“It’s made a huge difference”: recognition,
rights and the personal significance of partnership’, Sociological Research Online,
12(1) http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/1/shipman.html
Valverde, M. (2006) ‘A new entity in the history of sexuality: The respectable same-
sex couple’, Feminist Studies, 32(1): 155-162.
Weeks, J. (1995) Invented Moralities: Sexual Values in an Age of Uncertainty,
Cambridge: Polity, Chapter 3: ‘Necessary fictions: Sexual identities and the politics
of diversity’.
Weeks, J. (2007). The World We have Won: The Remaking of Erotic and Intimate
Life. Oxon: Routledge. - Chapter 7, ‘Moments of Intimacy’ (E-book: available online
through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/ )
Weeks, J., Heaphy, B. & Donovan, C. (2001). Same sex intimacies: Families of
choice and other life experiments, London: Routledge - Chapter 5 ‘Partnership rites’
(E-book: available online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/ )

Lecture w4 Family and Kinship (Dr Petra Nordqvist)

This session will focus on the meaning of family and kinship. Being related to people
through family bonds matters hugely in personal life. Culturally speaking, we tend of
think that our relationship with people like our parents, siblings, children,
grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are ‘fixed’ relationships: in other words they
are perceived to be ‘given’ and permanently ‘there’. They are often assumed to be
self-explanatory, and grounded in ‘genes’ or ‘blood’. However, when looking at
kinship and relatedness more sociologically, a more complex picture starts to
emerge.
This lecture will unpack the concept of kinship by first critically interrogating the idea
of kinship being a ‘given’ relationship. In doing so, it will look at studies that have
explored what kinship ‘means’ by looking at how people make sense of being related.
Second, it will investigate how being related matters in personal life and how we ‘live’
being related, and here it will take two examples: a) it will interrogate kinship as
experienced as a particular kind of affinity between people which is multidimensional;
b) it will explore the extent to which people feel they are obliged to look after family
members who need their care, for example elderly relatives. It the final part of the
lecture, we explore how kinship is changing by looking at the impact of reproductive
medical technologies, such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), sperm and egg donation,
womb transplant and surrogacy.
Required reading

13
Mason, J. (2008) ‘Tangible affinities and the real life fascination of kinship’, Sociology,
42 (1): 29-45.
Or
Nordqvist, P. (2014) ‘Bringing kinship into being: Connectedness, donor conception
and lesbian parenthood’, Sociology, 48(2): 263 – 278.

Additional reading
Allan, G. (1996) Kinship and Friendship in Modern Britain, Oxford University Press. -
Chapter 3: ‘Kinship’.
Finch. J. and Mason, J. (2000) Passing On: Kinship and Inheritance in England.
London: Routledge. – Chapter 4: ‘Moral Dilemmas’.
Davies, H. (2011) ‘Sharing surnames: Children, family and kinship’, Sociology, 45(4):
554-569
Davies, H. (2012) ‘Affinities, seeing and feeling like-family: Exploring why children
value face-to-face contact’, Childhood, 19 (1): 8-23
Davies, K. (2015) ‘Siblings, stories and the self: The sociological significance of
young people’s sibling relationships’, Sociology, 49(4): 679-695
Edwards, J. and Strathern, M. (2000) ‘Including our own’, pp. 149-167 (chapter 8) in
Carsten (ed) Cultures of Relatedness: New Directions in Kinship Studies. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Carsten, J. (2004) After Kinship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1
‘’Introduction: After Kinship?’ pp. 1-30. (E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Finch, J. and Mason, J. (1993) Negotiating Family Responsibilities. London:
Routledge, Chapter 6: ‘Conclusion’. (E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)

Finch. J. and Mason, J. (2000) Passing On: Kinship and Inheritance in England.
London: Routledge. – Chapter 4: ‘Moral Dilemmas’.

Freeman, T. and Richards, M. (2006) ‘DNA testing and kinship: Paternity, genealogy
and the search for the ‘truth’ of genetic origins? In Ebtehaj, F., Lindley, B. and
Richards, M. (eds) Kinship Matters, Oxford: Hart.
Gabb, J. (2013) ‘Embodying risk: Managing father-child intimacy and the display of
nudity in families’, Sociology, 47: 639
Lawler, S. (2008) Identity: Sociological Perspectives, Cambridge: Polity. Chapter 3:
‘Who do you think you are? Kinship, inheritance and identity’
Mason, J. (2018) Affinities. Potent Connections in Personal Life. Cambridge: Polity.
‘Part two: Ineffable Kinship’ (pp. 57-121)

14
Mason, J. and Tipper, B. (2008) ‘Being related: How children define and create
kinship’, Childhood, 15: 441
May, V. (2011) Sociology of Personal Life, Basingstoke: Palgrave – chapter 6.’What
it means to be related’ (by Jennifer Mason)
Nordqvist, P and Smart, C. (2014) Relative Strangers: Family Life, Genes and Donor
Conception. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke – chapter 7: (Not) one of us: Genes
and belonging in everyday life’
Nordqvist, P. (2010) ‘Out of sight, out of mind: Family resemblances in lesbian donor
conception’, Sociology, 44 (6)
Nordqvist, P. (2017) ‘Genetic thinking and everyday living: On family practices and
family imaginaries’, the Sociological Review, 65(4): 865-881
Simpson P (2013) Differentiating the Self: the Kinship Practices of Middle-Aged Gay
Men in Manchester, Families, Relationships and Societies, Vol. 2(1): 97-113.
Smart. C (2011) ‘Families, secrets and memories’, Sociology, 45(4):539-553.
Thompson, P. (2005) ‘Family myths, models and denials in the shaping of individual
life paths’, in Bertaux, D. & Thompson, P (eds.) Between Generations: Family
Models, Myths & Memories, London: Transaction.

Lecture w5 Living alone and ‘living apart together’/ Introduction to essay

writing (Dr Luke Yates)
This session will start with an introduction to essay writing, in preparation for the
submission of your non-assessed essay. We’ll talk about what makes a good essay
and what you need to pay attention too when you write essays in sociology.
The session then turns to focuses on what has been a very fast growing
phenomenon in recent decades: living alone. The assumption is often made that
individuals – especially younger individuals - who choose to live alone are somehow
rejecting close, ‘family-like’ relationships in favour of an ‘individualised’ lifestyle. In
this session we will question these assumptions, including through a consideration of
what has become known as ‘living apart together’.

Required reading
Lahad, K. (2016) ‘Stop waiting! Hegemonic and alternative scripts of single women’s
subjectivity’, Time & Society. 1-22

Additional reading
Carter, J. et al (2015). Sex, Love and Security: Accounts of Distance and
Commitment in Living Apart Together Relationships. Sociology, 1–18.
15
Chandler, J et al (2004) ‘Living alone: its place in household formation and change’,
Sociological Research Online, 9, 3 - www.socresonline.org.uk/9/3/chandler.html.
Duncan, S., et al (2013). Why do people live apart together? Families, Relationships
and Societies, 2(3), 323–338.
Falkingham, J, Demey, D, Berrington, A and Evandrou, M (2012) The demography
of living alone in mid-life: a typology of solo-living in the United Kingdom. In,
European Population Conference, Stockholm, SE, 13 - 16 Jun 2012: Downloadable
here: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/340401/
Heaphy, B., Smart, C. and A. Einarsdottir (2013) Same-sex Marriages: New
Generations, New Relationships. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. – Chapter 7:
‘Couple Worlds’ pp. 147-167 (E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Heath, S and Cleaver, E (2003) Young, Free and Single? Twenty Somethings and
Household Change, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan – chapter 7: ‘Solo living: who
wants to live alone?’.(E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Heath, S. "Shared households, quasi-communes and neo-tribes." Current Sociology
52, no. 2 (2004): 161-179.
Jamieson, L. et al (2009) ‘Solo living, demographic and family change: The need to
know more about men’, Sociological Research Online, 14, 2, 5
(http://www.socresonline.org.uk/14/2/5.html)
Jamieson, L and Simpson, R (2013) Living Alone: Globalization, Identity and
Belonging. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. – particularly Chapter 1: ‘Introduction’,
pp. 1-32 and Chapter 2: Geographies and biographies of living alone’, pp. 33-56.
Klinenberg, E (2012) Going Solo: The extraordinary rise and surprising appeal of
living alone. New York: Penguin – Chapter 1: ‘Going Solo’. pp 28-56
Lahad, K. (2017) A Table for One: A Critical Reading of Singlehood, Gender and
Time. Manchester: Manchester University Press – Chapter 2: The Linear Life-Course
Narrative (Online access through library)
Levin, I. (2004) ‘Living apart together: a new family form’, Current Sociology, 52, 2,
223-240.
Molgat, M and Vézina, M (2008) ‘Transitionless biographies? : Youth and
representations of solo living’, Young, 16, 4, 349-71.
Roseneil, S (2006) ‘On not living with a partner: unpicking coupledom and
cohabitation’, Sociological Research Online, 11, 3. Available at
<http://www.socresonline.org.uk/11/3/simpson.html>
Simpson, R (2006) ‘The intimate relationships of contemporary spinsters’,
Sociological Research Online, 11, 3 Available at
<www.socresonline.org.uk/11/3/simpson.html>

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Week 6 Reading week – no lecture

Lecture w7 Personal Life and Politics (Dr Luke Yates)

In this session we explore the intersection between personal life and politics. We
unpack the famous slogan of the feminist movement ‘the personal is political’ and
look at how ‘New Social Movements’ since the 1970s have transformed aspects of
personal life and relationships – including sexuality, race and mental health – into
matters for public discourse and political action. Recognising that the personal is
political has also had implications for how political action is undertaken, making
principles such as equality and democracy part of social movement processes. We
will then turn the ‘personal is political’ slogan on its head to consider some of the
ways in which the political is routinely embedded in the personal. We look at how
relationships with family and friends constitute important contexts for political action.

Required reading
Evans, S. (2009) ‘Sons, Daughters and Patriarchy: Gender and the 1968 generation’,
The American Historical Review, 114(2): 331-347
and
Hanisch, C. (1970) ‘The Personal is Political’ Notes from the Second Year: Women’s
Liberation (including introduction). Available at
http://www.carolhanisch.org/CHwritings/PIP.html

Additional reading
Freeman, J. (1975) The Politics of Women’s Liberation New York: McKay.
Haenfler, R., Johnson, B. & Jones, E. (2012) Lifestyle Movements: Exploring the
Intersection of Lifestyle and Social Movements. Social Movement Studies, 11(1),
pp.1–20.
McAdam, D. and Paulsen, R. (1993) ‘Specifying the relationship between social ties
and activism’, American Journal of Sociology, 99(3): 640-667.
Offe, C. (1985) ‘New Social Movements: Challenging the Boundaries of Institutional
Politics’, Social Research, 52(4): 817-68.
Rowbotham, S. (2000) Promise of a Dream: Remembering the Sixties, London: Allen
Lane.
Schuster, J. (2017) ‘Why the personal remained political : comparing second and
third wave perspectives on everyday feminism wave’, Social Movement Studies, 16
(6)

17
Smart, C. (2008) ‘’Can I Be Bridesmaid?’ Combining the Personal and Political in
Same-Sex Weddings’, Sexualities, 11(6): 761-776
Staggenborg, S. & Taylor, V. (2005) Whatever happened to the women’s movement?
Mobilization, 10(1), pp.37–52.”
Weeks, J. (2007) The World We Have Won: The Remaking of Erotic and
Intimate Life, London: Routledge. – Chapter 4: ‘The Great Transition 2: Regulation,
risk and resistance’. (E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Snyder, R.C. (2008) ‘What is Third-Wave Feminism? A New Directions Essay’.
Signs , 47(4), 365–411.

Online resources:
(Podcast) Radio 4 Women’s Hour: ‘Personal is Political’ (2nd September 2008)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2008_36_tue.shtml

Lecture wk8 Friendship (Dr Leah Gilman)

Friendship is often depicted as one of the most socially desirable relational forms in
western societies. The classic television programmes Friends and Sex and the City
for example depicted friendship as a supportive, life-affirming alternative to less
satisfactory familial or romantic relationships. Well-known adages such as ‘you can
choose your friends but not your family’ also suggest that friendship is a freely
chosen relationship. This session will take a sociological look at friendship and
question some of these assumptions. We will consider the meaning of friendship and
discuss various types of ‘friend’ as well as engaging in debates about whether, and
how, the significance of friendship has changed in late modernity and whether
friendship can be seen to be replacing kin. We will look at some of the ways in which
our friendships are socially patterned and consider how and why friendships can be
negative, cloying, jealous and draining as well as positive and life affirming. The
session will also consider the impact of ‘new media’ and digital technologies,
particularly social networking sites, on the ways in which friendship is practiced.
Required reading
Smart, C. Davies, K., Heaphy, B and J Mason (2012) ‘Difficult Friendship and
Ontological Insecurity’,The Sociological Review 60(1): 1-19
or
May, Vanessa (2011) Sociology of Personal Life, Basingstoke: Palgrave – chapter 7,
‘Friendship and personal life’ (by Katherine Davies).
Additional reading
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Allan, G. (1996) Kinship and Friendship in Modern Britain Oxford: Oxford University
Press. Chapter 7 ‘Friendship: Class, Gender and Status’ and Chapter 8 ‘Social
Organization and Friendship’.
Boyd, D.(2006) ‘Friends, Friendsters, and Top 8: Writing community into being on
social network sites’ First Monday Volume 11, No 12-4 – please note that this is an
online journal that can only be accessed via the First Monday website:
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1418/1336
Chambers, D. (2013) Social Media and Personal Relationships: Online Intimacies
and Networked Relationship, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Cronin, A. M. (2015a) ‘Domestic friends’: women’s friendships, motherhood and
inclusive intimacy’, The Sociological Review, 63: 662-679.
Cronin, A. M. (2015b) ‘Gendering friendship: Couple culture, heteronormativity and
the production of gender’, Sociology, 49(6): 1167–1182.
Davies, K. and Heaphy, B. (2011) ‘Interactions that matter: researching critical
associations’, Methodological Innovations Online, 6(3): 5-16.
Green, E. and Singleton, C. (2009) ‘Mobile Connections: an exploration of the place
of mobile phones in friendship relations’, The Sociological Review, 57(1): 125-144.
Heath, S. (2004) 'Shared households: quasi-communes and neo-tribes',Current
Sociology, 52(2): 161-179
Jamieson, L. (1998) Intimacy Cambridge: Polity. Chapter 4 ‘Are Good Friends All
You Need?’
Lambert, A. “Intimacy and Social Capital on Facebook: Beyond the Psychological
Perspective” New, Media and Society, 18 (11) pp. 2559-2575.
MacLean, S. (2016) “Alcohol and the Constitution of Friendship for Young Adults”
Sociology 50 (1) pp. 93-108.
McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L. and Cook, J. M. (2001) ‘Birds of a feather:
Homophily in social networks’, Annual Review of Sociology, 27: 415-44.
Miller, D. (2011) Tales from Facebook, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Pahl, R. (2000) On Friendship. London: Polity Press. - Chapter 3 ‘What is friendship?’
pp. 13-44.
Pahl, R. and Spencer, L. (2004) ‘Personal Communities: Not Simply Families of
‘Fate’ or ‘Choice’’ Current Sociology, 52: 199-221
Papapolydorou, M. (2017) ‘“When you see a normal person…”: Social class and
friendship networks among teenage students’, British Journal of Sociology of
Education, 35(4): 559-577.
Rebughini, P. (2011) ‘Friendship Dynamics Between Emotions and Trials’,
Sociological Research Online, 16 (1) 3.

19
Available at: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/16/1/3.html
Spencer, L. and Pahl, R. (2006) Rethinking Friendship: Hidden Solidarities Today
Oxfordshire and Princeton: Princeton University Press.Chapter 3 ‘The Nature of
Friendship’.
Tang, L. (2010) ‘Development of online friendship in different social spaces’,
Information, Communication and Society, 13(4): 615-633.
Turkle, S. (2011) Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less
from Each Other, Basic Books (part 2 focuses on social networking and other virtual
forms of contact between friends).
Weeks, J., Heaphy, B. and Donovan, C. (2001) Same Sex Intimacies: Families of
choice and other life experiments London and New York: Routledge. - Chapter 3
‘The friendship ethic’. (E-book: available online through
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Wimmer, A. and Lewis, K. (2010) ‘Beyond and below racial homophily: ERG models
of a friendship network documented on facebook’ American Journal of Sociology,
116(7): 583-642.

Lecture w9 The Home (Professor Sue Heath)

‘Home’ has a very important place in most people’s lives – grounded as much in the
imaginary and the anticipated as in the reality of people’s everyday lives. This
session will focus on unpacking the concept of ‘home’ and the complex and varied
meanings that it has in people’s lives. We will also explore the ways in which people
seek to make places ‘homely’, including through the use of personal effects, the
stories that people tell about these objects, as well as the stories that objects tell
about their owners.

Required reading:
Mallett, S. (2004) ‘Understanding home: A critical review of the literature’,
Sociological Review, 52, 1, 62–89

Further reading:
Blunt, A and Dowling, R. 2006) Home, London: Routledge, chapters 1 and 2. (E-
book: available online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Chapman, T and Hockey, J (eds) (1999) Ideal Homes? Social Change and Domestic
Life, Routledge – see especially chapter 7, by Liz Kenyon, on students’ transitional
experiences of home, and chapter 5, by Madigan and Monroe, on domestic space,
gender and privacy.
Clapham, D (2005) The Meaning of Housing: A pathways approach’, Bristol: Policy
Press – chapter 5, ‘Houses and homes.’

20
Douglas, Mary. (1991). ‘The Idea of a Home: A Kind of Space’, Social Research
58(1), 287-307
Gorman-Murray, A (2007) ‘Reconfiguring domestic values: meanings of home for
gay men and lesbians’, Housing, Theory and Society, 24, 3, 229-46.
Gurney, C and Means, R (1993) ‘The meaning of home in later life’, in S Arber and M
Evandrou (eds) Ageing, Independence and the Life Course. – Chapter 8 (by Jessica
Kingsley) pp. 161-179.
Heath, S and Cleaver, E (2003) Young, Free and Single? Twenty Somethings and
Household Change, Basingstoke: Palgrave – chapter 10: ‘Redefining home?’ (E-
book: available online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Hurdley, R. (2006) ‘Dismantling Mantelpieces: narrating identities and materialising
culture in the home’, Sociology, 40, 4, 717-733.
Miller, D (2008) The Comfort of Things, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Morgan. D (1996) Family Connections: An Introduction to Family Studies, Polity
Press – chapter 8, ‘Home’.
Rabikowska, M. (2010) ‘The ritualisation of food, home and national identity among
Polish migrants in London’. Social Identities, 16, 3, 377-398.
Scott, S (2009) Making Sense of Everyday Life, Cambridge: Polity Press – chapter 4,
‘Home’

Smart, C (2007) Personal Life: New Directions in Sociological Thinking, Cambridge:

Polity - Chapter 7, ‘Possessions, things and relationality’ (E-book: available online
through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Wilson, S., Houmøller, K. and Bernays, S. (2012) ‘“Home, and not some house”:
Young people's sensory construction of family relationships in domestic spaces’,
Children's Geographies, 10(1): 95-107.
Woodward, I (2007), Understanding Material Culture, London: Sage.(E-book:
available online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)

Lecture wk10 Personal life in public spaces (Dr Elisa Pieri)

In this lecture we will explore the many and varied public spaces in which personal
life and urban encounters take place, probing traditional distinctions between public
and private space. We will investigate the significance that our interactions with
acquaintances and strangers in public space have in our personal lives, and reflect
on the fact that our interactions with strangers are patterned. Considering the claim
that cities, and public spaces within them, are key sites for encountering and
negotiating diversity, we will also discuss the ways in which different groups perceive

21
and use spaces differently. Furthermore, we will consider how the arrangement of
public spaces can contribute to shaping the social interactions that occur in them.

Required reading
Lofland, L (1998) The Public Realm: Exploring the City’s Quintessential Social
Territory. New Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transaction. Chapter 2 ‘The normative of “legal”
system’
Additional reading
Brown, DM (2013) ‘Young people, anti-social behaviour and public space: The role
of community wardens in policing the “ASBO Generation”’, Urban Studies,
50(3):538–555
Day, K (2001) `Constructing masculinity and women's fear in public space in Irvine,
California', Gender, Place & Culture, 8: 109-127
DeVault, ML (2000) `Producing family time: Practices of leisure activity beyond the
home', Qualitative Sociology, 23(4): 485-503
Goffman, E (1963) Behavior in Public Places: Notes on the Organization of
Gatherings. New York, NY: Free Press. Chapter 6 ‘Face engagements’
Jacobs, J (1961) ‘The uses of sidewalks: Contact’, in Gieseking, JJ. & Mangold, W
(eds.) The People, Place, and Space Reader. London: Routledge. (E-book: available
online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Kitchin, R (1998) `“Out of place”, “knowing one's place”: Space, power and the
exclusion of disabled people', Disability & Society, 13(3): 343-56
Leyshon, M, DiGiovanna, S & Holcomb, B (2013) ’Mobile technologies and youthful
exploration: stimulus or inhibitor?’, Urban Studies, 50(3): 587–605
May, V (2011) ‘‘Personal life in public spaces’, in May, V (ed.) Sociology of Personal
Life. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Morrill, D, Snow, DA and White, CH (eds) (2005) Together Alone: Personal
Relationships in Public Places. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press –
Chapter 1: `The study of personal relationships in public places'.
Stevenson, D (2013) The City. Cambridge: Polity – Chapter 4 ‘Dark city’ (E-book:
available online through http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/)
Taylor, I, Evans, K and Evans, P (1996) A Tale of Two Cities: Global Change, Local
Feeling and Everyday Life in the North of England. A Study in Manchester and
Sheffield. London: Routledge. Chapter 8 ‘White city’, Chapter 10 ‘Pensioned off’;
Chapter 9 ‘Men’s towns: Women’s adaptive strategies in Manchester and Sheffield’;
and Chapter 11 ‘The urban other: Children and young men in public space in
Manchester and Sheffield.’

22
Simpson, P (2012) ‘Perils, precariousness and pleasures: Middle-aged gay men
negotiating urban “heterospaces”’, Sociological Research Online, 17(3)
http://www.socresonline.org.uk/17/3/23.html
Thomas, ME (2005) `Girls, consumption space and the contradictions of hanging out
in the city', Social & Cultural Geography, 6: 587-605
Tonkiss, F (2005) Space, the City and Social Theory. Cambridge: Polity - Chapter 5
‘Embodied spaces: Gender, sexuality and the city’
Watson, S (2006) City Publics: The (Dis)Enchantments of Urban Encounters.
London: Routledge. Chapter 1 ‘Introduction’, Chapter 6 ‘Invisible subjects:
Encounter, desire and association amongst older people’; Chapter 7 ‘Children’s
publics’; and Chapter 8 ‘The (dis)enchantment of urban encounters: some
concluding reflections’.

Lecture w11 Exam preparation and thematic summary (Dr Luke Yates)
In this final session you will be provided with general advice on how to prepare for
exams and will provide a thematic overview and summary of the module.
There is no set reading, but you might like to revisit either chapter 1 of Smart’s
Personal Life or chapters 1 and 2 of May’s Sociology of Personal Life, and also read
the concluding chapter of May.

Week 12 – Consultation Day (no lecture, no tutorial)

You can come and meet Luke in a one-to-one meeting to discuss your feedback
from the non-assessed elements of the course, and your revision plans for the exam.
More information will be provided in the lecture in week 11, including information on
how to book a slot.

23
 Tutorial Guide

Tutorial w1 The big debates

The aim of this introductory session is for to familiarise yourself with your tutor, tutor
group, and make you aware of when your formative (non-assessed) essay is due
and when your formative presentation will take place. While there is no reading for
this session, you will be expected to participate actively in the group task, and to
start thinking about the different aspects of personal life that we will be covering on
the course.

Tutorial w2The pure relationship

Preparation required
Prepare for this tutorial by reading:
Jamieson, L. (1999) ‘Intimacy Transformed? A critical look at the ‘pure relationship’,
Sociology, 33 (3): 477-494 (available online).

Tutorial Tasks
Prepare to discuss the following questions based on the reading:
1. According to Giddens, what are the origins and the main elements of ‘pure
relationships’?
2. What are the consequences of ‘pure relationships’ for heterosexual couples and
for society?
3. What are some of the central criticisms directed at Giddens’ theory of the ‘pure
relationship’?
4. Giddens extends his ideas about the pure relationship to friendships as well as
couple relationships. Thinking about your own friendships, would you describe
them in terms of the pure relationship? Why/why not?

You may also find this article interesting for a critique of Giddens’ idea of the ‘pure
relationship’. This is not required reading, but an additional one.
Turney, L. (2011) The Denial of Paternity: Pregnancy as a Risk to the ‘Pure
Relationship’, Sociology, 45: 1110

24
Tutorial w3Sexualities

Preparation required
Prepare for this tutorial by reading:
Shipman, Beccy & Smart, Carol (2007) ‘“It’s made a huge difference”: recognition,
rights and the personal significance of partnership’, Sociological Research Online,
12(1) – only available online

Please also read this article from the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/15/gay-marriage-conservative-tories

Tutorial Tasks
Prepare to discuss the following questions based on the reading:
1. Why do you think that same-sex marriage has caused such a debate?
2. Which groups in particular have argued against same sex marriage? Why do you
think this is?
3. Can you think of ways in which same sex couples (especially married ones)
bump up against heteronormativity? Think for example of different places or
situations where non-heterosexuality is not ‘tolerated’?
4. The LGBT community has viewed same sex marriage with mixed feelings. What
do you think some of the arguments for and against same sex marriage would be
from a LGBT perspective?
5. Why might a same sex wedding be regarded as ‘political’? Can a heterosexual
wedding be political?

Tutorial w4 Family and Kinship

Preparation required
Prepare for this tutorial by reading:
Nordqvist, Petra (2010) ‘’Out of sight, out of mind’. Family resemblances in lesbian
donor conception’, Sociology, 44(6): 1128-1144

Tutorial Tasks
Prepare to discuss the following questions based on the reading:

25
1. Think of examples of when people ‘do’ family resemblances in real life, either
from your own family, a family you know, or a family seen on TV. How do people
talk about family resemblances? What is it that they mention, e.g. looks,
character, temper, mood? Are they positive or negative? What do you think are
the consequences of ‘resemblances talk’? For example, do you think it makes
people feel more ‘closely’ connected as a family? Think of examples that you
have come across where family resemblances have surprised you - either
because they were very strong and ‘evident’ in people’s faces of movements, or
because they were not there at all. Think of these sociologically – how might you
explain your ‘surprise’ in the strength/lack of resemblances?
2. What has ‘doing’ (i.e. talking about, commenting on, mapping and spotting) family
resemblances in everyday life to do with being a family?
3. How might family resemblances matter in families of donor conceived children?
Why do you think that is? Think about the lecture that you had on sexuality and
personal life where you talked about heterosexuality as a social norm. How do
you think this norm influences how we think about what it means to be a family?
4. How does the practice of ‘matching’ donors and parents reproduce traditional
understandings of what it means to be a family? (think about genetic relatedness,
looking similar, race/ethnicity)
5. How important are genetic relatedness for ‘looking like a family’?

Tutorial w5 Living alone and ‘living apart together’

Preparation required
Prepare for this tutorial by reading: Molgat, M and Vézina, M (2008) ‘Transitionless
biographies? Youth and representations of solo living’, Young, 16, 4, 349-71.

Tutorial Tasks
Prepare to discuss the following questions based on the reading:
1. Molgat and Vézina write about the importance of ‘age norms’ across the life
course. Do you think there are any age norms attached to key youth transitions
such as leaving home for the first time, buying/renting a house or flat of your own,
starting a first job, settling down with a partner, becoming a parent etc, and how
might these differ across different cultures and societies?
2. Molgat and Vézina outline a number of different perspectives on the changing
nature of youth transitions, including the concepts of ‘emerging adulthood’ and
‘yoyo transitions’. Outline these different perspectives and consider which you
find most convincing.

26
3. What were the dominant representations of solo living amongst Molgat and
Vézina’s research sample? How would you relate these to your own hopes and
aspirations, if at all?
4. How useful is settling down with a partner (refered to by Molgat and Vézina as
‘conjugality’) as a valid marker of the attainment of adulthood in contemporary
societies?

Week 6 Reading week (no tutorial)

Tutorial w7 The personal is political is personal

Preparation required
Prepare for this tutorial by reading:
May, Vanessa (2011) Sociology of Personal Life, Basingstoke: Palgrave – chapter
13, ‘Personal Life and Politics’ (by Gemma Edwards)
or
Schuster, J. (2017) ‘Why the personal remained political : comparing second and
third wave perspectives on everyday feminism wave’, Social Movement Studies, 16
(6)

Tutorial Tasks
Prepare to discuss the following questions based on the reading:
1. What does it mean to say that the personal is political? Think of examples.
2. What does it mean to say that the political is personal? Think of examples.
3. Can someone else’s personal/political problem become our own? (eg women’s
struggle for equality – is this also an issue for men?)
4. Can a man be a feminist? Why do you think this?
5. Can we say that a particular problem or issue (eg sexism, racism, homophobia) is
the same in different countries? Why/why not?
6. How does the slogan ‘the personal is political’ affect how political action is done?
How would you organise a meeting to make sure problems of sexism, racism,
ageism, etc are avoided?
7. How have institutions like workplaces changed to accommodate problems with
sexism, racism and homophobia in the UK? Why might there still be problems?
8. How are issues like gender identity, disability, obesity and mental health currently
managed by policy, and what might activists want?

27
9. How do examples of policy around maternity and paternity leave, representation
in parliament between men and women, and homosexuality change the
experience of personal life in different countries?

Tutorial w8 Friendship

Preparation required
Prepare for this tutorial by reading:
Miller, D. (2013) Tales from Facebook, Cambridge: Polity Press. Available as an e-
book (link via the university library’s online catalogue)
You should read:
 one ‘portrait’ (follow your tutors instructions regarding selection)
AND
 p.164-180 in the section ’Fifteen theses on what Facebook might be’

Tutorial Tasks
1. Prepare to discuss the following questions based on the reading:
a) What does it mean to say that Facebook (FB) use is ‘culturally embedded’?
b) How does ‘netiquette’ in Trinidad compare with your own ideas about how
people ought to use social media in their friendships?
c) Are friendships conducted on FB in the ‘public’ or ‘private’ spheres? (is this
distinction helpful? Does it change their meaning if we think of them as
public or private?)
d) FB use is a relatively trivial part of friendship. Do you agree? Why/why not?
What would Miller say?
2. Over the preceding week, reflect on the way that FB (or choose another
technology or media form) is embedded in your friendship practices. Consider
and prepare to discuss:
a) What kinds of friendships and friendship practices is your chosen
technology used for?
b) Do you select specific technologies for particular types of friendships or
friendship practices?
c) How is your use of this technology shaped by your identity (gender, age
etc.) and circumstances

28
Tutorial w9 The Home

Preparation required
Prepare for this tutorial by reading:
Hurdley, R (2006) ‘Dismantling mantelpieces: narrating identities and materialising
culture in the home’, Sociology, 40, 4, 717-733.

Tutorial Tasks
Prepare to discuss the following questions based on the reading:
1. What does Hurdley mean when she claims that ‘the practice of producing
narratives around objects contributes to the personal work of autobiography and
renders objects as meaningful participants in the social work of identity-building’
(p178)?
2. To what extent is this true of any possessions which you might have in your own
personal space? Think of specific examples of the ‘stuff’ you possess which is on
display in your personal space (whether on an actual mantelpiece or an
equivalent space), eg photographs, posters, knick-knacks, souvenirs etc. What
narratives do you tell about these objects? What do these narratives contribute to
other people’s understandings of you and your personal relationships? In what
ways do your possessions embody, and even shape, aspects of your personal
relationships?
3. What does Hurdley mean when she writes that ‘the meaning of things in the
home is what gives home its meaning’ (p724)?
4. How important are our possessions in creating a sense of ‘home’? Can a living
space be ‘homely’ without the presence of personal possessions? Why/why not?
5. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research methods used by
Hurdley in her study of mantelpieces? Can you think of other methods which
might also help researchers to explore ‘material cultures’ in the home?

29
Tutorial w10 Personal life in public spaces

Required reading:
Manzo, J. (2005) ‘Social control and the management of “personal” space in
shopping malls’, Space & Culture, 8: 83-97

Questions for reading:

1. Manzo says that furniture, architecture and design features act as participants in
a social venue. What do you think he means by this? Give examples either from
the reading or from your own experience.
2. How can people’s movement and behaviour in malls be controlled? Think of both
explicit and implicit forms of social control.
3. Is this attempt at social control always successful? Why?
4. How do people manage to create ‘private’ space within public spaces? Try to
spot these behaviours in public spaces that you frequent
5. While reading, try to think of examples from your own experience of public
spaces, eg cinemas, restaurants, bars, the student refectory, buses, trains, parks,
swimming pools. Are the aims of these public spaces visible in how they are
designed? In what way is behaviour controlled in them (either explicitly or
implicitly)? Do people always follow these written and unwritten rules? What
happens when they do not?

30
Tutorial w11 Revision session
This final session will be given over to thinking about preparation for the exam. You
will be given the opportunity to work collectively in creating essay plans from past
papers. The questions included in a previous exam are listed below. Please bring
these to the tutorial with you.

1. Why is it sociologically important to study ‘personal life’ and how does it

complement the study of the family?
2. Discuss how patterns of intimacy have changed in recent decades and assess
how well Giddens' theory of the 'pure relationship' explains these changes?
3. How does a social constructionist approach help us interpret the recent changes
that have occurred in legislation surrounding same-sex relationships?
4. Assess critically the extent to which the individualisation thesis may usefully
explain the rise in single person’s household in Britain.
5. Kinship is a relationship that is engaged with, defined, known and expressed.
Discuss
6. The personal is political and the political is personal. Discuss
7. Critically assess the popular notion of friendship as an ideal relationship.
8. Discuss the relationship between the home and everyday relationships.
9. Critically discuss the ways in which our use of public space and our interactions
in public space are ordered

Assignments and Assessments

Assessment is in three parts: an essay; a presentation; and an end-of-module exam.

These count as formative assessment to help you develop the skills needed to
complete a degree. All three are ‘non-assessed’ (i.e. in the first year, any marks of
feedback given don’t count towards your degree classification).

1. Non-assessed essay
You are required to write one piece of non-assessed written work. The essay titles
for the non-assessed essay are given below.
The first part of lecture 5 will provide an introduction to essay writing. In addition,
your tutor will be happy to offer advice on essay writing. You are also advised to
look at study skills materials on the School intranet and might want to consider
buying one of the many degree-level study skills books listed over the page. The
academic publishers Palgrave also have a useful (and free) online resource:
http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/

31
Non-assessed essay deadline: Tuesday 6th of November (Week 7). It must be
submitted online (see below) Details will be provided when the area for submitting it
is available.

Essay Questions Autumn 2018

1. Traditionally, sociologists have studied ‘the family’ and not ‘personal life’.
Consider the arguments for and against ‘a sociology of personal life’ as opposed to a
‘sociology of ‘the family’’.
2. To what extent is Giddens’ idea of ‘the pure relationship’ useful for
understanding contemporary intimate life?
3. Critically assess the evidence for and against the idea that same sex marriage
challenges heteronormative assumptions within society.
4. Assess critically the extent to which the individualisation thesis may usefully
explain the rise in single persons households in Britain.
5. Consider the extent to which kinship can be considered a ‘given’ and ‘self-
evident’ relationship, as opposed to one that is ‘brought into being’.

Essays should be 1,500 words in length PLUS OR MINUS TEN PER CENT (ie no
less than 1,350 and no more than 1,650). You are required to include your word
count on the front page of your essay. Your word count should include all text in the
essay (including any footnotes, tables and so on) but does not include the
bibliography.
It is imperative that you do one essay successfully to complete the course. A non-
completed non-assessed essay will lead to 5% being deducted from the final
examination mark (at the end of the first semester). Please note that the marks that
you receive for your non-assessed essay is indicative only and should not be taken
as a guarantee of the mark you will receive in the exam.
Teaching assistants mark the non-assessed essay and will only mark an essay from
students in their tutorial groups. Teaching assistants will also not mark an essay from
students with poor attendance. You must attend tutorials.
Marks for compulsory non-assessed essays or plans should not be considered a
'predicted grade' for the course overall. The feedback and any grade provided are to
allow you to judge your understanding of the course material.

2. Non-assessed presentation
As part of the course, you are also required do to a non-assessed presentation. This
will take place in the tutorial groups, and you will work in groups of two or three to
prepare and deliver a presentation, which will be marked by your tutorial leader. It
might also be possible to do a presentation on your own, should you prefer, if your

32
tutorial leader agrees. The presentation should be no more than 10 minutes and it
will introduce the week's topic to the rest of the class.
Failure to do the presentation will lead to 5% being deducted from the final
examination mark (at the end of the first semester). This is stated clearly in the
course outline.
This means that if you don’t submit your essay and don’t take part in the
presentation, you will lose 10% from your overall exam score.
What you learn from doing the presentation: It gives you the opportunity to learn
about analysing and being critical of the topics and literature on this course; it is a
chance for you to get formative feedback on your learning and development; it helps
you develop your communication, presentation and team work skills; it helps you
develop knowledge and understanding of a topic, gather evidence, and engage
critically with literature and theory. These are some of the key things you learn from
your degree programme.

Assessing the non-assessed presentation

The aim of the non-assessed presentation is for you to develop a deeper
understanding of one topic covered in the module and to help you prepare for the
exam at the end of the module. You must choose different topics for your non-
assessed essay and your non-assessed presentation. This is to help you
prepare adequately for the exam. The presentation part of the assessment aims to
develop your skills in presenting sociological ideas in a clear and accessible way, to
do so verbally to an audience, and also to engage with questions and (constructive)
feedback from the audience at the end of the presentation. The presentation will also
be an opportunity to learn from each other and so you have the chance to develop
your understanding of gender and sexuality through learning from your peers.
Students are expected to give a presentation of the week’s topic in an in-depth way,
or to specialise in one aspect of the topic covered that week. To do this, you are
expected to draw on the key readings as well as relevant additional readings listed in
the course and tutorial outline, or as found in the library catalogue. It is not
acceptable to rehearse only what was said in the lecture.

Feedback on your presentation

You will get feedback on various elements of the presentation:
Structure: You need to have an introduction and a conclusion to your
presentation. Your peers will not be experts in this area the way you now are, so you
need to introduce your topic to them in a logical, structured way.

There are many different ways of structuring a good presentation. For example, you
could do it chronologically if you want to provide a historical view, or you could set
the presentation title as a question, and then set out to answer it. It helps to signpost

33
the order in which you are going to present things. The important thing is that the
structure is clear to the audience, and helps them understand the topic.
Content: The presentation should encapsulate your engagement with one key
argument in your reading. You should present this to the class so that everyone
understands. In doing this, you demonstrate your understanding of the topic, which is
really important.
References to the literature: Make sure that you make references to the literature as
you assess the argument of the article that you have chosen. You can make a really
strong presentation if you draw on other reading in your presentation.
Delivery: Please deliver your presentation with clarity and enthusiasm. Remember to
look at the audience as you do so, rather than just your slides or notes.
Length of the presentation: Keep the presentation 5-7 minutes – don’t make it too
short or too long.
Visual aids: Along with your presentation you need to present visual aids:
Powerpoint slides, a poster or a handout. Make sure these are clear, helpful and well
organised. Think about how much information you put on your slide; try and avoid
putting too little information or too much on your visual aid.
General comments: This is the overall impression.

Coursework Submission
Coursework must be typed, double-spaced in a reasonable font (eg. 12 point in
Times New Roman or Arial). You must submit your essay by 2pm on the deadline
day given on p.2 above unless given course specific instructions by email.
Essays should be submitted online via Blackboard by 2pm on the deadline day
given on p.2 above unless given course specific instructions by email. Full details of
how to submit online are available in the ‘Submission of Coursework’ folder in the
relevant section on the course Blackboard website. Ensure you have familiarised
yourself with the system and give yourself plenty of time for submission as
technology problems will not be an acceptable reason for late or non-submission of
work. If you have serious problems submitting on the day please contact the SoSS
Undergraduate Office in the Arthur Lewis Building urgently. When you have
successfully submitted your essay you will be able to download and print a receipt.
You must keep a copy of your submission receipt until all work on this course is
complete and you have received your final grades.
Note that our online submission system includes TurnItIn plagiarism detection
software. Be sure that you fully understand what plagiarism is; links for further details
are included in section 5 below. If, after reading the guidance, you are at all unsure
about what counts as plagiarism then you should contact your Academic Advisor to
discuss it.

34
Mitigating Circumstances
Extensions may be granted to students where there are exceptional mitigating
circumstances (e.g. strong medical reasons). In such cases an online Mitigating
Circumstances Form must be completed and submitted. Full guidance on mitigating
circumstances is available here:
https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/help-
and-support/

Examination Details
You will sit a two-hour examination at the end of the semester where you will be
required to answer two questions (from a choice of nine in total). The exam will
provide the final mark for this course. The actual date of the exam for this course will
be publicised towards the end of the semester when the exam timetable is finalized
and students will be notified of this date via email by the Examinations Office.

Examination past papers are available online via MyManchester. Go to the ‘Exam
Information’ portlet and click ‘Past Papers’ where you will be able to search for
papers by the course code. (See also a list of previous questions under ‘Tutorial w11:
Revision session’)

Examination timetables are released later in the semester and you will be notified
with instructions by email from the Undergraduate Administrator.

If you miss an examination you will not be allowed to resit it except in the case of
serious mitigating circumstances. If you miss an examination through illness or
another serious reason you should contact the SoSS Undergraduate Office as soon
as possible. You will need to submit a Mitigating Circumstances Form (see link
above) along with relevant evidence.

You are allowed to choose to answer questions in the exam that relate to the same
topics that you wrote your non-assessed essay and/or gave your non-assessed
presentation on. However, you are not allowed to choose to do both your non-
assessed essay and your non-assessed presentation on the same topic (e.g. you
can’t both do a presentation on Family and kinship and write your essay on Family
and Kinship). You must choose two different topics for your presentation and essay
(e.g. present on ‘the Home’ and write your essay on ‘Family and kinship’). This is so
that you can prepare adequately for the exam.

35
 3. FEEDBACK
All sociology courses include both formative feedback – which lets you know how
you’re getting on and what you could do to improve – and summative feedback –
which gives you a mark for your assessed work. This course uses the following
mechanisms for feedback:
 Informal verbal feedback will be Save Your Feedback
given during lectures and tutorials for
Feedback via
individual and group work. (You’ll

KNOW HOW
TurnItIn/GradeMark on the
need to contribute regularly to group Blackboard system is only
discussions to make the best use of accessible while you are
this.) studying this particular
 Written formative feedback will be module. Download a pdf
given on your non-assessed version of your feedback to
assignment and made available refer to later by using the
viaTurnItIn/GradeMark print icon in the bottom left
 Written formative feedback will be corner of the
feedback screen.
given on your non-assessed
presentation and made available via
email from your tutor.
 Exam results are published only as a grade. If you wish to discuss your exam
performance with your lecturer please book an office hour slot by email and
let your lecturer know in advance that this is what you want to do.
 We will have a special Consultation Day at the end of the course (week 12)
for you to come and discuss your results on your non-assessed course work
and help in preparing for the exam. Please email to reserve a slot.
If you want individual feedback or discuss issues to do with text and theory, you are
welcome to book an appointment with Luke. I have office hours every week during
which you can come and see me (for details, see beginning of this document). You
need to email in advance, so that I can reserve a slot for you. Note however, that you
should contact your tutor in all other matters.

Your Feedback to Us

We’re continually working to improve our teaching practices – for that we need your
feedback. Towards the end of the semester you’ll be asked to fill out a Unit Survey
for each of your modules – please do! The survey is designed to be very short and
easy to fill out but the results are really valuable for our monitoring of teaching quality.
We want to hear from you whether your opinion on the course was good, bad or
indifferent.
All of your Unit Surveys are available via Blackboard – simply go to ‘Unit Evaluation’
on the left hand menu of the Blackboard website to begin. Alternatively, you can

36
download a smartphone app called EvaluationKit to fill out Unit Surveys for all of
your course units.

4. YOUR COMMITMENT

Study Schedule
Each 20 credit module requires that you study for a minimum of 12 hours per week.
This is comprised of teaching and independent study in these proportions:
 3 hours lectures and tutorials (2.5 in the first year);
 At least 3 hours reading the Key Reading;
 At least 3 hours reading an additional text from the reading list;
 At least 3 hours written work for assessed and non-assessed assignments.
This leaves 80 hours study time remaining to be used in independent study over the
duration of the course. For 10 credit courses these distributions will be proportionally
reduced but should be slightly higher than half the commitment for a 20 credit course.

Tutorial Preparation
Tutorials are a central part of the course module structure. They provide you with an
opportunity to discuss, apply and enhance your knowledge, and to build confidence
in your skills of analysis, comprehension and presentation. What you will gain from
tutorials is dependent upon your preparation and willingness to participate. It is thus
essential that you familiarise yourself with the Tutorial Guide for each course,
undertake the required tutorial preparation, and bring all relevant materials
(hardcopies of the Key Reading, notes on the Key Reading, preparation exercises
etc.) to every tutorial. It is not acceptable to attend a tutorial without being fully
prepared.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your
programme. It is also expected that you arrive on time. Absence and late arrival are
recorded on your University record. Inappropriate amounts of absence or late arrival
at class, without extenuating circumstances, will be treated seriously and may result
in exclusion from the course. In addition, you should be aware that prospective
employers almost always ask for information about attendance and punctuality, as
well as matters such as your record on completing work to deadlines.

Absences

37
If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or other good reason you
should notify the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator in advance
if possible ([email protected] or telephone 0161 275 3953). This is
especially important if you are due to make a presentation to the class. Absences of
more than a few days should be backed up by medical or other evidence.
All absences will be reported to the relevant Tutor, who will then monitor your
performance. A record of indifferent attendance will be held against you if your
examination results are marginal; you should not expect to be shown sympathy by
the Board of Examiners in such circumstances.
If you have missed a class, you should be sure to catch up on what you have missed
by further independent reading of materials on the reading list and/or consulting any
available lecture notes or PowerPoint slides if these are provided or asking other
students whether they might allow you to consult theirs.

Email and Blackboard

Your commitment is also to check your University email and Blackboard at least
every other day in order to make sure that you are informed of any communications
from tutors or administrative staff. These might, for example, concern important
meetings with staff, changes of room; notification of course options registration, or
course-relevant information from your lecturer. Being unaware of arrangements
because you have not checked your email or Blackboard is not an acceptable
excuse.

38
 5. REFERENCING & PLAGIARISM
The lack of a proper bibliography and appropriate reference in assessed essays will
potentially greatly affect the mark for the work and may be considered plagiarism,
which is a serious offence.
All essays must employ the scholarly apparatus of references and a bibliography.
There are different acceptable referencing styles. In sociology we recommend use
of the Harvard system of referencing, which is described in detail here:
http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard
In short, Harvard referencing means that you refer to the author and date of
publication in brackets within the text, wherever you are referring to the ideas of
another writer. Where you quote an author you must always include quotation marks
and a page number in the reference.
All essays must include a References List which
Cite it Right

KNOW HOW
lists your sources in alphabetical order by
author's surname. This should include all (and You can learn how to
only) the sources you have directly referenced in reference properly in 15
minutes – head to the
the text. Whatever your source is, you need to
online tutorial, Citing it right,
provide a full set of publication details as at:
described in the guide linked above. All http://libassets.m
academic texts you read will include anchester.ac.uk/
mle/introducing-
bibliographies and these should give you plenty
referencing/
of examples of what information to include.

Plagiarism

The University defines plagiarism as

Avoiding Plagiarism
‘presenting the ideas, work or words of other
KNOW HOW

You can learn how to avoid people without proper, clear and unambiguous
plagiarism in 20 minutes – acknowledgement.’ It is an example of
head to the online tutorial,
academic malpractice and can lead to very
Original Thinking Allowed, at:
serious penalties up to exclusion from the
http://libassets.man University. You should read the University’s
chester.ac.uk/mle/a guidelines here:
voiding-plagiarism
http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.asp
x?DocID=2870
There is additional useful guidance on plagiarism and referencing in the Crucial
Guide:
http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-
life/support/referencing-and-plagiarism/

39
 6. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Sociology student’s work is assessed into different class categories by using the following
criteria:
High First Class (75+) Such answers fully answer the question in a coherent manner and
can be expected to show excellence with respect to the following criteria:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression
 Knowledge of the relevant literature.
First Class (70-74) Such answers are highly competent and provide a near-full and well-
structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate some of the following
qualities:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of expression
 Good knowledge of the relevant literature.
Upper-second Class (60-69) Such answers are overall competent and provide a generally
well-structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate most of the following
qualities:
 A reasonable-to-good understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis, of argument and of expression
 At least selective knowledge of the relevant literature.
Lower-second Class (50-59) Such answers indicate some understanding of the issues and
provide an adequate answer to the question. They can be expected to show most of the
following features:
 A basic understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis and argument, albeit limited in extent
 Some awareness of the relevant literature.
Note: What distinguishes a high Lower-second Class from a low Upper-second Class is
greater extent of understanding of material and clarity of analysis and argument, as well as
at least some selective knowledge of the relevant literature, not mere awareness of its
existence.
Third Class (40-49) Such answers indicate only a rudimentary understanding of the issues
and offer only partial answers to the question. They can be expected to show the following
features:
 Sparse coverage of the material with several key topics missing
 Unsupported assertions and little clear analysis or argument
 Important errors and inaccuracies.
Fail (0-39) Such answers, at the upper end, fail to deal with the question in a way that
suggest more than a fragmented and shallow acquaintance with the subject, while, at the
lower end, they fail to demonstrate the ability to engage with the question at all.

40
 Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences

SOCIOLOGY COURSE UNIT GUIDE 2018-19

SOCY10912 Work, Organisations and Society

Semester 2
Credits 20
Convenor: Dr Nick Thoburn

Contents
1. Essential Information
2. Course Content
A. Aims & Outcomes
B. Lectures & Reading List
C. Tutorial Guide
D. Assignments & Assessments
3. Feedback
4. Your Commitment
5. Referencing & Plagiarism
6. Assessment Criteria

Please read this guide and bring any questions with you to the lecture.
Note: This course guide should be read in conjunction with the Blackboard website for the
course and the Degree Handbook for your degree programme. Degree Handbooks for social
science programmes are available here:

http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/course-
information/

If your degree is based in another school, please contact your Programme Administrator for
your handbook.

1
 1. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Contacts
Lecturer(s): Nick Thoburn
Room: 3.051 Arthur Lewis Building
Telephone: Ext. 52496
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Wednesdays 9.00-11.00 book in advance by email to Nick
Thoburn
Tutors: Deborah Giustini ([email protected])
Marta Fanasca ([email protected])
Anne-Marie McCallion (anne-
[email protected])
Caitlin Schmid ([email protected])
Administrator: Chantel Riley
UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building; (0161) 2753953
[email protected]
Times and Dates
Lectures: Wednesday 11:00 – 13:00 Roscoe Building Theatre B
Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student
System. This is compulsory and on a first come, first
served basis.
Assessed Coursework One non-assessed essay, due on 11th March. See further
Submission: details on p.23 below
Examination Period: 13th May – 7th June 2019
Resit Examination 19th August – 30th August 2019
Period:

Assignments and Assessments

 One compulsory non-assessed essay (5% penalty for non-submission)
 One compulsory group presentation in weeks 9 or 10 (5% penalty for non-
participation)
 One two-hour unseen examination to be taken at the end of the course worth
100% of the total mark
Review the following pages for full details of the assignments and assessments
required on this course.

Communication
Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be
communicated in this way. It is sometimes necessary to make changes such as
seminar rooms and assessment details and such changes will be communicated by
email. Failing to check your emails will not be an acceptable excuse for non-
attendance or missed deadlines.

2
 2. COURSE CONTENT
Course Aims

KNOW HOW
This course introduces students to the Get Organised
sociology of work, considers the emergence Use this guide to find out:
of modern work, and assesses the nature of  Where and when to attend
contemporary work and organisation. The classes.
 What to read before
course covers themes from rationalisation
lectures and tutorials.
and discipline, to emotional labour,  Where to start your
unemployment, domestic labour, and low- reading for assessments.
waged work in the global economy. The  How your progress will be
course aims to consider both global trends assessed.
and specific features of work, and place Read on to ensure that you
work in the context of the movement from know how to get the most
Fordist models of production to post-Fordist out of your degree.
and globalised production.

Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course students will:
 Have introductory knowledge of the sociology of work.
 Have knowledge of some of the key aspects of contemporary work.
 Be developing an understanding of the move from Fordist to post-Fordist
forms of work.
 Have begun to develop a critical sense of the relation between work and
social organisation.
 These objectives will form the basis upon which students will be examined.

General Course Readings

A required reading for each week is available electronically via the course
Blackboard page, and students are required to attend the tutorials with print outs of
the reading. All other readings are available from the University Main Library. Most
reading is specific to particular topics as described in the reading list below. The
following more general textbook is a helpful introduction to some of the themes but is
not necessary for studying the course and will not be used directly:
Grint, K. and Nixon, D. (2015) The Sociology of Work (4th edition), Cambridge: Polity
Press.

3
 Lectures and Reading List
Lecture 1. Introduction, Housekeeping, and Essay Writing
This lecture introduces the themes and concerns of the course. It suggests that
answering the question ‘what is work?’ requires the consideration of a wide and
diverse set of social, economic and cultural activities and forms. The lecture also
sets out the structure and requirements of the course, and explains how to write a
Sociology essay, in preparation for the non-assessed essay due in Week 7.

Required Reading

Before attending their first tutorial (in week 1) students should read through this
module outline carefully and familiarise themselves with the themes of the course,
the course requirements, and assessment criteria. Students are expected to be
familiar with these requirements and to structure their preparation and essay writing
accordingly.

Additional Reading

Grint, K. and Nixon, D. (2015) The Sociology of Work (4th edition), Cambridge: Polity.
Chapter 1.
Watson, T.J. (2005) Sociology, Work and Industry, London: Routledge. Chapter 1

Lecture 2. Time, Space and Discipline: the Emergence of Modern Work

This lecture considers the way modern work operates by ordering activity in time and
space. It starts by looking at the emergence of the industrial ‘working day’ around the
clock, the factory and the machine, before considering the way this functions as part
of a social system of ‘discipline’. The reading for this week introduces a fourth term,
the ‘work ethic’, with which developments in time, space, and discipline were
interrelated. The lecture concludes by suggesting that modern forms of the working
day may be changing as work extends beyond the time constraints of the fixed
working day. The lecture makes reference to two classic texts on work and discipline,
Thompson (1993) and Foucault (1977) (see Additional Reading below).
Guidance questions for this topic:
 What forms of time are associated with a) pre-industrial and b) industrial
forms of work?
 What role does space play in organising industrial work?
 What is a ‘site of confinement’ and how does it organise space and action?
 How does the ‘Panopticon’ organise space and light, and what are the
features of ‘discipline’ that this generates?

Required Reading

Bauman, Z. (2005) ‘The Meaning of Work: Producing the Work Ethic’, in Work,
Consumerism and the New Poor, London: OUP.

Additional Reading

4
Blyton, P. et al. (eds) (1989) Time, Work and Organization, London: Routledge. Esp.
Hassard ‘Time and Industrial Sociology’. Download here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=2676cd43-f3a7-e611-80c7-
005056af4099
Bunting, M. (2004) Willing Slaves: how the overwork culture is ruling our lives,
London: Harpercollins. Esp. parts 1 and 3.
Felstead, A and Jewson, N (2000) In Work at Home, London: Routledge.
Foucault, M. (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Harmondsworth:
Penguin. Chs: ‘Docile bodies’ and ‘Panopticism’
Grint, K. and Nixon, D. (2015) The Sociology of Work (4th edition), Cambridge: Polity.
Chapter 2.
Hochschild, A. R. (2000) The Time-Bind: When Work becomes Home and Home
becomes Work, New York: Owl Books.
Marx, K. (1976) Capital Volume I, London: Penguin. Ch. 10 ‘The Working Day’ and
Ch. 15 ‘Machinery and Large-Scale Industry’.
Marx, K, and Engels, F. (2002) The Communist Manifesto, London: Penguin. Ch:
‘Bourgeois and Proletarians’ [Also available in most Marx readers, and in
cheap editions – often under the title of The Manifesto of the Communist
Party.]
Thompson, E. P. (1993) ‘Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism’, Past and
Present 38: 56-97 Download here:
http://libcom.org/files/timeworkandindustrialcapitalism.pdf

Lecture 3. The Division of Labour, Taylorism and Fordism

This lecture considers three key processes associated with modern mass production
and work organisation and that are central to the sociology of work: the division of
labour, Taylorism and Fordism. The lecture focuses especially on F. W. Taylor’s
approach to ‘scientific management’: the rational reorganisation of the workplace to
increase efficiency.
Guidance questions for this topic:
 What is rationalisation?
 What is the ‘division of labour’?
 What were Taylor’s principles of scientific management?
 What is the production system now known as ‘Fordism’, and how can it be
seen in action in: the workplace, the worker, consumption, and the family?

Required Reading

Rose, M. (1978) ‘Rational Work Men and Incompetent Managers’, in Industrial

Behaviour: Theoretical Developments Since Taylor (Part I).

Additional Reading

Barker, J. (2013) ‘A Stitch in Time: the “Orchestrated Networks” of Bloody Taylorism’,

Mute, http://www.metamute.org/editorial/articles/stitch-time-‘orchestrated-
networks’-bloody-taylorism?nopaging=1
Brandon, R. (2002) Automobile: How the Car Changed Life (2002), Chapter 3.
Braverman, H. (1974) Labour and Monopoly Capital, (pp. 85-138). Download here:

5
 https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=e31390ee-eca7-e611-80c7-
005056af4099
Batchelor, R. (1994) Henry Ford, Mass Production, Modernism and Design (Part I).
Kanigel, R. The One Best Way (1997) [a full-length account of Frederick Taylor’s life
and work].
Kumar, K. (1978) Prophecy and Progress, London: Penguin, Chs 3, 5.
Murray, R. (1989), ‘Fordism and Post-Fordism’, in S. Hall and M. Jacques (eds),
New Times. London: Lawrence and Wishart.
Ritzer, G. (1996), ‘An Introduction to MacDonaldization’, in The MacDonaldization of
Society. Download here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=97c3486e-f5a7-e611-80c7-
005056af4099
Thompson, P. and McHugh, D. (2002) Work Organisations: A Critical Introduction
(Chapter 2).
Watson, T.J. (2003) Sociology, Work and Industry, Chs 2 and 3.

Lecture 4. Marx: Work and Capitalism

Today we turn to consider how work can be understood in the context of the social
system of ‘capitalism’. We will do this through a look at the social theory of Karl Marx.
This lecture considers Marx’s account of the ‘capitalist mode of production’, focusing
on the core concepts of ‘labour’, ‘modes of production’, ‘commodities’ and ‘surplus
value’.
Guidance questions for this topic:
 What is Marx’s definition of a) ‘labour’ and b) a ‘mode of production’?
 What are the two classes of the capitalist mode of production, and how are
they characterised?
 How is ‘wage labour’ different to feudal labour and slavery?
 What is the a) ‘use value’ and b) ‘exchange value’ of a commodity?
 How is ‘surplus value’ created?

Required Reading

Marx, K, and Engels, F. (2002) Part 1: ‘Bourgeois and Proletarians’ in The

Communist Manifesto, London: Penguin.

Additional Reading

Fine, B. (1975) Marx’s Capital, London: Macmillan. [A good short intro on labour,
surplus value etc]
Giddens, A. (1971) Capitalism and Modern Social Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. [see Chs. on Marx – good and detailed intro]
Grint, K. and Nixon, D. (2015) The Sociology of Work (4th edition), Cambridge: Polity,
pages 74-81 [a brief textbook entry]
Marx, K. (1963) Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy,
Bottomore, T. B. and M. Rubel (eds), Harmondsworth: Penguin [This book
usefully collects sections of Marx under headings and themes.]
Marx, K. (1977) Selected Writings, D. McLellan (ed.), Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
McLellan, D. (1980) The Thought of Karl Marx: An Introduction, London: Macmillan.

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McLellan, D. (1986) Marx, London: Fontana [A good, short introduction – see the
part of Ch 3 on ‘Economics’]
Morrison, K. (1997) Marx, Durkheim and Weber: Formations of Modern Social
Thought, London: Sage. [Chs on Marx]
Sayer, D. (1991) Capitalism and Modernity: An Excursus on Marx and Weber,
London: Routledge. [Introduction and Chs 1 and 2]

Lecture 5. Emotional Labour

Having looked at the emergence of modern industrial work in earlier lectures, today
we consider a specific aspect of contemporary work: ‘emotional labour’. The
management, control, and commercialisation of emotion has become a crucial
aspect of much work today, from service work in fast-food outlets and call-centres, to
nursing and debt-collecting. This lecture focuses in particular on Arlie Hochschild’s
classic study of the techniques of emotional labour and the control of emotion used
by airline attendants.
Guidance questions for this topic:
 What are the similarities and differences in the forms of work performed by a
factory worker and an air steward?
 Define ‘emotional labour’.
 Give some examples of emotional labour.
 How can emotional labour be trained?
 Are there any damaging effects of emotional labour?

Required Reading

Hochschild, A. (1983) ‘Exploring the Managed Heart’ in The Managed Heart:

Commercialisation of Human Feeling London: University of California Press.

Additional Reading
Brook, P. (2009) ‘In Critical Defence of “Emotional Labour”: Refuting Bolton’s
Critique of Hochschild’s Concept’, Work, Employment and Society 23(3): 351-
548.
Brooke, E and Schwartz, B. (2017) Digital “women’s work?”: Job recruitment ads and
the feminization of social media employment, New Media and Society, 1-18,
download here:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461444817738237
Callaghan, G. and Thompson, P. (2002) ‘We Recruit Attitude: The Selection and
Shaping of Routine Call Centre Labour’, Journal of Management Studies
39(2): 233–53.
Cohen, R.L. (2010) ‘When it Pays to Be Friendly: employment relationships and
emotional labour in hairstyling’, The Sociological Review, 58(2): 197-218
Ehrenreich, B. and Hochschild, A. (eds) (2002) Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and
Sex Workers in the New Economy, London: Granta. Esp. intro and ch.1.
Download Introduction here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=9918d176-30a7-e611-80c7-
005056af4099
Fineman, S. (ed) (1993, 2000) Emotion in Organizations London: Sage. [The 1993
edition has a good preface by Arlie Hochschild.]

7
Fineman, S. (2003) Understanding Emotion at Work London: Sage. Download the
‘Recruiting Emotion’ chapter here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=7711957f-1e53-e511-80bd-
002590aca7cd
Hochschild, A. (1983) The Managed Heart: Commercialisation of Human Feeling
London: University of California Press.
Hochschild, A. (1983) ‘Emotion Work, Feeling Rules and Social Structure’, American
Journal of Sociology 83(3): 551-575.
Hochschild, A. (2003) The Commercialization of Intimate Life: Notes from Home and
Work London: University of California Press.
Leidner, R. (1999) ‘Emotional Labor in Service Work’, The Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, 561(1): 81 -95.
Soundings issue 11, Spring 1999 – issue on emotional labour.
Steinberg, R. and Figart, D.M. (1999) ‘Emotional Labour since The Managed Heart’,
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 561(1): 8–26.
Taylor, S. and M. Tyler (2000) ‘Emotional Labour and Sexual Difference in the Airline
Industry’, Work, Employment and Society 14(1): 77-95
Thompson, P. and D. Warhurst (eds) (1998) Workplaces of the Future London:
Macmillan. [Chapter on emotional labour]
Warhurst, C. and D. Nickson (2009) ‘”Who's Got the Look?” Emotional, Aesthetic
and Sexualized Labour in Interactive Services’, Gender, Work and
Organization, 16(3): 385-404.
Wouters, C. (1989) ‘The Sociology of Emotions and Flight Attendants: Hochschild’s
Managed Heart’, Theory, Culture and Society 6: 95–123.

Lecture 6. Unemployment and Workfare

As Marx showed in his study of the ‘industrial reserve army’, work and
unemployment are intimately related. This lecture considers the emergence of
unemployment and its function in relation to work, and then traces the development
of unemployment as a category of social policy. It then looks at the way the
distinction between work and unemployment was reconfigured in Margaret
Thatcher’s and Tony Blair’s employment and social policy with the rise of the
Jobseekers Allowance and American models of Workfare. Unemployment policy is
very much a live policy issue, with the current government making radical
transformation in policy, cutting benefit levels in real terms for the first time since
1930, further privatising welfare services, and deploying the Victorian trope of the
‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor (‘strivers’ and ‘shirkers’, in the current language).
Guidance questions for this topic:
 What is the relation between work and unemployment?
 Why is unemployment a ‘necessary’ part of capitalism?
 What was the ‘welfare state’ approach to unemployment?
 What changes are associated with the ‘workfare’ and the ‘Jobseekers
Allowance’ approach unemployment?
 What are the main features of UK government welfare policy today?

Required Reading

Peck, J. and Theodore, N. (2000) ‘”Work-First”: Workfare and the Regulation of

Contingent Labour Markets’, Cambridge Journal of Economics 24: 119-138.

8
Additional Reading

Alcock et al. (2003) Work to Welfare: How Men Become Detached from the Labour
Market, Cambridge, CUP
Digby, A. (1989) British Welfare Policy: Workhouse to Workfare, London: Faber and
Faber.
Braverman, H. (1974) Labor and Monopoly Capital, New York: Monthly Review
Press [sections on unemployment]
Deacon, A. (2000). ‘Learning from the US? The influence of American ideas upon
New Labor's thinking on welfare reform’. Policy and Politics, 28 (1), 5-18.
Fox Piven, F. and Cloward, R. (1971) Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public
Welfare, New York: Vintage.
Grint, K. and Nixon, D. (2015) The Sociology of Work (4th edition), Cambridge: Polity,
pages 33-37.
Grover, C. and Piggott, L. (2013) ‘A Commentary on Resistance to the UK’s Work
Experience Programme: Capitalism, Exploitation and Wage Work,’ Critical
Social Policy 33(3): 554–563.
Hawkins, K. (1987) Unemployment, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Jessop, B. (2002) From Thatcherism to New Labour: Neoliberalism, Liberalism and
Labour Market Regulation [online paper], University of Lancaster – Section 3
pages 10-18 are very useful on Workfare. Available
at :http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/sociology/papers/jessop-from-thatcherism-to-
new-labour.pdf
Jones, C. (2013) ‘Discipline and Discontent: Coalition Government Extends “Slave
Labour” Welfare Policy’, Statewatch 23(1),
http://www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-227-discipline-and-discontent.pdf
Krinsky, J. (2007) Free Labor: Workfare and the Contested Language of
Neoliberalism, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. See chapters 1 and 2.
Milne, S. (2012) ‘There is a problem with welfare, but it’s not “shirkers”’, The
Guardian, 8 January. Good on contemporary changes in workfare policy
Peck, J. (2001) Workfare States, London: Guilford. [Esp. Ch.1 Introduction]
Sunley P, Martin R and Nativel C (2001) ‘Mapping the New Deal: local disparities in
the performance of Welfare-to-Work’, Transactions of the Institute of British
Geographers, 26 (4), 484-512.
Toynbee, P. (2011) ‘This benefits bonanza is more big Serco than big society’, The
Guardian 4 April. Good on the place of private firms in contemporary workfare
policy
Marx, K. (1976) ‘The Progressive Production of a Relative Surplus Population or
Industrial Reserve Army’ in Capital Vol. 1, London: Penguin (pp.781-802 in
Penguin edition).
Walters, W. (1994) ‘The discovery of “unemployment”: new forms for the government
of poverty’, Economy and Society 23(3): 265-290.

Lecture 7. Domestic Labour and the Politics of Housework

The division between work (as the paid site of ‘production’) and the home (as the
unpaid site of ‘reproduction’) was a fundamental aspect of the development of
modern capitalism and of the gendered division of labour. This lecture explores how
this division emerged before focusing on the way it naturalises female domestic

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labour as non-work. We then consider the political critique of housework, and new
trends in the commodification of domestic labour in the spread of maids, nannies and
cleaners, and the place of domestic labour in global migration patterns.
Guidance questions for this topic:
 What is the difference between ‘production’ and ‘reproduction’?
 How is this division associated with the ‘gendered division of labour’?
 How does this naturalise the exploitation of women?
 What changes have been associated with the gendered division of labour in
recent years?
 How has the domestic sphere become a site of paid work, and for whom?

Required Reading

Ehrenreich, B. (2002) ‘Maid to Order’, in Ehrenreich, B. and Hochschild, A. (eds)

Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers in the New Economy,
London: Granta.

Additional Reading

Dalla Costa, M. and James, S. (1975) The Power of Women and the Subversion of
Community London: Falling Wall Press.
Oakley, A. (1985) The Sociology of Housework, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Lachance-Grzela, M. and Bouchard, G. (2010), Why Do Women Do the Lion’s Share
of Housework? A Decade of Research, Sex Roles A Journal of Research, 63,
767-780. Read here:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-010-9797-z
Edmond, W. and Fleming, S. (eds) (1975) All Work and No Pay: Women, Housework,
and the Wages Due London: Falling Wall Press.
Ehrenreich, B. and Hochschild, A. (eds) (2002) Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and
Sex Workers in the New Economy, London: Granta.
Malos, E. (ed) (1980) The Politics of Housework London: Alison and Busby. [an
excellent collection – Introduction and Ch.1 are the best places to start]
Download Introduction here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=f47f2053-efa7-e611-80c7-
005056af4099

Lecture 8. Post-Fordism and Globalisation

This lecture returns to the question introduced in lecture 3 of Fordist forms of work
and production—based on mass production, scientific management, standardised
goods, and the family wage—and considers the ways that this is changing in the
emergence of ‘post-Fordist’ work—based on flexible specialisation, globalisation of
production, niche marketing, and the knowledge economy. The lecture will also
introduce the theme of ‘globalisation’, a theme closely associated with post-Fordism.
Guidance questions for this topic:
 What kinds of a) commodity, b) worker, and c) management structure are
associated with Fordism?
 What changes in these three areas are associated with post-Fordism?
 What role does ‘abstract knowledge’ have in post-Fordism?
 Has Fordism completely ended?

10
Required Reading

Kumar, K. (1995) ‘Fordism and Post-Fordism’, in From Post-Industrial to Post-

Modern Society, Oxford: Blackwell.

Additional Reading

‘Post-Fordism’ is a complex and broad topic and so I would advise students to begin
their reading by consulting the Grint text below, pages 259-70. The different points of
focus of the references below—from post-Fordism to work-teams to globalisation—
can be identified from the titles. The list is long because the topic is so broad.

Amin, A. (ed.) (1994) Post-Fordism: A Reader, Oxford: Blackwell. Download

Introduction here: https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=3f216c1f-25ab-
e611-80c7-005056af4099
Bain, P. and P. Taylor (2000) ‘Entrapped by the Electronic Panopticon? Worker
resistance in call centres’, New Technology, Work and Employment 15(1) 18-
31.
Baran, B. (1988), ‘Office Automation and Women’s Work: The Technological
Transformation of the Insurance Industry’, in R.E. Pahl (ed) On Work:
Historical, Comparative and Theoretical Approaches.
Beck, U. (2000) The Brave New World of Work. Cambridge: Polity.
Beck, U. (1999) What Is Globalization? Cambridge: Polity.
Buchanan, D., (2000) ‘An Eager and Enduring Embrace: The Ongoing Rediscovery
of Teamworking as a Management Idea’ in Procter and Mueller, eds,
Teamworking. Basingstoke: MacMillan.
Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society, Oxford: Blackwell. Especially
Chs. 2 and 3. Download Chapter 3 here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=1099dd2a-15e5-e511-80bd-
0cc47a6bddeb
Doogan, K., 2009. New Capitalism? The Transformation of Work, Cambridge: Polity
[especially chapters 3, 5, 6, and 8]
Gray, M. ‘Your job is about to get ‘taskified”’, Los Angeles Times, January 8 2016,
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0110-digital-turk-work-20160110-
story.html A short but interesting piece on ‘the Uber-izing of human labor, the
fragmenting of jobs into outsourced tasks and dismantling of wages into
micropayments’
Grint, K. and Nixon, D. (2015) The Sociology of Work (4th edition), Cambridge: Polity.
‘Flexible specialisation, Fordism, neo-Fordism and post-Fordism’, pages 259-
70, and chapters 9 and 11.
Harley, B. (1999) ‘The Myth of Empowerment: Work Organisation, Hierarchy and
Employee Autonomy in Contemporary Australian Workplaces’, Work,
Employment and Society 13(1) 41-66.
Hesmondhalgh, D. (1996) ‘Flexibility, post-Fordism and the Music Industries’, Media,
Culture and Society Vol 18 No. 3.
Hirst, P. and Thompson, G. (1996) Globalization in Question, Cambridge: Polity.
Kantor, J. and Streitfeld, D. (2015) ‘Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising
Workplace’, The New York Times, August 15,
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-
ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=1

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Lash, S. and Urry, J. (1987) The End of Organised Capitalism, London: Sage. Ch. 7.
Mittelman, J. (1996) Globalization: Critical Reflections. London: Lynne Rienner
Publications. See Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9.
O’Connor, S. (2016) ‘When Your Boss is an Algorithm’, Financial Times,
https://www.ft.com/content/88fdc58e-754f-11e6-b60a-de4532d5ea35
Morris, M. and Barnes, J. (2008) Globalization, the Changed Global Dynamics of the
Clothing and Textile Value Chains and the Impact on Sub-Saharan Africa,
UNIDO [The first 20 pages are good on the effects of global textile value
chains]Available here:
http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media/Publications/Pub_free/Globalizatio
n_changed_global_dynamics_of_clothing_and_textile_value_chains_and_imp
act_on_subSaharan_Africa.pdf
McMullen, A. and Maher, S. for Labour Behind the Label (2011) Let’s Clean Up
Fashion: The State of Pay Behind the UK High Street, Bristol: LBL. [Good on
the labour conditions associated with specific high street retailers] Available
here:
http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/campaigns/itemlist/category/243-report
Murakami, T. (1997) ‘The Autonomy of Teams in the Car Industry: A Cross National
Comparison’ Work, Employment and Society 11(4): 749-58.
Piore, M. J. and C. F. Sabel (1984) The Second Industrial Divide: Possibilities for
Prosperity, New York: Basic Books.
Roberts, I. (1997) ‘‘'Empowerment' or 'Degradation'? Total Quality Management and
the Service Sector’ in R. Brown (ed) The Changing Shape Of Work,
Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Scholtz, T. (2016) ‘Platform Cooperativism: Challenging the Corporate Sharing
Economy’, http://www.rosalux-nyc.org/wp-
content/files_mf/scholz_platformcoop_5.9.2016.pdf
Sewell, G. and B. Wilkinson (1992) ‘”Someone to Watch Over Me”: Surveillance,
Dscipline and the Just-in-Time Labour Process’, Sociology 26(2): 271-89.
Stiglitz, J. (2002) Globalization and Its Discontents. London: Allen Lane. Esp Chapter
1
Sweet, S. and P. Meiksins (2007) Changing Contours of Work, Pine Forge Press.
Esp. Chapter 1.
Taylor, P. and Bain, P. (2005) ‘India calling to the far away towns: the call centre
labour process and globalisation’, in Work, Employment and Society (19)2:
261-282
Thompson, P. and McHugh, D. (2002) Work Organisations: A Critical Introduction
London: Macmillan. Sections on post-fordism and self-management.

Lecture 9. Low-Wage and Precarious Work in the Global Economy

This lecture looks at the forms of low-wage, insecure, and precarious work that are
associated with aspects of globalisation and post-Fordist production techniques. It
considers the work associated with the production of branded commodities, both in
the global South (focusing on Export Processing Zones) and in the service outlets of
the global North. It also looks at the low-wage work associated with migrant labour in
the North. The lecture concludes with a discussion of current developments in global
and low-wage work, including precarious work, playbour and platform capitalism.
Guidance questions for this topic:
 What exactly is an ‘Export Processing Zone’?

12
  In what sense are EPZs ‘corporate statelets’ and what are the consequences?
 What poor work conditions are associated with service work?
 What is ‘platform labour’ and how do racialization and gender play a role in its
low-income and precarious conditions?
 How does ‘playbour’ alter work conditions?

Required Reading

Van Doorn, N. (2017) ‘Platform Labor: On the Gendered and Racialized Exploitation
of Low-Income Service Work in the “On-demand” Economy, Information,
Communication, and Society, 20(6), 898-914 [download here:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1294194]

Additional Reading

Apostolidis, P. (2010) Breaks in the Chain: What Immigrant Workers Can Teach
America about Democracy, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota [especially
the Introduction and chapter 3]
Barker, J. (2013) ‘A Stitch in Time: the “Orchestrated Networks” of Bloody Taylorism’,
Mute, http://www.metamute.org/editorial/articles/stitch-time-‘orchestrated-
networks’-bloody-taylorism?nopaging=1
Beck, U. (2000) The Brave New World of Work, Cambridge: Polity.
Chan, J. (2013) ‘A Suicide Survivor: The Life of a Chinese Worker,’ New Technology,
Work and Employment, 28(2): 84-99. [on the work conditions at Foxconn,
where Apple products (among others) are assembled]
Ehrenreich, B. (2002) Nickel and Dimed: Undercover Work in the USA. London:
Granta. Download ‘Serving in Florida’ chapter here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=3f95739b-edda-e511-80bd-
0cc47a6bddeb
Ehrenreich, B. and Hochschild, A. (eds) (2002) Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and
Sex Workers in the New Economy, London: Granta.
Goggin, J. (2011) ‘Playbour, Farming and Labour: World, Play and Boredom’,
Ephemera, 11(4): 357-368. Download here:
http://www.ephemerajournal.org/contribution/playbour-farming-and-labour
Gray, A. (2005) Unsocial Europe: Social Protection or Flexploitation?, London: Pluto
Press
Klein, N. (2000) No Logo, London: Flamingo. Ch. 9 ‘The Discarded Factory’ and Ch.
10. ‘Threats and Temps’.
Leidner, R. (1993) Fast Food, Fast Talk, London: University of California Press.
Download ‘Working on People’ chapter here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=1d259b01-f8ab-e611-80c7-
005056af4099
Leidner, R. (1991) ‘Serving Hamburgers and Selling Insurance’, Gender and Society
5:154 -177.
Neufeind, N., J. O’Reilly and F. Ranft (2018) Work in the Digital Age: Challenges of
the Fourth Industrial Revolution, London: Rowman and Littlefield [Especially
Introduction and the last three chapters of Part 1 Section B]
Ross, A. (ed.) (1997) No Sweat: Fashion, Free Trade, and the Rights of Garment
Workers. London: Verso

13
Schlosser, E. (2002) Fast Food Nation, London: Penguin. Chs 3, 7 and 9. Download
Chapter 3 here:
https://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=4095739b-edda-e511-80bd-
0cc47a6bddeb
Taylor, P. et al. (2002) ‘Work Organization, Control and the Experience of Work in
Call Centres’, Work Employment and Society, 16(1): 133-150.
FILM: Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price – very good on union-busting and low-
wages in service-sector work
Van Doorn, N. (2017) ‘Platform Labor: On the Gendered and Racialized Exploitation
of Low-Income Service Work in the “On-demand” Economy, Information,
Communication, and Society, 20(6), 898-914, download here:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1294194
Woodcock, J. (2016) ‘The Work of Play: Marx and the Video Games Industry in the
United Kingdom’, Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds 8(2), 131-143. Read
here: https://osf.io/4cz24

Lecture 10. Course Conclusion and Exam Revision

This lecture will conclude the course by reviewing its main themes and offering
advice on exam revision and technique. Students should attend with any questions
or concerns they have about their revision.

Past exam papers for the module are available (as they are for all courses) on your
Blackboard page: on the left under ‘Assessments’. You are strongly advised to
consult the past papers so as to get a feel for the exam and as a resource for writing
practice exam essays.

14
 FILM COMPONENT OF THE LECTURES
Each lecture will include a film component, with a section of a documentary or a
feature film about that week’s topic. Sometimes the section will be short, othertimes
up to 30 minutes. The films are listed below with a set of questions about each film.
Students should read the questions in advance of the film and make brief notes in
answer to the questions as they watch the film. The films are all available in full on
Blackboard.

LECTURE 2. Time, Space and Discipline: The Emergence of Modern Work

Film: 9 to 5, Directed by Colin Higgins, USA 1980

1. What kind of workplace is depicted in the film 9 to 5?

2. How is the space of the workplace organised in 9 to 5?
3. How is this workplace organised by time? Give examples where this is
made apparent.
4. Do machines have a role in organising this office work? Give examples.
5. Are there any other techniques used in the control of these workers?
6. How is this workplace ‘gendered’?
7. What role does fantasy have for the women in the film?

LECTURE 3. The Division of Labour, Taylorism and Fordism

Films: Modern Times, directed by Charles Chaplin, USA 1936;
Amazon: The Truth Behind the Click, Panorama documentary broadcast 25
November 2013

1. What does the film compare with sheep, and how does this exemplify Taylor’s
approach to workers?
2. What kind of machine does Charlie Chaplin work with?
3. How does this machine control or structure his work? (There are two key
points.)
4. What is the purpose of the Bellows Feeding Machine, and how does this
exemplify Taylorist practice?
5. What does Charlie Chaplin’s compulsive, jerky-movement say about the
effects of industrial work on workers?
A. Now, on to the Panorama documentary
6. (starting at 14 mins) What technology replaces the production line in the
Amazon warehouse?
7. In terms of its controlling effect on workers, what are the similarities between
this technology and the production line?
8. What are the differences?

LECTURE 4. Marx: Work and Capitalism

Film: The Corporation, directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, UK 2003
The film is also available in full in chapters on youtube.com

15
 1. In the 14th Amendment (to the US Constitution, 1868), what was the new
definition of a ‘legal person’ intended for, and what did it end up being used
for?
2. What is the principle objective of a corporation?
3. In what sense are corporations ‘externality machines’?
4. What is the effect of Monsanto’s ‘Prosilac’ on cows and people? Why is it
used when there is already over-production of milk on the world market?
5. In what ways could the structure of the corporation be seen as psychopathic?
6. Using Shell as its example, what point does the film make about the effect of
good, ethical people working in corporations on the practices of those
corporations?

LECTURE 5. Emotional Labour

Film: Cutting Edge: Phone Rage, Channel 4 documentary broadcast 6 March 2008

1. What emotional labour are these call centre workers performing?

2. What tensions do they attempt to resolve?
3. How is this call centre labour linked to globalisation, and what specific issues
arise with the globalisation of call centre labour?
4. What are the key elements to the training of emotional labour in the South
African call centre?
5. In the Leeds First Direct call centre, what are the ‘three steps to building
customer rapport’?
6. Why are games and competitions used in the First Direct call centre? Give
examples.
7. What role does technology have in managing this emotional labour?

LECTURE 6. Unemployment and Workfare

Film: The Full Monty, directed by Peter Cattaneo, UK 1997

1. What are the original promotion films shown at the start of the film promoting?
2. Why are the characters in the film unemployed?
3. Take two characters from the film and discuss what effect being unemployed
has on their psychological wellbeing and on their relations with family.
4. Do the characters visit any buildings associated with administering
unemployment, and what do they do there?
5. Are the characters subject to ‘workfare’ schemes or Jobseekers Allowance?
6. What does the film suggest about the place of gender in industrial work, and
the way that gender roles are changing with the closure of heavy industry?

LECTURE 7. Domestic Labour and the Politics of Housework

Film: Far From Heaven, directed by Todd Haynes, UK 2002

1. Is there a divide between work and home in the film?

2. How does the above relate to gender?
3. List all the housework tasks Kathy Whitaker performs.

16
 4. Does anybody receive pay for work performed in the home, and how is
this related to ‘race’?
5. Before we encounter problems in this family, in what sense is this
family a) typical and b) not typical?
6. How is this family and work structure associated with sexuality?
7. What role does public morality have in policing gender norms?

LECTURE 8. Post-Fordism and Globalisation

Film: The Corporation, directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, UK 2003
The film is also available in full in chapters on youtube.com

1. Can life be owned by a corporation? Is there anything that can’t be patented?

2. What did the Fox News investigative reporters discover about Monsanto’s
Bovine Growth Hormone?
3. Why did Fox News try and stop their own TV programme on this?
4. What did the World Bank demand of Bolivian public services?
5. Why were Bolivians no longer allowed to collect rainwater?
6. How can authoritarian political regimes be useful for multinational
corporations?
7. What did Coca Cola do to enable them to continue trading with Nazi Germany?
8. What part did IBM play in Nazi Germany?
9. What has happened to the relative power of governments and multinational
corporations that has diminished the role of dictatorships in the management
of labour and markets?

LECTURE 9. Low-Wage Work and Precarious Work in the Global Economy

Film: Bread and Roses, directed by Ken Loach, UK 2001

1. Why does the manager (‘Perez’) charge ‘Maya’ a commission of a month’s

pay when she gets the job? What does this say about the causes of low-pay
in this firm?
2. Why does one of the characters say that uniforms ‘make you invisible’?
3. How does a pay-slip from 17 years ago get used by the Justice for Janitors
organiser (‘Sam’) to make his case for the need to organise in a union?
4. Why are some of the cleaners worried about becoming unionised?
5. How does the manager (‘Perez’) try to stop union organising?
6. Even though the corporations who are tenants of the building don’t hire the
cleaners (it’s a private firm ‘Angel’ who do), how can they be used to help get
union recognition?

17
 TUTORIAL GUIDE
Attendance at tutorials is compulsory and a register is taken. Non-attendance
will be noted on the student’s record, which is consulted when students request
references for jobs or postgraduate study. Tutors will not mark non-assessed essays
by students who do not attend tutorials, resulting in a 10 per cent deduction from the
student’s final module mark.

Students should attend each tutorial:

1. Having undertaken the required tutorial preparation detailed below, which
should normally take about 3 hours;
2. With a paper copy of the Required Reading;
3. With notes in answer to the tutorial questions;
4. With this Tutorial Guide, because the questions are used in the tutorial
exercises;
5. With a pen and paper.
It is not acceptable to attend a tutorial unprepared and without these necessary
materials.

WEEK 1
The preparation for this tutorial is to read this course unit outline so that you are
familiar with the course themes, the courses requirements, and the assessments.
Your tutor will expect you to be familiar with these and to organise your own
preparation and essay writing accordingly. Because it is your introductory tutorial, the
tutorial exercise is not based on a reading but on your own understandings of ‘work’.

1. Your tutor will divide you into sub-groups or pairs. Introduce yourselves!
Tutorials are a great opportunity to get to know each other—as well as being
hard work, they should also be supportive and enjoyable experiences.
2. What is ‘work’? In your sub-groups, develop a brief answer in two or three
sentences (you might make reference to issues of payment, leisure,
unemployment, management, or capitalism in your discussions and definition).
3. Take one of the following types or places of work and describe a) the kinds of
mental, physical, and/or emotional labour that takes place in it, b) the kinds of
machinery, c) the location and nature of workplace authority, and d) the
relations it has to other parts of the world. In your chosen workplace, can you
describe any relations between a, b, c, and d?
 A factory producing iPhones in China
 A housewife or househusband in a middle class family in the UK
 A McDonalds restaurant in the UK
 A computer programmer at Google
 A garment factory in Bangladesh

18
WEEK 2
This tutorial focuses on the Required Reading for Lecture 2. Time, Space and
Discipline: The Emergence of Modern Work: Bauman, Z. (2005) ‘The Meaning of
Work: Producing the Work Ethic’, in Work, Consumerism and the New Poor, London:
OUP.

Because this is your first tutorial on a Required Reading, here is advice on how to
prepare, and how you should approach the tutorial discussion. Allow yourself a good
3 hours clear time without any distraction to do the reading, when you’re not tired so
you can concentrate properly. Turn off your phone! First read the Tutorial questions
so that you have a sense of the issues you should be focusing on. Then read the
article through, underlining key points (don’t go overboard with underlining). Then
answer the questions by returning to the relevant parts of the reading and making
brief notes. It is crucial that you include page numbers in your notes, so that you can
return to the article in the tutorial and later on when you write essays and do revision.
Then bring these notes and the article to the tutorial, where you will discuss your
answers with your student colleagues and your tutor.

In the tutorial, working in sub-groups or pairs, find the relevant part of the text in the
Set Reading for each question, one of you read it aloud, compare your prepared
answers, discuss your answers. Collectively, with the Required Reading in hand and
in discussion, you should be able to produce better answers than you did in
preparation. Make sure you make additional notes and record page numbers. The
point is not to rush through to the end, but to use your notes as prompts to further
discussion of the topic, and to use this discussion to develop better answers to the
questions. This activity and your notes will be invaluable for your essay writing and
your exam preparation.

1. What is the ‘work ethic’?

2. When did the work ethic emerge, and what purpose did it serve?
3. In what sense did factory work differ from craft work, and why is the work ethic
relevant to this distinction?
4. How does the work ethic separate productive effort from human need?
5. What was the ‘moral’ nature of the work ethic?
6. In what sense did Benthamn’s ‘house of correction’ or ‘Panopticon’ not need
the work ethic?
7. What role did factories have in producing social subjects (or ‘identities’)?

WEEK 3
This tutorial focuses on the Required Reading for Lecture 3. The Division of Labour,
Taylorism and Fordism: Rose, M. (1978) ‘Rational Work Men and Incompetent
Managers’, in Industrial Behaviour: Theoretical Developments Since Taylor, pages
31-41.

1. For F. W. Taylor, what was ‘inefficiency’?

2. Which two groups of people did he see as causing inefficiency at work, and in
what ways?
3. What is the essence of Taylor’s solution to inefficiency? How is this ‘scientific’?
4. What are the three broad areas that Taylor’s solution focuses on?

19
 5. Step by step, explain what a ‘work-study’ is. Does the text offer an example?
6. For Taylor, how should workers be allocated to tasks?
7. What role does training play in Taylor’s system?
8. What is a ‘fair day’s pay’ and how is it related to output?
9. What criticisms of Taylor’s approach does the author identify?
10. In the tutorial, if you are satisfied that you have developed a very good and
clear set of answers, then discuss examples of Taylorist work practices today
(work-places you or your friends may have worked in, or that you have read
about, or seen in a film or on TV).

WEEK 4
This tutorial focuses on the Required Reading for Lecture 4 Marx – Work and
Capitalism: Marx, K, and Engels, F. (2002) Part 1: ‘Bourgeois and Proletarians’ in
The Communist Manifesto, London: Penguin.

In contrast to last week’s ‘secondary’ text on Taylor, this is a ‘primary’ text, by Marx
and Engels themselves. Published in 1848, it is one of the most influential political
texts of the 19th and 20th century. It is not an easy text and you may find the
language a little dated at first, but stick with it—it was written to explain the nature of
capitalism in a way that could be understood by self-educated workers. It is also a
very lively text, with poetic allusion and some of the greatest descriptions of modern
capitalism—look out, for example, for their famous characterisation of capitalist
societies where ‘all that is solid melts into air’. Remember, whether you consider
yourself to be pro- or anti- Marx, the point is first to understand the argument, as with
all the texts you read on the course.

1. What are the two ‘classes’ of capitalism, and what is the relation between
them? (You can also draw from the lecture in answering this question)
2. What is ‘cash payment’ and what does it replace?
3. How creative is capitalism? How does its creativity compare to pre-capitalist
societies?
4. Why and in what sense is capitalism ‘global’?
5. What effect does this globalisation have on ‘production’, ‘wants’, ‘literature’,
and ‘cities’?
6. What do Marx and Engels mean by the expression ‘all that is solid melts into
air’?
7. In what sense is the proletarian worker an ‘appendage to the machine’?
8. Where does the proletariat come from, and how does it exist?
9. How does the proletariat organise itself politically?

WEEK 5
This tutorial focuses on the Required Reading for Lecture 5. Emotional Labour:
Hochschild, A. (1983) ‘Exploring the Managed Heart’ in The Managed Heart:
Commercialisation of Human Feeling London: University of California.

1. As Hochschild’s questionnaire asks on page 13, concretely describe a real

situation in which you experienced a strong emotion, and the ways you either
changed the situation to fit your feelings, or changed your feelings to fit the

20
 situation. Take one example from your group and write down all the aspects
of the situation.
2. Comparing the labour of a factory worker and an airline attendant what are
the a) similarities and b) differences?
3. Find Hochschild’s definition of ‘emotional labour’, read it aloud to each other
and then put it in your own words.
4. How does she distinguish between ‘emotional work’ and ‘emotional labour’?
Which is this book principally concerned with?
5. Why is the attendant’s ‘smile’ so important to the airline, and what does
Hochschild mean when she writes that it is ‘groomed to reflect the company’s
disposition’? What is the link between emotion and competition?
6. How does the 1980 Lucas Guide illustrate the output, product, or effect of
emotional labour?
7. In what sense are feelings ‘not stored “inside” us’?
8. What happens when our feelings are sold as labour?
9. Do you think that emotional labour is performed differently by different sexes
and different classes? Discuss this in the tutorial.

WEEK 6
This tutorial focuses on the Required Reading for Lecture 6 Unemployment and
Workfare: Peck, J. and Theodore, N. (2000) ‘”Work-First”: Workfare and the
Regulation of Contingent Labour Markets’, Cambridge Journal of Economics 24:
119-138.

This is a key article in the analysis of workfare regimes which were emerging when it
was published in 2000 and are now central to unemployment policy. It is a difficult
read but very useful. The questions in particular focus on pages 120-131.

1. What is the ‘work-first’ model of welfare?

2. How have prevailing explanations of the causes of poverty and unemployment
changed with the rise of neoliberal orthodoxy (that is, with the end of the
welfare state model of unemployment)?
3. ‘“Work-first” measures produce a secure labour supply for insecure work’.
Explain what this means.
4. What is ‘workfare’ and how do the authors differentiate it from ‘welfare’?
5. The authors describe nine different ‘labour market effects’ of workfare (on
pages 127-131). Briefly describe each of these.

WEEK 7
In this tutorial, tutors will establish the groups for the student presentations in
weeks 9 and 10. In advance, students should read the guidance for student
presentations on p.24
This tutorial focuses on the Required Reading for Lecture 7. Domestic Labour and
the Politics of Housework: Ehrenreich, B. (2002) ‘Maid to Order’, in Ehrenreich, B.
and Hochschild, A. (eds) Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers in the
New Economy, London: Granta.

21
 1. How do cleaners from Merry Maids clean the floor, and what does this say
about this kind of work?
2. Why did 1970s women demand ‘wages for housework’, and what does this
expression mean?
3. What do the statistics say about the proportions of time men and women
spend on housework?
4. In what sense is paid housework ‘racialised’? Give examples.
5. In what ways has paid housework become an industry?
6. In what ways has paid housework become ‘Taylorised’?
7. Why is staff turnover in this industry high?
8. In the tutorial, if you have finished the questions and you are confident that
you have developed strong answers and discussed them fully, then discuss:
how can the problems the reading identified with housework be improved?

WEEK 8
This tutorial focuses on the Required Reading for Lecture 8. Post-Fordism and
Globalisation: Kumar, K. (1995) ‘Fordism and Post-Fordism’, in From Post-Industrial
to Post-Modern Society, Oxford: Blackwell.

1. The ‘Third Italy’ is often described as the first example of ‘post-Fordism’.

Choose 6 of the post-Fordist characteristics of the ‘Third Italy’ and briefly
describe them.
2. What is ‘flexible specialisation’?
3. How can large firms use flexible specialisation? Discuss the two examples.
4. Why do Piore and Sabel say that flexible specialisation ‘restores human
control over the production process’? What arguments does the article
present against this idea?
5. In the transition from Fordism to post-Fordism, what changes have there been
in a) economy, b) politics and industrial relations, c) culture and ideology?
6. What problems does Kumar identify with thinking in exclusive terms: mass
production versus flexible specialisation, Fordism versus post-Fordism?

WEEK 9
In this week and next, students will give ten minute group presentations based on
one of the Additional Readings from any week. Student groups must collectively
pick a topic that none of them covered in their non-assessed essay. Your
specific slot and group partners (groups will comprise of 2-4 students) will have been
established during Tutorial 7. Your tutorial colleagues as well as tutor will provide
verbal feedback on your presentation in the tutorial. Non-completion of this task
will result in a 5 point deduction from your final course mark. Detailed advice
about how to organize the presentation is on page 24 below.

WEEK 10
Student presentations: see details in Week 9

22
 Assignments and Assessments
1. Students must complete one non-assessed essay of 1500 words (+/-10%)
from the questions below, to be submitted online through Blackboard. Students are
advised to choose their essay topics and obtain the necessary reading materials as
early in the semester as possible. All essays must include a full bibliography (see
section above on referencing). Plagiarism in essays is taken very seriously
indeed; it will be punished with a fail mark. If you are at all unsure as to what
constitutes plagiarism you should see section 5 below and contact your tutor or
lecturer.
Submission date for essay: 2pm Monday 11th March (week 7).

2. Students must do a group presentation in their tutorial in week 9 or 10. Full

details on the next page. Presentation groups will be arranged in Week 7. Students
must not present on a topic that they wrote their non-assessed essay on.

1. Non-Assessed Essay Details

Note: You must include an accurate word count on the front page of your
essay. Failure to do so will lead to an automatic 2 mark deduction. Your word
count should include all text in the essay (including any footnotes, tables and so on)
but does not include the bibliography.

Note: Marks for compulsory non-assessed essays or plans should not be considered
a ‘predicted grade’ for the course overall. The feedback and any grade provided are
to allow you to judge your understanding of the course material.

1. Consider the role of THREE of the following in the emergence of modern

industrial work: a) time; b) space; c) discipline; d) the work ethic.
2. What are the main features of ‘Taylorism’, and what criticisms have been
made of it? Do firms use Taylorism today?
3. According to Marx, how is ‘labour’ organised in the ‘capitalist mode of
production’, and in what sense is it ‘exploited’?
4. Focusing on one or more industry, discuss Hochschild’s account of
‘emotional labour’.
5. What is ‘unemployment’, and what are the main features of unemployment
policy in the UK today?
6. What is ‘housework’, and what changes are occurring in this area of work
today?
7. What changes in work are associated with the move from ‘Fordism’ to
‘post-Fordism’?
8. What are the features of contemporary low-wage AND/OR precarious
work? Discuss using examples.
9. Using theories covered in the course, analyse the kind of work evident in
one of the films shown during the course.
10. Using theories covered in the course, analyse a recent news story about a
contemporary example of work.

23
2. Group Presentations
Tutorial weeks 9 and 10 will be devoted to group presentations. Students will be
allocated to groups of 3 or 4 people in week 7 tutorials, where the presentation topic
for each group will be decided in consultation with your tutor. Groups must choose a
topic that none of them focused on in the non-assessed essay. Non-completion of
this assessment will result in a 5 point deduction from each student’s final
course mark.

Preparation for the presentation. In the tutorial in week 7 each group should
nominate one student to collect all their group’s email addresses and circulate them
to the group. Each group should meet separately to decide which one of the
Additional Readings (as found in the Course Unit Outline on Blackboard) they will
focus on – this will usually entail discussing the merits of different readings, to
ensure that a suitable reading is chosen. It is expected that students will also have
email contact and further face to face meetings after they have read the reading in
order to decide who will prepare which part of the presentation, and to rehearse the
finished presentation. At the presentation, each student should present one or more
aspects of the reading, so that everybody in the group speaks. The assessment is
designed to test and encourage group work in this way, and so students are
responsible for organising their own group meetings and presentation structure.

In each group, all students should read the group’s chosen Additional Reading from
the relevant topic. The following questions will be useful in guiding the reading,
making notes, and for structuring the presentation and dividing it between individual
members of each group:

1. What are the main points or arguments of the reading, summed up neatly in
your words?
2. What are the key stages of the argument, or key topics covered?
3. Is the author arguing against another writer or a particular orthodoxy? (They
may not be, but it’s good to address this if they are.)
4. Choose one or two of the key stages/aspects of the reading to explain in more
detail.
5. How does the reading fit into or develop the broader topic of that week’s
lecture? Answering this question may involve further reading, which each
group can allocate.
6. Are there any recent news stories that help illustrate the reading or a
particular aspect of it? (There may not be, but this is an opportunity to include
examples from social life if you wish to.)

The presentation. Each group presentation should last 10 minutes, no more no

less. It can follow the structure above (points 1 to 5) but it doesn’t have to. Each
group should rehearse the presentation so that it runs smoothly. Paper handouts can
be distributed if groups wish to, but there will not be time to use PPT or other
digital displays; this is an exercise in group work and concise verbal presentation.

As well as an exercise in its own right, the group presentation also provides students
with the opportunity to start preparation for a second essay topic for the exam.

24
Should students have any questions about the presentation, please email the
convenor, Nick Thoburn.

Mitigating Circumstances
Extensions may be granted to students where there are exceptional mitigating
circumstances (e.g. strong medical reasons). In such cases a Mitigating
Circumstances Form must be completed online. Full guidance on mitigating
circumstances is available here:
https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student-intranet/undergraduate/help-
and-support/mitigating-circumstances/

Examination Details
This course includes a 2 hour examination in which you will be required to answer
any two questions from a selection of 10.

Examination past papers are available online via My Manchester. Go to the ‘Exam
Information’ portlet and click ‘Past Papers’ where you will be able to search for
papers by the course code.

Examination timetables are released later in the semester and you will be notified
with instructions by email from the Undergraduate Administrator.

If you miss an examination you will not be allowed to resit it except in the case of
serious mitigating circumstances. If you miss an examination through illness or
another serious reason you should contact the SoSS Undergraduate Office as soon
as possible. You will need to submit a Mitigating Circumstances Form (see link
above) along with relevant evidence.

You may cover the same broad topics in the exam as in the non-assessed essays,
though keep in mind that the non-assessed essays are a training to assist in
improving your understanding and your essay writing technique. Your exam essays
should, hence, have benefitted from the written feedback on your non-assessed
essays and from further research on the relevant topics.

25
 3. FEEDBACK
All sociology courses include both formative feedback – which lets you know how
you’re getting on and what you could do to improve – and summative feedback –
which gives you a mark for your assessed work. This course uses the following
mechanisms for feedback:

KNOW HOW
Informal verbal feedback will be Save Your Feedback
given during tutorials for individual Feedback via
and group work. (You’ll need to TurnItIn/GradeMark on the
contribute regularly to group Blackboard system is only
discussions to make the best use of accessible while you are
this.) studying this particular
 Written formative feedback will be module. Download a pdf
given on your non-assessed version of your feedback
assignment and made available via to refer to later by using
Turnitin the print icon in the bottom
 Exam results are published only as a left corner of the feedback
grade. If you wish to discuss your screen.
exam performance with your lecturer
please book an office hour slot by
email and let your lecturer know in advance that this is what you want to do.

Your Feedback to Us
We’re continually working to improve our teaching practices – for that we need your
feedback. Towards the end of the semester you’ll be asked to fill out a Unit Survey
for each of your modules – please do! The survey is designed to be very short and
easy to fill out but the results are really valuable for our monitoring of teaching quality.
We want to hear from you whether your opinion on the course was good, bad or
indifferent.

All of your Unit Surveys are available via Blackboard – simply go to ‘Unit Evaluation’
on the left hand menu of the Blackboard website to begin. Alternatively, you can
download a smartphone app called EvaluationKit to fill out Unit Surveys for all of
your course units.

26
 4. YOUR COMMITMENT
Study Schedule
Each 20 credit module requires that you study for a minimum of 12 hours per week.
This is comprised of teaching and independent study in these proportions:
 3 hours lectures and tutorials (2.5 in the first year);
 At least 3 hours reading the Key Reading;
 At least 3 hours reading an additional text from the reading list;
 At least 3 hours written work for assessed and non-assessed assignments.
This leaves 80 hours study time remaining to be used in independent study over the
duration of the course. For 10 credit courses these distributions will be proportionally
reduced but should be slightly higher than half the commitment for a 20 credit course.

Tutorial Preparation
Tutorials are a central part of the course module structure. They provide you with an
opportunity to discuss, apply and enhance your knowledge, and to build confidence
in your skills of analysis, comprehension and presentation. What you will gain from
tutorials is dependent upon your preparation and willingness to participate. It is thus
essential that you familiarise yourself with the Tutorial Guide for each course,
undertake the required tutorial preparation, and bring all relevant materials
(hardcopies of the Key Reading, notes on the Key Reading, preparation exercises
etc.) to every tutorial. It is not acceptable to attend a tutorial without being fully
prepared.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your
programme. It is also expected that you arrive on time. Absence and late arrival are
recorded on your University record. Inappropriate amounts of absence or late arrival
at class, without extenuating circumstances, will be treated seriously and may result
in exclusion from the course. In addition, you should be aware that prospective
employers almost always ask for information about attendance and punctuality, as
well as matters such as your record on completing work to deadlines.

Absences
If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or other good reason you
should notify the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator in advance
if possible . This is especially important if you are due to make a presentation to the
class. Absences of more than a few days should be backed up by medical or other
evidence.

All absences will be reported to the relevant Tutor, who will then monitor your
performance. A record of indifferent attendance will be held against you if your
examination results are marginal; you should not expect to be shown sympathy by
the Board of Examiners in such circumstances.

If you have missed a class, you should be sure to catch up on what you have missed
by further independent reading of materials on the reading list and/or consulting any
available lecture notes or PowerPoint slides if these are provided or asking other
students whether they might allow you to consult theirs.

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Email and Blackboard
Your commitment is also to check your University email and Blackboard at least
every other day in order to make sure that you are informed of any communications
from tutors or administrative staff. These might, for example, concern important
meetings with staff, changes of room; notification of course options registration, or
course-relevant information from your lecturer. Being unaware of arrangements
because you have not checked your email or Blackboard is not an acceptable
excuse.

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 5. REFERENCING & PLAGIARISM
The lack of a proper bibliography and appropriate reference in assessed essays will
potentially greatly affect the mark for the work and may be considered plagiarism,
which is a serious offence.

All essays must employ the scholarly apparatus of references and a bibliography.
There are different acceptable referencing styles. In sociology we recommend use
of the Harvard system of referencing, which is described in detail here:
http://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing-harvard

In short, Harvard referencing means that you refer to the author and date of
publication in brackets within the text, wherever you are referring to the ideas of
another writer. Where you quote an author you must always include quotation marks
and a page number in the reference.

KNOW HOW
All essays must include a References List which Cite it Right
lists your sources in alphabetical order by You can learn how to
author's surname. This should include all (and reference properly in 15
only) the sources you have directly referenced in minutes – head to the
the text. Whatever your source is, you need to online tutorial, Citing it
provide a full set of publication details as right, at:
described in the guide linked above. All http://libassets.manchest
academic texts you read will include er.ac.uk/mle/introducing-
bibliographies and these should give you plenty referencing/
of examples of what information to include.

Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism The University defines plagiarism as

You can learn how to avoid ‘presenting the ideas, work or words of other
plagiarism in 20 minutes – people without proper, clear and unambiguous
head to the online tutorial, acknowledgement.’ It is an example of
Original Thinking Allowed, academic malpractice and can lead to very
KNOW HOW

at: serious penalties up to exclusion from the

http://libassets.manchester.ac University. You should read the University’s
.uk/mle/avoiding-plagiarism guidelines here:

http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.asp
x?DocID=2870

There is additional useful guidance on plagiarism and referencing in the Crucial

Guide:

http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-
life/support/referencing-and-plagiarism/

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 6. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Sociology students’ work is assessed into different class categories by using the
following criteria:

High First Class (75+) Such answers fully answer the question in a coherent
manner and can be expected to show excellence with respect to the following criteria:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of
expression
 Knowledge of the relevant literature.

First Class (70-74) Such answers are highly competent and provide a near-full and
well-structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate some of the
following qualities:
 Insight and depth of understanding of the material
 The exercise of critical judgement along with clarity of analysis and of
expression
 Good knowledge of the relevant literature.

Upper-second Class (60-69) Such answers are overall competent and provide a
generally well-structured answer to the question and can be expected to indicate
most of the following qualities:
 A reasonable-to-good understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis, of argument and of expression
 At least selective knowledge of the relevant literature.

Lower-second Class (50-59) Such answers indicate some understanding of the

issues and provide an adequate answer to the question. They can be expected to
show most of the following features:
 A basic understanding of the material
 Clarity of analysis and argument, albeit limited in extent
 Some awareness of the relevant literature.
Note: What distinguishes a high Lower-second Class from a low Upper-second
Class is greater extent of understanding of material and clarity of analysis and
argument, as well as at least some selective knowledge of the relevant literature, not
mere awareness of its existence.

Third Class (40-49) Such answers indicate only a rudimentary understanding of the
issues and offer only partial answers to the question. They can be expected to show
the following features:
 Sparse coverage of the material with several key topics missing
 Unsupported assertions and little clear analysis or argument
 Important errors and inaccuracies.

First and Second Years: Compensatable Fail (30-39)

Such answers fail to deal with the question in a way that suggest more than a
fragmented and shallow acquaintance with the subject. They are often error-prone
and lack coherence. NB – it is not possible to get a compensated pass for

30
compulsory course on your degree programme. There is also a limit to the number of
compensated fails allowed in a single year. Please see your Programme Handbook
for details.

First and Second Years: Uncompensatable Fail (0-29)

Such answers fail to demonstrate the ability to engage with the question.

31