Skip to main content

Unit information: Key Social Thinkers in 2021/22

Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.

Unit name Key Social Thinkers
Unit code SOCI10006
Credit points 20
Level of study C/4
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Dr. Morgan
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

School/department School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit discusses the contribution and continuing relevance of major social thinkers of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries, such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, W.E.B. Du Bois and Simone de Beauvoir.

Aims:

  • To introduce the central ideas of some key founding thinkers in sociological theory.
  • To consider and debate what it means to be a sociological ‘classic’.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to

  • Demonstrate good understanding of a range of classic sociological authors (1)
  • Utilise concepts of modernity, social structure, culture & ideology, and sociological ‘self-images’ in expositing the work of key social thinkers (2)
  • Develop their own considered views about the merits of the featured classics, and on the nature and significance of the sociological traditions more generally (3)

Teaching Information

The unit will be taught through blended learning methods, including a mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching activities

Assessment Information

1500 word essay (25%) 2000 word essay (75%)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SOCI10006).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

Feedback