BA (Hons) Sociology

Sociology

Sociology examines the social aspects and dimensions of most everything human beings do in the realm of politics, economics, culture, technology, relationships, and identity.

Degree Overview

Studying sociology provides students critical and reflexive perspectives with which to understand the world. It pushes students to develop the analytical, research, and compositional skills necessary to investigate, understand, analyze, explain, and improve the world around them. Courses cover a broad range of topics including: the study of individuals as social actors; the analysis of social processes such as social interaction and deviance and conformity; the study of institutions such as law, family, media, popular culture, medicine, education, and religion; and the investigation of the social organization of entire societies in the global context. The department offers a variety of courses of interest to non-majors as well as to majors.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Understand and identify the social origins and context of diverse individual and group experiences.
2. Apply key concepts of sociological inquiry in social analysis. For some given social phenomenon, students will be able to:
3. Construct a reasoned argument based on a theoretical perspective.
4. Articulate the broader theoretical perspective, the social origins, and limitations of that perspective, as well as alternative perspectives.
5. Utilize this theoretical perspective to illuminate the social arrangements and lived experiences of people.
6. Collect and analyze information, including empirical data, and develop appropriate interpretations directly from the analysis. Students will be able to:
7. Conduct a literature review of relevant information.
8. Construct an appropriate research design taking into account the research question, previous research, methodological concerns, and material constraints.
9. Articulate clearly their research methods, their findings, and the conclusions drawn from those findings
10. Ability to identify and discuss fundamental social processes contributing to and the consequences of social inequality in the United States.
11. Ability to identify and discuss fundamental social processes contributing to and the consequences of social inequality worldwide.