Run by School of History, Law and Social Sciences

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1

Organiser: Dr Teresa Crew

Social Class exists in every corner of society. From the television shows one watches, to the clothes a person wears and other aspects of their 'presentation'. Social class can impact on the school we attend, where we work and holiday, and how we experience our home lives. Despite this, social class remains a contested issue. Some academics see it as less relevant in today's, post modern, post covid society, whilst others assert it is more significant than it has ever been.

This module first draws upon the work of founding fathers including Marx, Weber and Durkheim. It goes onto discuss contemporary Cultural Class theorists such as Savage, Skeggs and Reay, the political sociology of three prominent thinkers who describe a phase of ‘late modernity’ i.e Bauman, Beck and Giddens (Dawson, 2010) and the ever influential work of Bourdieu.

Weekly workshops may include, but are not limited to a theoretical examination of social class and the historical, social and individual significance of class in various fields such as education, employment, health, housing and the media.

excellent

Essay

• Shows comprehensive knowledge of the field;
• Can critically review evidence;
• Communicates effectively
• Offers discussion of gaps in the literature.

good

Essay

• Demonstrates good knowledge of the field
• Can provide a good analysis of literature in the field
• Communicates effectively but room for improvement

threshold

Essay

• Demonstrates a basic awareness of the literature
• Communication is effective but needs improvement
• Meets set tasks and obligations.

1. Demonstrate critical understanding of empirical research and evidence of inequalities related to class

2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the foundations and contemporary understandings of social class

3. Show critical understanding of how class intersects with various social issues and impacts life chances for different groups in society

4. Have a critical understanding of the social policies that have been developed to tackle class inequalities

Type	Name	Description	Weight
	ESSAY		50.00
	ESSAY		50.00

		Hours
Workshop	Weekly two hour workshop	22
Private study		178

• Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
• Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
• Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others

• problem solving to develop solutions to understand the past
• understanding the complexity of change over time; in specific contexts and chronologies
• being sensitive to the differences, or the "otherness" of the past, and the difficulty to using it as a guide to present or future action
• being sensitive to the role of perceptions of the past in contemporary cultures
• marshalling and critically appraising other people's arguments, including listening and questioning
• collaborating effectively in a team via experience of working in a group
• critical evaluation of one's own and others' opinions
• the ability to formulate and investigate sociologically informed questions
• competence in using major theoretical perspectives and concepts in sociology, and their application to social life
• the capacity to analyse, assess and communicate empirical sociological information
• the ability to undertake and present scholarly work
• the ability to recognise the relevance of sociological knowledge to social, public and civic policy.
• use some of the established theories and concepts of social policy and other social sciences to analyse how social needs, social problems and policies themselves are constructed and understood in both national and international contexts