SD1S026 - Past, Present, and Future Sociologies 01 Sep 2024 - 31 Aug 2030 | Version 0

Associated Module Information

Module Code: SD1S026
Module Title: Past, Present, and Future Sociologies
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Leadership and Public Services
Faculty Sub Group: Leadership and Public Services
Module Leader: Wendy Booth
Module Team: David Phillips
First Intended Intake: SEP 2024 Final Year of Intake:
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 4
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100505 - sociology
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 0
Valid From 01 Sep 2024
Valid To 31 Aug 2030

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to explore a range of sociological issues in the context of the past, present and future, and to promote the sociological imagination and the consideration of relevant theories.   

The objectives of this module are to: 

  • Explore changes in lifestyles from the industrial revolution through to a globalised world and make reference to the local e.g. the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015. 

  • Consider crime and deviance, and changes over time and possible solutions 

  • Consider the life course and changes in perspectives over time and space 

  • Compare attitudes and developments in education across time (historically) and space (globally) 

  • Examine the media, from television to artificial intelligence and issues such as cancel culture 

  • Analyse recent news through a sociological lens   

  • Apply sociological theory to societal issues, with an emphasis on C Wright Mills, Bourdieu and Foucault? 

Content Summary

This module will introduce students to the discipline of sociology at degree level study and equip them to engage with the contemporary world through developing what C. Wright Mills termed the ‘sociology imagination’. Key topics will focus on establishing a critical link between societal issues and introducing sociological theorists. Topics will include: changes in lifestyles from the industrial revolution through to a globalised world; crime and deviance and changes over time and possible solutions; the life course and attitudes towards issues such as childhood and aging over time and space; developments and changing attitudes towards education, and the media, from television to artificial intelligence. Examples will be introduced (e.g. politics and democracy; the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Wales); culture and consumption, and cancel culture) through agile teaching methods that allow for the inclusion of current issues in the news, as well as students’ own interests.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Seminars 40
Independent Study 88
Directed Study 72
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 To draw on the sociological imagination to explore a range of sociological issues in the context of the past, present and future.
LO2 To begin to apply sociological theory to a variety of societal issues.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Synchronous Onsite Oral Assessment Presentation (Synchronous Onsite) 1 A group presentation delivered to the rest of the class on a sociological concept of their choice 10 N/A 50 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Annotated Bibliography 1 An annotated bibliography 0 1500 50 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Presentation (Synchronous Onsite) 1
Annotated Bibliography 1

Reading List

Giddens, A., and Sutton, P. W. (2021). Essential concepts in sociology. John Wiley and Sons. 

Mills, C. W. (2000). The sociological imagination. Oxford University Press. 

Panopticon Revisited: Unraveling the Surveillance Phenomena in \\\"The Matrix\\\" and its Implications for Contemporary Society - A Foucauldian Analysis 

McLean, R., Deuchar, R., Harding, S., and Densley, J. (2019). Putting the ‘street’in gang: place and space in the Organization of Scotland’s drug-selling gangs. The British Journal of Criminology, 59(2), 396-415. 

 Rahayu, D. S., Khairi, A. M., Islami, C. C., Nafi, A., and Yuliastini, N. K. S. (2023). Unleashing the guardians: the dynamic triad of AI, social media and school counsellors safeguarding teenage lives from the abyss. Journal of Public Health, fdad139. 

Web links: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12058575 

https://2050.earth/