Course finder

Semester 1

Sociology 1A: The Sociological Imagination: Individuals and Society (SCIL08004)

Course Website

http://www.sociology.ed.ac.uk/ug/soc1/index.html

Subject

Sociology

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

1

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

For academic year 2024/25 this course will be replaced by Invitation to Sociology (SCIL08017).

Course Summary

This course introduces some of the key ideas of the discipline by examining the relationship between 'individuals' and 'societies'. Among the topics will be the social nature of the self, the influence of groups, gender identities, nationalism and the city.

Course Description

Academic description: This course introduces you to the key ideas of sociology by examining the relationship between individuals and societies. The course explores how social processes shape individual lives, and how changes that occur around us influence our sense of self. It draws on C. Wright Mills idea of the sociological imagination. Mills makes three claims: that individuals live within society, that they live a biography or a personal history, and that this takes place within a distinct historical sequence. It is the sociological imagination that provides a means of mapping and understanding the relationships among these three elements, and allows us as individuals to relate our personal lives to the often impersonal social world around us. That is the promise of sociology. Content: The course has four units, each covering a different area in sociology. Recent topics include: the social nature of the self, violence in social life, the sociological significance of race, transnationalism and global society, digital technologies and the networked society. Student learning experience: The course is taught through lectures and tutorials. Tutorials are your chance to discuss the ideas you learn in the course with other students, test them out and have feedback on them from your tutor. We encourage you to participate fully in the tutorials so you get as much out of the course as possible. We give you tasks to complete outside of class which you discuss with other students in the tutorials.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

view the timetable and further details for this course