letter

Dear Student,
Congratulations on being accepted to the Sociology programme. The teaching team is delighted to
welcome you to our degree programme and hope that you enjoy your undergraduate studies here
at St Mary’s. Although you are probably excited about starting your undergraduate studies, I’m
sure you are naturally a little apprehensive as well. I want to reassure you that this initial feeling is
natural and will soon give way to a sense of confidence, understanding and control. The
programme is committed to promoting a supportive teaching and learning environment in which
you are able to flourish. I am writing this welcome letter to give you some information you may find
useful before you join us in September to study sociology.
In deciding to study sociology, you are embarking on an exciting intellectual journey about the rise
of modern society. This journey shows the connections between contemporary institutions and
those of the past that continue to impact our lives. The journey tells us that our human
relationships are shaped by forces that we need the systematic study of sociology to help us to
understand and change. We hope that at the end of your study you will experience what our
graduates tell us: that sociology ‘opened the world’ and allowed them to successfully apply the
knowledge and understanding gained in their study to their chosen career.
In your first year you will need to achieve a total of 120 credits across your two subjects. All our Sociology students
take up to three modules in their first year, worth 60 credits in total. They are:
Semester 1 Semester 2
Core Modules
20SCY4000 Sociology Themes and Issues (core)
20SCY204002 Studying Sociology and the
Everyday
20SCY4001 Classical Sociological Theory
(core)
20SCY4003 Criminology: A sociological
Introduction
(There are other cross validated modules available from other subject areas
20SCY4004 Media and Visual Sociology
20SCY4005 Researching sociology in the
News

Brief details of these modules are given overleaf.
Each of these modules will have set texts attached to them and you might like to read, and possibly buy these,
particularly if you have not studied sociology before. The following are for the core modules:
For Sociology Themes and Issues we recommend Anthony Giddens, (2009) Sociology 6 th
Edition, published by Polity Press.
For Classical Sociological Theory we recommend Hughes J, Sharrock W, & Martin P (2003)
Understanding Classical Sociological Theory, 2 nd Edition, Sage
We have limited our suggestion of books for the core modules. The module convenors for the
options will give you advice on recommend books at the start of the module.
These are my 5 useful points for preparing for study on our degree:
1. Books: form a key tool of your study. All modules will have a core book that you must buy and
read.
2) Familiarisation with sociology:
Sociology is concerned with the social world, so any subject is of interest to sociology, nothing is
bared. If you would like to acquaint yourself with the concerns of sociology you could read
Giddens Sociology (2009) chapter 1: What is Sociology? You may have noticed that issues of
inequality are prominent in the media because questions of inequality profoundly affect the life
chances of groups in society. A book that looks at this subject is:
Platt, L (2011) Understanding Inequalities, published Polity.
Failing these suggestions, get into the habit of listening to the news and reading broadsheet news
papers. For example you can access The Guardian Society, Education and Culture online at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/ .
3) What the first year will entail:
In the first year you will be to be in sociology classes on Wednesdays and Fridays. You will be
studying three core modules and one option. In these modules you will be introduced to the ways
in which sociology makes sense of the institutional dimensions of social life; research methods,
sociological theory, crime and deviance and visual representations of sociological issues. These
classes are taught by lectures, seminars, workshops and library based activities. Assessment
generally includes coursework, disclosed and opens exams.
4) Class Participation: sociology is a discipline that requires reading and debate. It is important to
attend your classes with the willingness and preparedness to discuss your ideas. This will enable
you to become a member of an engaged and learning community. You will get the most from your
studies if you are involved.
5) The Basics: a sociology dictionary can prove to be very useful in explaining concepts and
ideas.
I hope you have an enjoyable summer and look forward to meeting you during induction in
September.

Best Wishes
Lemah Bonnick
0208-240-4172
bonnickl@smuc.ac.uk
Kathy Grant (Office Administrator)
0208-2404346
Kathy.grant@smuc.ac.uk
20SCY4000 Sociology Themes and Issues This module will introduce students to the key unit ideas of
sociology through the exploration of processes and institutions with which they could be expected to have
some familiarity. A limited number of themes will be studied in enough depth to encourage students to
become accustomed to the prevalence of competing sociological perspectives in the study of any given
area. Themes covered will come from the areas of social stratification, the family, the education system,
work and employment, crime and deviance, ageing and the life course or the mass media and popular
culture. Normally three themes will be studied in any one semester.
20SCY4001 Classical Sociological Theory: The module aims to explore the relationship between the rise of
Sociology as a distinct discipline in the 20 th Century and the growth of modern industrial society. As well as
focusing upon the historical and intellectual context within which Sociology emerged, the module will
assess how sociological thought understood the major institutional, cultural and social identities that are
now considered the hallmarks of modernity itself. Emphasis will be given to the sociological traditions
handed down to us by Durkheim, Marx and Weber and the continuity of their ideas in contemporary
sociological debates about social life.
20SCY4000 Studying Sociology and the Everyday
This module will introduce students to studying sociology at undergraduate level. This will include input on
study skills for undergraduates, as well as thinking about ‘everyday’ issues or activities that can be
understood and analysed through the application of the sociological imagination. Topics will include
shopping, fashion and food. Part of the module will include a field trip to conduct a sociological observation
of these practices. The assessment will be practical, based on an evaluation of aspects of studying
sociology, as well as a report of the observations from the field trip.
20SCY4003 Criminology: A Sociological Introduction
When I tell people I’m a criminologist they often ask me about serial killers or forensics says module coordinator,
Nic Groombridge. Some criminologists, some detectives and more media focus on those. The
sociology of crime is about more frequent crimes and the extent to which groups of people might commit
crime, be accused of committing or be victims of. Whilst many of the theories may be classic the crime
remain contemporary. Assessment is by an essay and on-going online activities.
20SCY4003 Media and Visual Sociology: The module will look at a number of areas where visual media can
help illuminate social life such as the visual representation of the social and cultural life of the city; the
representations of poverty and inequality both in the UK and beyond; the representation of warfare,
terrorism, conflict and genocide, the visual representation of migration, refugees, and globalisation; the
visual representation of the relationship of society, the environment and the ecology; the visual
representation of contemporary social movements such as the anti-capitalist and global justice
movement(s).
20SCY4005 Researching Sociology in the News
Sociology is sometimes explicitly referenced in the media but is often implicit in the ‘problems’ discussed.
Each week a case study from recent media reports will be examined and discussed in relation to classical

and contemporary sociological theory. Wider social policy, administration and social science will be
included. An overview of approaches to the sociological analysis of documents will be provided. There will
be on going short assignments related to discussions in seminars, and one final assessment developing
these ideas further