SOC00118 - Introduction to Sociology (2020)

Provides an overview of concepts and traditions in sociology, as well as using critical thinking to explore social issues. It moves from the early work of classical sociologists to contemporary theorists. The unit focuses on enduring topics of social concern in Australia, for example work, family, health, sport and information technology.

Module 1 Exploring sociological ideas
Topic 1: Sociological imagination: Introduction to sociological perspectives
Topic 2: Classical debates within sociology: Order, change and meaning
Topic 3: Contemporary debates: Chaos, risk and fragmentation

Module 2 Understanding society and stratification
Topic 1: Sport – socialisation and gender
Topic 2: Work – social class in Australian society
Topic 3: Indigeneity and immigration – racism and ethnicity
Topic 4: Youth – age and deviance

Module 3 Investigating social organisation
Topic 1: Information technology – digital divide and global inequality
Topic 2: Health and the body – the medical profession and the well-being movement
Topic 3: Families and households
Topic 4: Doing sociological research

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

Prescribed texts