Newcastle University

Sociology

This subject is offered by the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology.

Subject summary

In a rapidly changing world, an understanding of contemporary societies and pressing social issues has never been more important or worthwhile. The study of sociology is an opportunity to look at the social processes that shape people’s lives, not only in Britain but across the globe. The scope of the field is wide and challenging.

For instance, studying sociology might include looking at issues such as the relationship between individual and society, how societies are socially divided, as well as what holds them together. In studying sociology, students learn to bring a critical approach to evidence and argument – what can be termed using a ‘sociological imagination’. Learning to use this imagination means you will have to learn to look beyond the taken-for-granted or common-sense accounts of daily practices and society, and to develop the skills to evaluate research.

Above all, studying sociology involves learning to analyse, explain and interpret. But you also learn more general skills such as verbal and written communication skills, which will be invaluable after you graduate.

Sociology at Newcastle is taught within the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology. Relations between staff and students are relaxed and informal. We have over a dozen full-time lecturing staff, encompassing expertise in sociology, anthropology, economics and political science. Members of staff are all research-active and this in turn invigorates our teaching.

Modules in sociology draw on current research and address many pressing social concerns, such as homelessness, work and unemployment, environmental issues, racism, crime, violence and abuse, and issues of gender, health, ageing and sexuality. The quality of our teaching has been recognised by the award of an ‘excellent’ rating in the most recent national teaching quality assessment exercise and we are committed to maintaining this high standard via a process of ongoing review and evaluation.

Pre-requisites

None

Examples of Sociology modules offered