SOC8072 : Inequalities: Issues and Intersections
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Bethan Harries
- Owning School: Geography, Politics & Sociology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The aim of this module is to provide an advanced introduction to key theoretical and empirical resources for understanding social inequalities.
Specifically, the module has three objectives:
(1) To analyse different forms of social inequality and how these intersect in both local and global contexts.
(2) To explore a range of issues through which social inequalities are made manifest, conceptualised and challenged in sociological research.
(3) To evaluate the extent to which contemporary crises reproduce and/or resist unequal arrangements of power and privilege.
Outline Of Syllabus
The module is arranged into blocks (2-3 weeks each). The first block provides an introduction to key epistemological and methodological frameworks in sociology before moving on to two thematic blocks, which will introduce students to key theoretical and empirical studies in social inequalities. A final block will consolidate the module topics and provide guidance in preparing assessments.
Block 1: Ways of Knowing
Block 2: Power and Privilege
Block 3: Crisis: Continuity or Revolution?
Block 4: Bringing Things Together
The module is also supported by workshops that support the consolidation of learning and the development of enhanced writing and research skills relevant to the subject area.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 7 | 2:00 | 14:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | Practical and assessment workshop |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | Delivered by Skills team |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 178:00 | 178:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Module talk | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Introduction to module |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The module will comprise:
Block one:
A lecture of one hour to introduce students to the module and ways of knowing and understanding inequalities
This will be followed by two x 2 hour lectures to introduce students to key theoretical interventions and epistemologies vital for researching inequalities
One x 2 hour workshop to foster cohort identity through practical activities related to the concepts explored on the module.
Blocks two and three:
Comprises of 4 x 2 hour lectures which offer students advanced understanding of conceptual issues via key theoretical and empirical approaches
The module will be supported by 1 x 3 hour workshop delivered by the Library skills team. This will be specifically tailored for PGT students in the Social Sciences and support enhancement of writing and research skills.
The combination of learning styles and content will provide students with a rich understanding of social inequalities and how they are reproduced and reconfigured. It will also equip students with advanced level training in critical writing and research skills and support the development of a cohort identity and community through group practical workshops.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 1 | A | 100 | 3000 words |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | Up to 1500 words |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
1. Students will be offered a formative assessment mid-semester. This will involve writing a critical reflection of 2-3 texts from the reading list. This should be no more than 1500 words. This assessment will give the students the grounding in some of the theoretical and conceptual issues that run through the module and support the development of critical writing skills.
2. At the end of the module students will write a 3000 word critical commentary on a topic of their choosing. This exercise will allow students to develop their written and analytic skills alongside their empirical and theoretical knowledge of the subject. The assessment requires students to identify a problem, construct a question, research it, and analyse it using the conceptual and theoretical resources presented in the module. Students will select their own individual topics (reflecting their own specific interests and those covered in the module). There is an expectation that students reflect on contemporary issues of inequality, and how these intersect.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SOC8072's Timetable