Sociology analyses the processes that structure and transform social relations. It explores how identities and societies are formed by virtue of activity occurring in different social contexts. Sociologists examine a wide spectrum of behaviours and they evaluate how and why different social problems and inequalities emerge, how they are experienced, and how they are responded to. The discipline draws on a diverse range of theoretical perspectives and methodological techniques to study the social underpinnings of key concerns, including climate change, surveillance, local and global conflicts, and health and education inequalities.
Students develop a ‘sociological imagination’, a way of thinking that enables them to (a) problematise taken-for-granted assumptions; (b) ask critically informed questions; (c) engage in systematic research; and (d) formulate in-depth analytical understandings of social behaviour and relations. A sociology degree provides students with a cognitive and transferable skill set and it empowers them to participate in wider intellectual and policy debates about key social issues. It is therefore a recognised and valued qualification in a range of careers.
Learning Outcomes
- understand social life and experiences in terms of age, class, disability, ethnicity, environment, gender, health, institutions, media, organizations, nationality, religion, sexuality and technology;
- draw on a diverse range of sociological methods and theories to research the social world by collecting and critically analysing evidence; and
- communicate with and engage specialist and non-specialist audiences in the analysis of social issues and processes.
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
This major requires the completion of 48 units, which must include:
A maximum of 12 units of courses at 1000 level
A minimum of 6 units of courses at 3000 level
A minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 units from the completion of the following:
SOCY1002 Self and Society (6 units)
SOCY1004 Economy and Society (6 units)
SOCY1006 - Society and Technological Change (6 units)
A minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 units from the completion of the following:
SOCY2038 - Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (6 units)
SOCY2043 - Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (6 units)
A minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 units from the completion of the following:
SOCY2040 - Classical Social Theory (6 units)
SOCY2161 - Contemporary Social Theory (6 units)
6 units from the completion of the following course:
SOCY3005 - Quantitative Projects for Inclusion and Diversity (6 units)
SOCY3124 - Transforming Society (6 units)
A minimum of 6 units from the completion of courses from the following list:
CRIM2002 - Organised Crime: Understanding the Underworld (6 units)
CRIM2003 - Controversies in Crime Control (6 units)
CRIM2005 - Alcohol, Drugs and Crime: Promoting Health and Preventing Consequences (6 units)
CRIM2006 - Young People and Crime: Developmental Criminology and its Discontents (6 units)
CRIM2008 - Punishment and Society: An Introduction to Penology (6 units)
CRIM2009 - Corruption in Our World (6 units)
CRIM3002 - Corruption in Sport (6 units)
GEND2023 - Gender, Sex and Sexuality: An Introduction to Feminist Theory (6 units)
GEND2037 - Young People and Sex (6 units)
HIST2112 - Plagues, Pandemics and Public Health in History (6 units)
POLS2100 - Genocide in the Modern World (6 units)
SOCY2008 - Risk and Society (6 units)
SOCY2010 - Going Public: Sex, Sexuality and Feminism (6 units)
SOCY2021 - Education and Society (6 units)
SOCY2022 - Environmental Sociology (6 units)
SOCY2026 - Excessive Appetites: Sociocultural Perspectives on Addiction and Drug Use (6 units)
SOCY2030 - Social Inequalities and Development (6 units)
SOCY2035 - Cities and Urban Transformation (6 units)
SOCY2053 - Imagining the Future: A Sociology of Utopias (6 units)
SOCY2057 - Relationships, Marriage and Family (6 units)
SOCY2059 - Sociology of Resistance (6 units)
SOCY2101 - Social Policy: Principles and Practice (6 units)
SOCY2157 - Surveillance and Society (6 units)
SOCY2162 - Sociology of Health and Illness (6 units)
SOCY2166 - Social Science of the Internet (6 units)
SOCY2168 - Special Topics in Sociology (6 units)
SOCY2169 - Online Research Methods (6 units)
SOCY2170 - Media, Technology and Society (6 units)
SOCY3001 - Research Internship (6 units)
SOCY3007 - Understanding Neoliberalism (6 units)
SOCY3010 - Posthuman Bodies (6 units)
SOCY3167 - Populism: Gender, Race, Class and Backlash (6 units)
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