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
- think in a sociologically informed manner and formulate sociologically literate questions;
- understand key dimensions of social organisation and social experience as these are mediated by factors such as ethnicity, class, race, gender, age, sexual preference, disability, religion and nationality;
- apply sociological concepts and knowledge to the analysis of real world social issues and inequalities; and
- evaluate the merits of competing methodological approaches and theoretical explanations.
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
This minor requires the completion of 24 units, which must include:
6 units from the completion of the following course(s):
SOCY1002 Self and Society (6 units)
SOCY1004 Economy and Society (6 units)
6 units from the completion of the following course(s):
SOCY3005 Quantitative Projects for Inclusion and Diversity (6 units)
SOCY3124 Transforming Society (6 units)
12 units from the completion of the following course(s):
CRIM2003 Controversies in Crime Control (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)
POLS2100 Genocide in the Modern World (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)
SOCY2038 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (6 units)
SOCY2040 Classical Social Theory (6 units)
SOCY2043 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (6 units)
SOCY2101 Social Policy: Principles and Practice (6 units)
SOCY2157 Surveillance and Society (6 units)
SOCY2161 Contemporary Social Theory (6 units)
SOCY2166 Social Science of the Internet (6 units)
SOCY2170 The Social Life of Algorithms (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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