Understanding Society: Introduction to Political Sociology

The aims of the module are to analyse the politicisation of social cleavages such as class, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, religion and nationality; to highlight (the consequences of) changing social values and attitudes, including the impact of the media thereupon; to understand processes of political engagement and participation; to grasp the causes and consequences of migration; to examine how individuals influence the institutional structure through revolutions, democratisation and the establishment of welfare states. By the end of this course students will have acquired an understanding of recent social explanations of political processes and events; the ability to relate this theoretical understanding to empirical data and analyses for various states; a grasp of the competing approaches in the field; an appreciation of the roles of models and theories in social scientific knowledge; familiarity with major features of contemporary societies that are relevant to politics; and the ability to distil information, present ideas and defend a theoretical position.