Course summary

The Master’s programme in Sociology aims to set new standards in the critical study and application of social sciences. This innovative degree, one of the very few pure Sociology degrees in the North, has its foundations in contemporary conflict theory and debates related to relevant and creative research strategies and philosophies in the field. Our highly skilled teaching team will provide the students with an overview of existing social theories that relate specifically to the key concepts of inequality, social divisions, participatory democracy, political ideology and political economy with the aim to instil the students with the ability to visualise and conceptualise new political realities in an increasingly complex global capitalist system. Understanding intersections between class, gender, race and disability is the lens applied to all our courses. The questions of power and distribution are essential for any contemporary sociological study, which is reflected in the work of our very vibrant research communities. With strong focus on research, this course enables our students to develop the central skills required to analyse, understand and critically evaluate a variety of sociological issues. The programme benefits from the knowledge and teaching skills of research active colleagues across the School of Social Sciences and is therefore a strong example of authentic interdisciplinary teaching. We provide the students with an opportunity to thoroughly explore and critique the most recent developments and scholarship in the discipline and to communicate this experience to others through an extended, supervised research project, designed to spark further development within the chosen fields. Our ethos is not only related to creating a teaching environment in which the students can make sense of current political turbulence experienced globally, but we also strive to create new knowledge which might contribute to global efforts at creating social change.