Disciplines and areas of study
Sociology
Program Coordinator Dr Alberto Gomes.
Sociology is concerned with the study of social life: the structural arrangements and cultural patterns that shape group behaviour at every level of social action whether local, national or global.
Sociologists work from a range of theoretical perspectives and adopt a variety of methodological approaches. The sociology units offered reflect this diversity and provide students with a wide range of choice. The program is structured to provide an understanding of core concepts and basic research methods. The Sociology Program offers a fourth year at honours level and a postgraduate degree by research.
Programs of study
In the first year of study, students are introduced to basic concepts in a range of topic areas and social processes. In the second and third years, students can select from a broad range of units covering topics such as gender, family, social policy, health and medicine, the environment, deviance, multiculturalism, the emotions, culture, everyday life, community studies, social theory, and many others.
A major in sociology consists of 130 credit points of sociology units or cross-listed units designated as being equivalent to sociology units (see list below). A major will consist of at least 30 credit points of sociology (or equivalent) at first year, and at least 60 credit points of sociology (or equivalent) at third year level.
Students taking 130 or more credit points in sociology, or wishing to proceed to honours, must complete at least 20 credit points of units classified as research methods, and SOC2CIS/SOC3CIS Current Issues in Sociology.
Students who have successfully completed a core unit in sociology prior to 1995 will be deemed to have completed the equivalent of SOC2CIS/SOC3CIS Current Issues in Sociology.
Students who wish to proceed to honours must have successfully completed at least 130 credit points in sociology; however, these students are encouraged to take additional sociology units.
Policy studies
Students who wish to pursue an interest in policy studies may consider the following second and third year units to develop a policy focus for their degree.
| Unit title | Unit code |
|---|---|
| Critical Social Policy | SOC2CSP/SOC3CSP |
| Development, Globalisation and Culture | ANT2DGC/ANT3DGC |
| Deviance, Criminality and Social Control | SOC2DCS/SOC3DCS |
| Families and Change | SOC2FAC/SOC3FAC |
| Sociology of Health and Medicine | SOC2SHM/SOC3SHM |
| Social Policy, Welfare and the State | SOC2SWS/SOC3SWS |
| Social Theories of Deviance | SOC2STD/SOC3STD |
All units are offered subject to the availability of appropriate staffing and minimum enrolments.
| Teaching period | Unit title | Unit code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First year units (15 credit points) | |||
| TE-SEM-1 | Culture and Globalisation: introduction to anthropology | ANT1CAG | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Introduction to Asia: Japan and Indonesia | AST1IJI | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Introduction to Aboriginal Australia | ANT1IIA | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Self and Community: introduction to sociology | SOC1SAC | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Australia and Beyond: introduction to sociology | SOC1AAB | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Our Global Village: introduction to anthropology | ANT1FET | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Introduction to Asia: China and India | AST1ICI | |
| Second or third year units (20 credit points): research methods units | |||
| TE-SEM-1 | Introduction to Social Research Methods | SOC2MSR/SOC3MSR | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Introduction to Ethnographic Research | ANT2MQA/ANT3MQA | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods | SOC2MQB/SOC3MQB | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Quantitative Methods in Social Research | SOC2MTB/SOC3MTB | |
| Second or third year units (20 credit points) | Unit code | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Australian Cities and Regions1 | SOC2ACR/SOC3ACR | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Critical Social Policy1 | SOC2CSP/SOC3CSP | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Community Studies | SOC2CMS/SOC3CMS | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Comparative Social Movements | SOC2CSM/SOC3CSM | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Current Issues in Sociology2 | SOC2CIS/SOC3CIS | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Development in Practice3 | SOC3DIP | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Development, Globalisation and Culture | ANT2DGC/ANT3DGC | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Deviance, Criminality and Social Control1 | SOC2DCS/SOC3DCS | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Discover Australia: current issues and debates | SOC2DAU/SOC3DAU | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Disintegration and Dread in Modern Society1 | SOC2DDM/SOC3DDM | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Free Reading A | SOC3FRA | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Gender and Sexuality: contemporary debates | SOC2GES/SOC3GES | |
| TE-SEM-1 | New Religious Movements | SOC2NRM/SOC3NRM | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Sociology and Everyday Life | SOC2SEL/SOC3SEL | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Sociology of the Environment | SOC2SOE/SOC3SOE | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Theory, Culture and Society | SOC2TCS/SOC3TCS | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Asian-Pacific Cities | SOC2APC/SOC3APC | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Culture, Race and Difference | ANT2CRD/ANT3CRD | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Ethnicity and Identity: social and political approaches | SOC2EAI/SOC3EAI | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Families and Change | SOC2FAC/SOC3FAC | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Free Reading B | SOC3FRB | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Gender and Development | SOC2GAD | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Landscape and the Human World (on-line and block mode delivery) | SOC2LL/SOC3LL | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Liberalism and its Critics1 | POL2LAC/POL3LAC | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Peace and Change | POL2PAC/POL3PAC | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Politics and the Economy | POL2PAE/POL3PAE | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Practising Social Sciences | SOC3PSS | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Social Policy, Welfare and the State | SOC2SWS/SOC3SWS | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sociological Theories of Deviance | SOC2STD/SOC3STD | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sociology of Culture | SOC2SOC/SOC3SOC | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sociology of Emotions1 | SOC2SEM/SOC3SEM | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sociology of Health and Illness | SOC2SHI/SOC3SHI | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sex, Gender and Work1 | SOC2SGW/SOC3SGW | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sociology of Health and Medicine1 | SOC2SHM/SOC3SHM | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Theories of World Politics | POL2TWP/POL3TWP | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Visual Anthropology: documenting cultures1 | ANT2ASF/ANT3ASF | |
- Key: 1 Not available in 2008.
- 2 Core unit for Sociology major
- 3 Only available to Bachelor of Development Studies and Bachelor of International Development students.
Honours
The course comprises a core unit, an Elective or internship, a second-semester research seminar and a research thesis. The length of the honours thesis is between 12000 and 15000 words. Research for the thesis extends through the honours year and is undertaken with the guidance of a supervisor.
The department welcomes enquiries about the structure of the course, the Elective units available, the internship program, and other aspects of the honours course.
Entry into the honours year is by application at the end of the student’s third year of study. Students considered for admission will normally have at least a B average in units of sociology or anthropology up to a total of 130 credit points. These units will normally include 20 credit points of units classified as research methods, and SOC2CIS/SOC3CIS Current Issues in Sociology. Prospective honours students are encouraged to take additional sociology units to this minimum requirement, and to include SOC3PSS Practising Social Sciences in their major.
A full description of these units (including the unit name, unit code, credit points, campus/location, unit coordinator, class requirements, assessment, prerequisites and readings) appears at the end of each discipline entry. A full description of SOC units appears below. For the most recent descriptions of all units, please access the unit database at www.latrobe.edu.au/udb_public.