One assessed essay with a maximum limit of 3000 words makes up 100% of the overall course mark. The word limit allows for +/- 10%, i.e. in the range 300 words. Note: You must include an accurate word count on the front page of your essay. Failure to do so will lead to an automatic 2 mark deduction. Your word count should include all text in the essay but does not include the bibliography.
The questions below can be seen as indicative and be subject to negotiation in respect of their wording so that it might be possible to use the resources of this module to explore a particular, but clearly module related, topic or issue that you have a particular interest in.
1) Drawing on at least one and not more than two classic sociological theorists from the late 19th and/or early 20th centuries, critically discuss how their work might be useful for understanding contemporary social processes.
2) Why is it important that sociologists keep interrogating and when need be, challenging, accepted interpretations of the past?
3) Critically evaluate how global theories of transformation such as ‘Postmodernism’ and ‘Reflexive Modernisation’ aid social explanation.
4) Critically examine the reasons why the concepts of identity and community have become so significant in contemporary social thought.
5) Critically assess the capacity of sociology to explore the crisis of contemporary capitalist modernity.
6) In what ways does the ‘multiple modernities’ approach remain Eurocentric? Why does this matter?
7) What can different theoretical approaches bring to our understanding of collective identity and community? Critically discuss and compare with reference to two or more theorists included in this module.
8) Critically assess the significance of ‘risk’ and ‘trust’ as concepts for understanding key aspects of modern societies.
9) Drawing in detail on one or more of the theorists discussed during the module, critically discuss why ethical/moral considerations might be seen as central aspects of social thought.
