This module introduces students to the theoretical and methodological perspectives associated with sociological accounts of everyday life. Instead of studying the macro-level systems and structures that order the social world, a sociology of everyday life takes as its point of departure agency, behaviours, and day-to-day social interactions. The module explores what is distinctive about sociological accounts of individual experience. It identifies and draws on key concepts from the micro-sociological tradition in analysing how individuals come to make sense of and negotiate everyday settings. The module pursues these approaches through case studies of a range of artefacts that populate modern life. Case studies might include: What does the smartphone say about how technology mediates human relations in the digital era? How did the diamond engagement ring become a part of the rituals of kinship and romantic love? What does a Coke can tell us about globalization and the homogenization of culture?
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Explain and critically assess key concepts in the sociology of everyday life
Identify what is distinctive about sociological accounts of everyday life
Apply key concepts to substantive case studies on different aspects of everyday experience
Evaluate the merits of sociological theories of everyday life
Assessment
30168-01 : Essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
3000 written component for both main and reassessment (100%)