Sociology analyses the processes that structure and transform social relations. It explores how identities and societies are formed by virtue of activity occurring in different social contexts. Sociologists examine a wide spectrum of behaviours and they evaluate how and why different social problems and inequalities emerge, how they are experienced, and how they are responded to. The discipline draws on a diverse range of theoretical perspectives and methodological techniques to study the social underpinnings of key concerns, including climate change, surveillance, local and global conflicts, and health and education inequalities.
Students develop a ‘sociological imagination’, a way of thinking that enables them to (a) problematise taken-for-granted assumptions; (b) ask critically informed questions; (c) engage in systematic research; and (d) formulate in-depth analytical understandings of social behaviour and relations. A sociology degree provides students with a cognitive and transferable skill set and it empowers them to participate in wider intellectual and policy debates about key social issues. It is therefore a recognised and valued qualification in a range of careers.
Learning Outcomes
think in a sociologically informed manner and formulate sociologically literate questions;
understand key dimensions of social organisation and social experience as these are mediated by factors such as ethnicity, class, race, gender, age, sexual preference, disability, religion and nationality;
selectively draw on methodological tools to research the social world and collect and analyse primary and secondary data;
apply sociological concepts and knowledge to the analysis of real world social issues and inequalities;
evaluate the merits of competing methodological approaches and theoretical explanations;
communicate sociological knowledge to specialist and non-specialist audiences; and
generate tools with which to make a transformative impact on social events and societal change.
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
This major requires the completion of 48 units, which must include:
A maximum of 12 units of courses at 1000 level
A minimum of 6 units of courses at 3000 level
6 - 12 units from the completion of the following:
SOCY1002 Self and Society (6 units)
SOCY1004 Analysing the Social World: An Introduction to Social Psychology (6 units)
6 - 12 units from the completion of the following:
SOCY2038 - Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (6 units)
SOCY2043 - Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (6 units)
6 - 12 units from the completion of the following:
SOCY2040 - Classical Social Theory (6 units)
SOCY2161 - Contemporary Social Theory (6 units)
6 units from the completion of the following course:
SOCY3124 Transforming Society: Towards a Public Sociology (6 units)
A minimum of 6 units from the completion of courses from the following list:
CRIM2002 - Organised Crime: Understanding the Underworld (6 units)
CRIM2003 - Controversies in Crime Control (6 units)
CRIM2005 - Alcohol, Drugs and Crime: Promoting Health and Preventing Consequences (6 units)
CRIM2006 - Young People and Crime: Developmental Criminology and its Discontents (6 units)
CRIM2008 - Punishment and Society: An Introduction to Penology (6 units)
CRIM2009 - Corruption in Our World (6 units)
CRIM3002 - Corruption in Sport (6 units)
GEND2023 - Gender, Sex and Sexuality: An Introduction to Feminist Theory (6 units)
GEND2037 - Young People and Sex (6 units)
HIST2112 - Plagues, Pandemics and Public Health in History (6 units)
POLS2100 - Genocide in the Modern World (6 units)
SOCY1006 - Society and Technological Change (6 units)
SOCY2008 - Risk and Society (6 units)
SOCY2010 - Going Public: Sex, Sexuality and Feminism (6 units)
SOCY2021 - Education and Society (6 units)
SOCY2022 - Environmental Sociology (6 units)
SOCY2026 - Excessive Appetites: Sociocultural Perspectives on Addiction and Drug Use (6 units)
SOCY2030 - Social Inequalities and Development (6 units)
SOCY2035 - Cities and Urban Transformation (6 units)
SOCY2053 - Imagining the Future: A Sociology of Utopias (6 units)
SOCY2055 - Social Inequality in Comparative Perspective (6 units)
SOCY2057 - Relationships, Marriage and Family (6 units)
SOCY2059 - Sociology of Resistance (6 units)
SOCY2060 - Mobile Societies (6 units)
SOCY2101 - Social Policy: Principles and Practice (6 units)
SOCY2157 - Surveillance and Society (6 units)
SOCY2162 - Sociology of Health and Illness (6 units)
SOCY2163 - Identity, Difference and Racism (6 units)
SOCY2165 - Media in the Public Sphere (6 units)
SOCY2166 - Social Science of the Internet (6 units)
SOCY2167 - Populism in Media, Culture and Society (6 units)
SOCY2168 - Special Topics in Sociology (6 units)
SOCY2169 - Online Research Methods (6 units)
SOCY2170 - Media, Technology and Society (6 units)
SOCY3001 - Research Internship (6 units)
SOCY3010 - Posthuman Bodies (6 units)
A minimum of 6 units must come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SOCY1002 | Self and Society | 6 |
| SOCY1004 | Analysing the Social World: Work, Care and Identity | 6 |
A minimum of 6 units must come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SOCY2038 | Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods | 6 |
| SOCY2043 | Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods | 6 |
| POPS 2002: Population Analysis |
A minimum of 6 units must come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SOCY2040 | Classical Social Theory | 6 |
| SOCY 3014: Contemporary Social Theory | ||
| GEND2023 | Gender, Sex and Sexuality: An Introduction to Feminist Theory | 6 |
A maximum of 30 units may come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| GEND 2025: Gender, Health and Embodiment | ||
| GEND 2026: Technoculture & the Body | ||
| POLS 2096: Genocide Studies | ||
| POLS2100 | Genocide in the Modern World | 6 |
| POPS 2001: Population Studies | ||
| SOCY2008 | Risk and Society | 6 |
| SOCY2021 | Education and Society | 6 |
| SOCY2022 | Environmental Sociology | 6 |
| SOCY2026 | Excessive Appetites: Sociocultural Perspectives on Addiction and Drug Use | 6 |
| SOCY2030 | Social Inequalities and Development | 6 |
| SOCY 2032: Population and Australia | ||
| SOCY 2044: Sex, Gender and Society | ||
| SOCY2053 | Imagining the Future: A Sociology of Utopias | 6 |
| SOCY 2055: Soc Inequality in Comp Persp | ||
| SOCY 2056: Sociology of Work and Employ | ||
| SOCY2057 | Relationships, Marriage and Family | 6 |
| SOCY 2058: Studies in Social Problems | ||
| SOCY2059 | Sociology of Resistance | 6 |
| SOCY 2060: Mobile Societies | ||
| SOCY 2061: Contemporary Chinese Society | ||
| SOCY 2062: Dimensions of Crime | ||
| SOCY 2063: Corruption in our world | ||
| SOCY2101 | Social Policy: Principles and Practice | 6 |
| SOCY 2159: Controversies in Crime Control | ||
| SOCY 3021: Socy Health and Illness | ||
| SOCY 3022: Identity Diff Ethnicity | ||
| SOCY 3029: Food Environment & Development | ||
| SOCY 3123: Policy Evaluation |