WORK, EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIETY IN GLOBAL CONTEXT - 2023/4

Module Overview

Work is important for individuals, for identity and survival, and for society, for stability and productiveness. This module focuses on the changing role of work, what impacts how it is experienced, and how theoretical approaches both inform and are informed by the study of working life. The module offers a global perspective at its core, appreciating the importance of rooted historical accounts and diversity of cultural experience, but recognising the interconnectivity of issues of work and employment (as well as the lack of it) in the global economy. We will also consider the future of work, its sustainability and connect this to employability, equipping you to evaluate your own work experience and career aspirations from a sociological perspective.

Module provider

Sociology

Module Leader

TIMMS Jill (Sociology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content themes include:

¿ Meaning and varieties of work in global labour markets
¿ Power, control and resistance in the workplace
¿ Inequalities, flexploitation and digitization of work
¿ Sustainability, the future of work and your employment

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have met the learning outcomes through critical engagement with a wide range of scholarly material. The summative assessment for this module consists of: Assessment 1 (30%)  Course work in form of a recorded online individual presentation.  Assessment 2 (70%) - Individual essay drawing on a company or industry case study. Formative assessment and feedback: Feedback in class on regular student inputs

Module aims

• Develop an understanding of the changing role of work in the global economy and the key drivers that impacts how it is experienced
• Demonstrate awareness of how theoretical approaches can inform our understanding of how central work is to society, how it is organised and what the future of work could be
• Encourage students to critically evaluate their own work experiences and graduate employment aspirations using a sociological lens

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Develop the knowledge, skills and capabilities of students through interactive sessions and by drawing not only on their own work experience, but also career aspirations.

A key feature will be a case study approach. Key concepts, theories, themes, and sociological approaches to understanding work will be clearly set out in lectures and different approaches and relevant research selected in readings. Seminars will then allow these to be explored and facilitate the student¿s own reflections on how these connect to their experiences, resourcefulness and employability. Cases utilised will be from diverse cultural contexts including particular companies, industries, professions, events and worker resistance, historic and contemporary. The module also lends itself to exploit current affairs, to host contributions from guest speakers virtually or in-person, and to a class visit. Consideration of the UN SDGs, particularly in relation to human rights and sustainability, as well as the future of work, will be built in.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: SOC2097

Other information

N/A

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.