LIVING SOCIOLOGY - 2025/6

Module Overview

The module will introduce students to the practical elements of sociology through the sociological imagination, urban sociology and reflexivity. Students will apply their sociological imagination to the local area, volunteering and careers, enhancing their digital capabilities, resourcefulness and resilience and employability skills. The module will critically engage with diverse contemporary cultural issues through the sociological imagination.

Module provider

Sociology

Module Leader

HARMAN Vicki (Sociology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 4

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

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative key content themes include:

• The sociological imagination


• The art of listening


• Reflexivity


• Contemporary issues facing communities

• How we are living sociology


• Thinking sociologically through the sociological imagination and art of listening


• Planning the group visit: learning about the local community


• Planning the group visit: research skills


• Thinking sociologically about volunteering


• Conducting the group visit


• Planning the group blog: reflecting on observations


• Writing the group blog


• Thinking sociologically about careers and research


• Planning the individual reflexive log


• Reflexive log support

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Alternative assessments for the group work: Assessment 1: Individual Visit Form (Coursework). Assessment 2: Students would need to perform the group visit on their own and produce an individual blog about their visit (Coursework).  

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have met the learning outcomes through the building of employability and group work skills, and critical engagement with the local area and their sociological imagination.

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

Assessment 1 – Group Visit Form (10%)

The group visit form encourages students to carefully consider the location of their group visit. The form is designed to ask students to reflect on why their chosen location is suitable and how it connects to the module, travel and accessibility considerations, and the logistics of the visit. This is designed to address LO1, drawing on their group work and resourcefulness and resilience.

Assessment 2 – Group Blog (40%)

The group blog enables students to enhance their digital capabilities by writing about their group visit in an accessible writing style whilst engaging with their sociological imagination. The group visit observations will determine the focus of the blog, which could be anything from ‘glocalization’ to how different communities use the space the group visit is taking place in. This is designed to address LO2, LO3, and LO4, and enables students to use their sociological imagination in a diverse cultural context, as well as develop their employability skills by working in a group.

Assessment 3 – Individual Reflexive Log (50%)

The reflexive log gives students the opportunity to reflect on their learning and experiences of group work in the module, in the same way that researchers will reflect on their own experience in the research process. This is designed to address LO4, LO5 and LO6, enabling students to use their sociological imagination in a diverse cultural context and develop their resourcefulness and resilience.

 

Formative Assessment and Feedback

Students will receive regular verbal feedback in class through individual and group tasks. There will also be opportunities in class for students to receive verbal feedback on their assignment preparation through class activities.

 

Written feedback on the group visit form will provide students with the knowledge of what they can continue and what they can improve when they go on the group visit. Written feedback on the group blog and the individual reflexive log will be given to provide students with the knowledge of what they have done well in assignments and what they can improve on. This will feed into their future performance on modules in the second and final year of their degree. This will be achieved through in-text comments on the assignments, as well as overall feedback.

Module aims

• Introduce students to a key theory in sociology, the sociological imagination
• Encourage students to apply their sociological imagination to community, space and culture in relation to the local area
• Provide students with demographic and historical context about life in the local area and how sociology helps researchers to understand community
• Introduce students to urban sociology through their group visit
• Encourage students to engage critically with the sociology of volunteering and careers
• Apply sociological theories to their observations through the group blog and reflexive log

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Develop students knowledge, skills and capabilities around the sociological imagination and sociology in action through engaging with the local area. This will enhance their critical thinking and employability skills. This is achieved through interactive sessions that include lectures, individual and group activities.

The sociological imagination and the art of listening are key concepts that are addressed and built on throughout the module. Interactive sessions will enable students to apply the sociological imagination to diverse cultural contexts and the local area. Reading, individual and group tasks will be set to enhance student understanding and facilitate their own reflections and critical thinking around the local area, volunteering, careers and group work. Individual and group work tasks will contribute to their resourcefulness and employability. It also addresses career pathways in sociology to enhance student employability skills and awareness, including guest speakers who use sociology in their profession.

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: SOC1053

Other information

The School of Sociology is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability

Students will be supported to enhance their employability throughout the module by developing key transferable skills: critical thinking, online and offline research, and group work. Critical thinking will be developed across each topic in the module through the sociological imagination to enhance student’s abilities to communicate effectively. Online and offline research will feature in all three assessments, with students identifying a part of the local area to visit and justify why it is suitable in Assessment 1, conducting a group visit to think sociologically about the local area in Assessment 2, and then linking their observations and experiences in the module to sociological research in Assessments 2 and 3. Group work is a key feature of Assessment 1 and 2, but will also feature in class throughout the module. Students will also have the opportunity to think sociologically about careers, and will network with professionals who use sociology in their jobs.

Digital Capabilities

Students will be encouraged to conduct online research throughout the module to research their chosen location for Assessment 1 and 2. In addition, Assessment 2 involves students writing a group blog with appropriate URL links to enhance their digital capabilities.

Resourcefulness and Resilience

Students will work together in groups throughout the module, and specifically in Assessment 1 and 2. Working with other students, communication, negotiation, organization and time management skills (which all contribute to preparation for class and their assessment) will all contribute to building resourcefulness and resilience.

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 2025/6 academic year.