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Social and Policy Sciences Unit Catalogue
ECOI0008: The modern world economy 1
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX70 OT30
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
Aims: The aim of this Unit is to equip students with an historical, institutional
and descriptive understanding of economic issues and institutions in a global
context. The Unit is appropriate for specialist students of economics and will
support and provide a relevant policy context for first year units in introductory
micro and macroeconomics. The Unit is also appropriate for non-specialist students,
who may wish to take only one or two course units in economics, and will introduce
them to some of the central principles of economics via the policy questions
and institutional arrangements which confront modern economies. Learning objectives:
By the end of the course unit, students should be able to develop an informed
commentary on both academic and more popular arguments on: 1. Patterns of growth
and development at national, regional and global levels. 2. The role of multilateral
corporations in the global economy. 3. The impacts of globalisation on the workforces
of both developed and developing economies. 4. The scope for national economic
policies within the globalised economy.
Content:
Growth and development in the world economy since the Second World War; patterns
of international trade and investment; the role of multi national corporations;
employment and income distribution in the world economy; limitations on national
policy effectiveness; international economic institutions and the regulation
of international trade, investment and finance. Key text: Peter Dicken, 'Global
Shift'.
ECOI0009: The modern world economy 2
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES30 EX70
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
This Unit is a continuation from ECOI0008 The Modern World Economy 1. Its aim
is to provide students with an understanding of the economic issues which have
affected various regions of the world in the post second world war period. It
is designed to be accessible to both specialist and non-specialist students
of economics. Learning objectives: By the end of the course unit students should
be able to understand: 1. The determinants of economic activity in selected
regions of the world economy. 2. The reasons why there are significant differences
in this activity among such regions. 3. The policy issues which confront nations
within these regions.
Content:
The course unit comprises three regional studies: the European Union, Transitional
Economies of East and Central Europe, East Asia. European Union: The development
of economic integration in Europe; static and dynamic effects of economic integration;
trade creation and diversion and the economics of customs unions; factor mobility
and the common market; fiscal and monetary harmonisation; optimum currency areas
and the European Monetary System; the role of the European Central Bank and
the problem of Europe-wide macroeconomic policy. Transitional Economies: Central
planning, operation and failure; the state of transition today; expanding the
European Union to embrace Central and Eastern Europe. East Asia: Interpretations
of the East Asian "miracle" (pre-1997); causes and consequences of the current
crisis; longer term prospects for sustainable development. Key texts: D. Swann
'The Economics of the Common Market'. James Forder, ' Both Sides of the Coin:
The Arguments Against the Euro and EMU'. F. McDonald, 'European Economic Integration'.
D. Dyker (ed), 'The European Economy'. D. Gros and A., 'Steinherr Winds of Change'.
Grahame Thompson (ed), 'Economic Dynamism in the Asia-Pacific World Bank The
East Asian Miracle'.
ECOI0012: Economic thought & policy 1
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX80 ES20
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
Aims of the Unit:
* To familiarise students with a range of primary source texts written by major
economists from the late eighteenth to late nineteenth century.
* To stimulate an interest and knowledge base in the historical development
of economics in Britain.
* To convey the relevance of the economics of earlier writers to an understanding
of present day economic thought and debate. Learning Objectives: Students will
have developed an understanding of the economic models and contributions to
policy of a number of major economists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
and the context within which these models were relevant. Students will have
acquired "first hand" knowledge through reading primary sources.
Content:
The historical development of economic thought and policy from the beginning
of the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century to the emergence of neoclassical
economics. The main economists considered are Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, J.S.
Mill and Jevons. Key texts: Primary sources Ekelund and Hebert,'A History of
Economic Theory and Method'. R. Heilbroner,'The Worldly Philosophers'.
ECOI0016: Economics of social policy
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX80 ES20
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of this Unit is to build on students` knowledge of microeconomic principles
and apply and extend it within the context of social policy. Students will acquire
an understanding of what economics has to say about some of the major areas
of social policy. Efficiency and equity issues within this important area will
be stressed. Learning objectives include the possession of a sound grasp of
how economics can illuminate areas of social policy, and the demonstration of
analytical ability by applying economic principles to social policy problems.
Content:
The course unit introduces some of the main issues that economists emphasise
when they discuss social policy. The lectures are divided into two groups. In
the first we look at some of the basic ideas which economists have used to analyse
social policies. We discuss politico-social theories and the role of the state;
the concepts of equity and efficiency; the economic justifications for intervention;
the economics of insurance, and the measurement of economic welfare and poverty.
In the second group we look at some of the main economic issues in six different
areas of social policy: financing the welfare state; education; health; housing;
poverty, and pensions. Key texts: N. Barr,'The Economics of the Welfare State'.
Le Grand, Propper and Robinson,'The Economics of Social Problems'.
ECOI0023: Social change and development
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre ECOI0077
Aims & learning objectives:
Aim: To introduce students to some of the key concepts and methods used in the
social analysis of change and international development, grounding theoretical
exploration in practical approaches to particular issues. Learning objectives:
Students should learn how the key concerns of sociology (social structure and
social relations) and social anthropology (culture) can be used to extend understanding
of the process involved in social change and international development. By the
end of this course unit students should be equipped critically to discuss the
concepts and practice of social change drawing on the analytical traditions
of sociology and social anthropology and the experience of a range of contexts
in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This course unit builds on the foundations
laid in ECOI0077 Introduction to International Development. It focuses on development
as something that happens: social change. This complements ECOI0043 Governance
and the Policy Process in Developing Countries, which considers development
as something which is done: policy and programme intervention.
Content:
Social change and development as essentially contested: both as concepts and
as forms of practice. A way of ordering the world by contrasts: in time - tradition/modernity;
and space - first/third world; and in time as space - modern=western. Models
of social change and the implication of sociology and anthropology in these.
Interrogating notions of identity, tradition and modernity: in colonialism;
in notions of city and countryside; poverty and progress; health and reasoning;
cultures of production and exchange. The dynamics of social change: in divisions
of labour and within households. Issues around agency, consciousness and social/political
action. The implications of globalization and the post-colonial order. Key text:
Roger Keesing,'Cultural Anthropology: A Contemporary Perspective'. Nancy Scheper-Hughes,
'Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everday Life in Urban Brazil'.
ECOI0040: International relations 1: A history of international
relations theory
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of this Unit is to provide students with an understanding of the main
concepts, theories and perspectives used to study international relations, and
to introduce them to the historical development of those aspects of international
relations theory that are relevant today. By examining how different types of
historical international systems have existed in the past, what caused wars
to occur and what helped to maintain peace, students will have a better idea
of the causes of conflict and cooperation today. Learning objectives: By the
end of this course unit students should be able to do the following:
* identify the main perspectives of international relations
* explain the key Western thinkers and their ideas which contributed to the
main perspectives on international relations
* explain how the key thinkers, ideas and concepts are related to the development
of different historic international systems. Although the unit can be studied
as a self-contained module, it forms part of a specialist stream in international
relations with ECOI0041.
Content:
An historical survey of the main theories of international relations and the
main historical state-systems in which they arose: the Greek-state system, the
middle ages, the Renaissance and the emergence of the modern state system. The
course unit examines a series of important, enduring questions in international
relations theory about international systems: (1) what were the origins of different
international systems; (2) what factors contributed to order and stability;
and (3) what factors promoted not only disorder and instability, but also system-wide
change, the change to to an entirely different type of international system.
Key texts: Michael Doyle,'Ways of War and Peace: Realism, Liberalism, and Socialism'.
Torbjorn Knutsen,'A History of International Relations Theory'. Joseph Nye,'Understanding
International Conflicts: An Introduction to Theory And History'.
ECOI0041: International relations 2: contemporary international
relations
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES40 OR10
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aims of this Unit are to provide students with an understanding of how contemporary
thinkers have contributed to the main perspectives of international relations;
to consider the impact of globalisation on international relations; to show
how international conflict has changed in the twentieth century, particularly
since the end of the Cold War; to provide students with an understanding of
how diplomacy has changed in the twentieth century. Learning objectives: By
the end of the course unit students should be able to:
* critically evaluate the main perspectives of international relations
* explain the impact of the end of the Cold War on global security
* explain what international relations scholars mean by globalisation, and critically
evaluate what impact it has had on international relations
* explain how the changing nature of international conflict has posed new challenges
for humanitarian organisations in developing countries Although the unit can
be studied as a self-contained module, it forms part of a specialist stream
in international relations with ECOI0040.
Content:
Topics include how International Relations has changed since the end of the
Cold War, the State, and non-state actors, the balance of power, problems of
diplomacy, international organisation, war and international conflict, nationalism,
religion and international stability and international political economy. A
set of themes emerge from these topics that are ethical in nature: the relationship
between order and justice, state sovereignty and humanitarian intervention,
the nature and meaning of international obligation in a society of sovereign
states, the idea of universal human rights and cultural relativism, and ways
of maintaining international order: the balance of power, international regimes,
and new approaches to global governance. Key texts: J. Goldstein,'International
Relations'. C. Kegley and E. Wittkopf,'World Politics: Trend and Transformation'.
Gordon Graham,'Ethics and International Relations'.
ECOI0042: Politics of developing countries: ethnicity,
religion and nationalism
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES40 OR10
Requisites: Pre ECOI0078
Aims & learning objectives:
Two of the most important developments at the end of the Twentieth Century are
the global spread of democracy and the resurgence of religion, ethnicity and
nationalism in politics. Therefore the aim of the Unit is to provide students
with an understanding of the ongoing saliency of ethnicity, religion and nationalism
to the politics of selected post-communist and developing countries. The learning
objectives are that by the end of the course unit students should be able to:
* critically evaluate the role of ethnicity, religion and nationalism in the
main perspectives of development
* understand the role of religion and revolution in South Africa, Poland and
Latin America
* understand the role of Islam in different types of Muslim countries
* understand how religion challenges the secular state in India, Turkey, Algeria
and Egypt. Although the unit can be studied as a self-contained module, it forms
part of a specialist stream in the Policy Process and Politics of Development
with ECOI0043 Governance and the Policy Process in Developing Countries and
ECOI0080 Policy and Politics.
Content:
Introduction to the politics of developing countries; the concepts of ethnicity,
religion and nationalism; the transition to democracy; the consolidation of
democracy. Case studies of: Poland, Yugoslavia, South Africa, Turkey, India,
Algeria, Egypt and Latin America. Key texts: J. Esposito and J. Voll,'Islam
and Democracy'. Jeff Haynes,'Religion and Politics in the Third World'. Jeff
Haynes,'Religion in Global Politics'. David Westerlund (ed),'Questioning the
Secular State'.
ECOI0043: Governance and the policy process in developing
countries
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES40 OR10
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of this Unit is to provide an explanation of the dynamics of governance
and the workings of the policy process in developing countries. The learning
objectives are that students should develop a critical undetstanding of the
policy process in the developing country context, applying and extending their
knowledge of the key concepts of power and the institutions through which it
is expresed. This unit can be studied as a self-contained module, which complements
in particular ECOI0023 Social Change and Development. It also forms part of
a specialist stream in the Policy Process and Politics of Development with ECOI0042
The Politics of Developing Countries: Religion, Ethnicity and Nationalism and
ECOI0080 Policy and Politic.
Content:
Good governance: the genesis of the concept, its practical implication. State,
non-state and civil society actors in development. Policy formulation and implementation
in developing countries; policy networks; the roles of external doners; corruption.
Institutionalizing good governance, promoting inclusionary practice. Key texts:
Grindle and Thomas,'Public Choices and Policy Change: The Political Economy
of Reform in Developing Countries'. Turner and Hulme,'Governance, Administration
and Development'. R. Rhodes,'Understanding Governance'. Wuyts, Marc. Mackintosh,
Maureen and hewitt, Tom (eds),'Development Policy and Public Action. Oxford:
Oxford University Press/Open University. R Grillo and R L Stirrat (eds) 1997.
Discourses of Development. Anthropological Perspectives. Oxford: Berg.
ECOI0077: Introduction to international development
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: CW100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of the Unit is to introduce students to the major issues in international
development. The learning objectives are that students should: 1. Learn to 'think
sociologically' about international development issues 2. Have some knowledge
of the development of capitalism and the nation-state system and the ways in
which these have interacted to produce problems of poverty, international debt
and violence 3. Appreciate the different contributions to understanding development
made by different social science disciplines 4. Understand the ideological arguments
between the major development paradigms.
Content:
From mercantilism to globalisation; the current structure of the world economy
and polity; the diversity of poor country trajectories; disciplinary approaches
to international development; development paradigms; wealth and poverty; trade,
debt and the international financial institutions; violence; gender relations;
the environment; development and the development industry. Key texts: Peter
Preston,'Development Theory'. Diana Hunt,'Economic Theories of Development'.
Ankie Hoogvelt,'Globalisation and the Postcolonial World'. Katy Gardner & David
Lewis,'Anthropology, Development and the Post-modern Challenge'. Andrew Boyd,'An
Atlas of World Affairs'.
ECOI0078: Developing countries in world politics
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of the Unit is to give students an introduction to the main personalities
and events in the international arena since 1945 which have contributed to the
present position of developing countries in the current global order. Learning
objectives: By the end of the course unit students should be able to identify
the main personalities and events in world politics and explain their influence
on the politics and economics of developing countries. They should be able to
explain the role of developing countries in the origins and development of the
Cold War, and have an appreciation of the main debates about the Cold War.
Content:
The emergence of the League of Nations and the United Nations system; Bretton-Woods;
Developing Countries in the Cold War; India and South Asia: Independence and
Partition; Southeast Asia and Peasant Revolutions; African independence and
the South African liberation struggle; the Middle-East: Arab nationalism and
oil wealth; Latin America: revolution and dictatorship. Key texts: Peter Calvocoressi,'World
Politics Since 1945'. Geir Lundestad,'East, West, North, South: Major Developments
in International Politics Since 1945'. J. Dunbabin,'The Post-Imperial Age: The
Great Powers and the Wider World'.
ECOI0079: Economics of politics
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX80 CW20
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of this Unit is to apply introductory microeconomic theory to analyse
political behaviour. Students will investigate the extent to which a rational
choice model sheds insight on political behaviour and political institutions.
Thus, the intention is to provide students with an integrative link between
their understanding of economic theory and political science. The learning objective
is that by the end of the course students will be able to apply introductory
microeconomic theory to analyse political behaviour. They will be able to use
microeconomics to explain and predict why governments prefer one policy option
to another. They will be able to assess the costs involved in democratic decision
making processes. They will be able to identify and assess alleged 'failings'
of the political processes and associated prescriptions.
Content:
The course unit begins with a review of microeconomic welfare theory. This is
applied to explain and predict the behaviour of politicians, bureaucrats, voters
and pressure groups. The implications of adopting different collective decision
making rules are investigated. Case studies are used to illustrate theory. Assessment
is offered of the public choice school's assertion that government failure leads
to an excessively large public sector. Key texts: K.A. Shepsle and M.S. Bonchek,'Analyzing
Politics: Rationality, Behavior and Institutions'. J. Cullis and P. Jones,'Public
Finance and Public Choice'.
ECOI0081: Economic organisation of the European Community
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX80 ES20
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of this course unit is to apply introductory microeconomic and macroeconomic
principles to a range of European policy areas. The learning objective is that
students will have enhanced their understanding of European economic issues
begun in The Modern World Economy and to demonstrate the value of theoretical
analysis.
Content:
The following topics will be covered: EU trade policy and the economics of customs
unions; Common Agricultural and Fisheries Policies of the EU; fiscal harmonisation
and EU budgetary policy; EU environmental policy; EU industrial and competition
policy; European Monetary Union and exchange rate arrangements. Key texts: T.
Hitiris,'European Union Economics'. M.J. Artis and N. Lee (eds),'The Economics
of the European Union'. A. El-Agraa (ed),'The European Union'.
ESML0030: German written & spoken language 1A
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: CW100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The unit pursues a dual aim. (1) To refresh and consolidate students knowledge
and understanding of grammatical structures; to enable them to apply the acquired
skills to the production of coherent and fluent written composition; to introduce
them to a variety of German texts dealing with appropriate contemporary issues.
(2) To improve students communicative and listening skills (oral/aural) and
to expand their vocabulary so that they are able to express themselves clearly
in everyday as well as in academic contexts as appropriate; to enable students
to formulate their own ideas and to interact effectively in German and to adjust
flexibly to various situations by using a suitable register.
Content:
(1) In respect of i. the consolidation of German language structures: this unit
focuses on the various classes of words, their declension and their function
within the phrase/ sentence; ii. written communication: a variety of linguistic
skills are developed by means of translation into and from German and essay
writing in German (2) Spoken language classes may consist of free discussions
with the entire group, interactive exercises (e.g. role play, small-group discussions,
one-to-one exchange of ideas). Austrian and German video material and newspaper
articles form the basis for discussion and assessment, whilst improving awareness
of contemporary life in the German-speaking world.
ESML0031: German written & spoken language 1B
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Pre ESML0030
Aims & learning objectives:
The unit builds on ESML0030, pursuing the same dual aim. (1) To refresh and
consolidate students knowledge and understanding of grammatical structures;
enable them to apply the acquired skills to the production of coherent and fluent
written composition; to introduce them to a variety of German texts dealing
with appropriate contemporary issues. (2) To improve students communicative
and listening skills (oral/aural) and to expand their vocabulary so that they
are able to express themselves clearly in everyday as well as in academic contexts
as appropriate; to enable students to formulate their own ideas and to interact
effectively in German and to adjust flexibly to various situations by using
a suitable register.
Content:
(1) In respect of i. the consolidation of German language structures: this unit
focuses on complex grammar points and German syntax; ii. written communication:
a variety of linguistic skills are developed by means of translation into and
from German and essay writing in German. (2) Spoken language classes may consist
of free discussions with the entire group, interactive exercises (e.g. role
play, small-group discussions, one-to-one exchange of ideas). Austrian and German
video material and newspaper articles form the basis for discussion and assessment,
whilst improving awareness of contemporary life in the German-speaking world.
ESML0036: German written & spoken language 2A
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Pre ESML0031
Aims & learning objectives:
To build on knowledge (grammatical accuracy and range of vocabulary) and writing
skills acquired in Year 1. Having successfully completed this unit, students
should be able, at the appropriate level, to: translate texts (German to English);
summarize English texts into German and write short essays expressing a personal
opinion on a given topic.
Content:
German to English translation, English to German summarisation, German essay-writing
in response to text-based questions.
ESML0037: German written & spoken language 2B
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX54 CW20 OR26
Requisites: Pre ESML0036
Aims & learning objectives:
To build on knowledge (grammatical accuracy and range of vocabulary) and writing
skills acquired in Year 2 semester 1. Having successfully completed this unit,
students should be able, at the appropriate level, to: translate texts (German
to English) with an increased awareness of nuance of meaning; summarize English
texts (as wide-ranging in topic and style as time and circumstances permit)
into German and write short essays with good grammatical awareness and fluency
of style, and to translate a dictated English text into German.
Content:
German to English translation, English to German summarisation, German essay-writing
in response to text-based questions; extempore German-to-English translation.
ESML0048: German written & spoken language 4A
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Pre ESML0037
Aims & learning objectives:
To refine students' ability to translate competently from German into English
in a variety of contemporary registers. To develop their summarisation skills
so that they are able to produce a précis in sophisticated German of
a complex English text on a subject of broad contemporary interest. To enable
students to write coherent, well-argued and grammatically correct essays in
German in response to issues raised in complex German texts. To enhance students'
knowledge of the spoken language acquired during their year abroad so that they
are able to converse fluently on contemporary issues and deliver sophisticated
oral presentations on topics of their choice.
Content:
Written language: (a) Translation from German into English is the focus of one
of the two weekly hours. The main emphasis in this semester will be placed on
dealing with texts written in more colloquial registers. (b) The second weekly
hour is devoted to the production of German in summarisation and essay-writing
exercises. In this semester particular attention will be devoted to developing
essay-writing skills. Spoken language: The emphasis is on project work carried
out both on a group and an individual basis, with the chosen topics of an appropriately
complex and controversial nature.
ESML0049: German written & spoken language 4B
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX38 CW17 OR27 OT18
Requisites: Pre ESML0048
Aims & learning objectives:
To refine students' ability to translate competently from German into English
in a variety of contemporary registers. To develop their summarisation skills
so that they are able to produce a précis in sophisticated German of
a complex English text on a subject of broad contemporary interest. To enable
students to write coherent, well-argued and grammatically correct essays in
German in response to issues raised in complex German texts. To enhance students'
knowledge of the spoken language acquired during their year abroad so that they
are able to converse fluently on contemporary issues and deliver sophisticated
oral presentations on topics of their choice.
Content:
Written language: (a) Translation from German into English is the focus of one
of the two weekly hours. The main emphasis in this semester will be placed on
translating texts written in more formal registers. (b) The second weekly hour
is devoted to the production of German in summarisation and essay-writing exercises.
In this semester particular attention will be paid to developing summarisation
skills. Spoken language: As before, project work will be carried out both on
a group and an individual basis. Additional emphasis will now be placed on developing
students' presentational skills in preparation for their oral examination.
ESML0081: Russian written & spoken language 1A
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: CW100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To consolidate knowledge of basic grammar, broaden vocabulary and improve aural
comprehension. To develop fluency in spoken Russian at the level of everyday
conversation.
Content:
Prose and essay composition; translation into English; grammar revision; conversation.
Students must be qualified in Russian to approximately A-level standard.
ESML0084: Russian written & spoken language 1B
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Pre ESML0081
Aims & learning objectives:
To further consolidate knowledge of basic grammar, broaden vocabulary and improve
aural comprehension. To further develop fluency in spoken Russian at the level
of everyday conversation.
Content:
Prose and essay composition; translation into English; grammar revision; conversation.
ESML0089: Russian written & spoken language 2A
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Pre ESML0084, Pre ESML0085
Students must have taken either ESML0084, or ESML0085. Aims & learning objectives:
To deepen knowledge of Russian grammar, expand lexis and develop translation
skills in several registers. To give students practice in expressing themselves
in writing. To improve aural comprehension and to begin to develop fluency in
spoken Russian at the level of everyday conversation.
Content:
Written Language: systematic review of Russian grammar with exercises and drills
drawn from a variety of sources; translations into Russian and English with
discussion of grammatical points, lexis etc. Essay writing in Russian with discussion
of stylistic points and vocabulary. Spoken Language: small group conversation
on a range of themes; role-playing; task-based use of audio-visual material.
To assist vocabulary acquisition, work in written and spoken language will be
organised around themes of geography & peoples and culture & recreation.
ESML0092: Russian written & spoken language 2B
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX54 CW20 OR26
Requisites: Pre ESML0089
Aims & learning objectives:
To deepen knowledge of Russian grammar, expand lexis and develop translation
skills in several registers. To give students practice in expressing themselves
in writing. To improve aural comprehension to the point at which the gist of
a TV news item can be understood and to develop fluency in spoken Russian at
the level of everyday conversation.
Content:
Written Language: systematic review of Russian grammar with exercises and drills
drawn from a variety of sources; translations into Russian and English with
discussion of grammatical points, lexis etc. Essay writing in Russian with discussion
of stylistic points and vocabulary. Spoken Language: small group conversation
on a range of themes; role-playing; task-based use of audio-visual material.
To assist vocabulary acquisition, work in written and spoken language will be
organised around themes of social issues, history and politics.
ESML0095: Russian written & spoken language 4A
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Pre ESML0092
Aims & learning objectives:
To consolidate knowledge of Russian grammar, further expand lexis and further
develop translation skills. To enable students to translate modern literary
Russian and non-technical academic and journalistic Russian, into English. To
enable students to translate selected English passages into Russian, and to
express ideas and arguments in writing. To improve fluency in spoken Russian.
Content:
Written Language: translation into and from Russian and discussion of grammatical
points, lexis etc. Conversation and audio-visual classes. Spoken Language: discussion
of selected topics on a range of themes (ecology, social issues, feminism etc).
ESML0096: Russian written & spoken language 4B
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX56 CW17 OR27
Requisites: Pre ESML0095
Aims & learning objectives:
To consolidate knowledge of Russian grammar, further expand lexis and further
develop translation skills. To enable students to translate modern literary
Russian and non-technical academic and journalistic Russian, into English with
minimal use of a dictionary. To enable students to translate selected English
passages into idiomatic Russian, and to express complex ideas and arguments
in writing. To develop fluency in spoken Russian.
Content:
Written Language: translation into and from Russian and discussion of grammatical
points, lexis etc. Conversation and audio-visual classes. Spoken Language: discussion
of selected topics on a range of themes (culture, politics in Russia etc).
ESML0101: Russian national option R4: Gorbachev & Perestroika
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES67 CW33
Requisites: Pre ESML0094, Pre HASS0005
Students must have taken either ESML0094, or HASS0005. Aims & learning objectives:
To investigate political and social developments in the years 1985-1991 in greater
depth than in ESML0094.
Content:
Origins of perestroika; glasnost and democratization; nationalities issues and
conflicts; the collapse of communism.
ESML0102: Russian national option R5: Politics in post-communist
Russia
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES67 CW33
Requisites: Pre ESML0094, Pre HASS0005
Students must have taken either ESML0094, or HASS0005. Aims & learning objectives:
To examine the dilemmas of economic and political reconstruction and of external
relations posed by the collapse of the communist political order in Russia,
and efforts to resolve these problems since August 1991. To develop skills in
political analysis and seminar techniques.
Content:
Political institutions and actors in Russia in August 1991; dimensions of the
crisis surrounding the collapse of Soviet communism; theoretical approaches
to transition; first steps of the political leadership; reform and political
conflict; dilemmas of foreign policy; political elites; civil society; political
culture; 1993 Constitution; elections and party formation; legal order and corruption;
local government; federalism and ethnic politics; gender politics; prospects.
ESML0103: Europe 1A: Introduction to European studies
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES67 CW33
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To begin an exploration of the historical and cultural identity of Europe; to
introduce basic political concepts (nationalism, imperialism, communism and
fascism) in a European historical context; to introduce cultural studies as
a discipline in the context of European culture in the first half of the twentieth
century.
Content:
Defining Europe - history, languages and culture; nations and empires in 19th
Century Europe; the First World War; communism and fascism in interwar Europe;
the Second World War; studying European culture; images of war in 20th Century
Europe.
ESML0104: Europe 1B: Europe since 1945
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES67 CW33
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To compare the experience of Eastern and Western Europe since 1945; to introduce
students, in this context, to analysis of the political structure and culture
of liberal democracies and to analysis of the structures and problems of modern
economies; to examine the interaction of culture and politics in post-war Europe.
Content:
Europe in the Cold War era; politics and culture in post-war Europe; economic
and social change in Western Europe; liberal democratic politics in Europe -
elections and party systems; political culture; the rise and fall of European
communist states and command economies; economic and political problems in the
age of globalisation; postmodernism in European culture.
ESML0105: Europe 2A: Politics of the European Union
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX67 CW33
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce students to key theories of European integration; to trace the
development of the E.C. from the 1950s to the present; to examine issues of
contemporary relevance to European integration. Students will develop an awareness
and understanding of European integration issues and be able to discuss them
on the basis of background knowledge attained during lectures and readings.
Content:
Theories of European integration; the origins of the E.C.; the Rome Treaty and
the Single Act; Britain and the E.C; the road to Maastricht; the institutions
of the E.C. and E.U.; the democratic deficit; the 1996 Inter Governmental Conference;
the E.U. as a world actor; monetary union; citizenship and "the people's Europe";
the E.U., Eastern Europe and enlargement; the future of the E.U.
ESML0107: European option E1: Intellectuals & identity
in contemporary Europe
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX67 CW33
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To provide an overview of nationalism in various twentieth-century European
contexts and of the role of intellectuals (both literary authors and social/political
commentators) in influencing debates on issues such as national identity. The
changes in post-1989 Central and Eastern Europe will provide a focus for the
latter part of the unit.
Content:
The work of intellectuals such as Barzini, Konwicki, Grass, Arendt and Foucault.
ESML0108: European option E2: Politically committed
European culture: the end of an era?
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX67 CW33
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To provide an historical understanding of the development of politically committed
culture (literature and film) in the post-1945 era in both Eastern and Western
Europe. To take account of the factors which led to the growing disillusionment
on the part of creative intellectuals regarding the value of their efforts to
bring about socialism with a human face: the dominance of Stalinism during the
Cold War, the crushing of reform movements in Eastern Europe (especially the
Prague Spring in 1968), general scepticism in Western Europe since the 1960's
regarding the value of committed culture. To study some examples of the post-engagement
culture in Eastern Europe and Russia since the collapse of communism. The close
study of works by leading authors of the post-1945 period will provide the focus
for the seminars which form the core of the unit.
Content:
Introductory lectures on the issue of commitment and French, German, Italian,
Czech and Russian attitudes to it. A selection from the following range of works:
A dossier of Camus's writing, De Sanctis: Bitter Rice; Wolf: The Quest
for Christa T., Solzhenitsyn: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,
Kundera: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Perec: Things; Sciascia:
Candido; Kl韒a: Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light, Makanin:
Baize Table with Decanter.
ESML0294: European option E5: In search of Europe (1)
- Europe divided
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES67 CW33
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To explore the concept of Europe 1945-1989. To discuss the implications for
both Western and Eastern Europe of Soviet-American rivalries during the Cold
War.
Content:
The Cold War; strengths and weaknesses of the Soviet bloc before 1989; Cold
War and d閠ente in Western Europe (1960s-1980s); 1989 and the collapse of Cold
War era political systems.
ESML0295: European option E6: In search of Europe (2)
- Europe in the 1990s: towards unification?
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES67 CW33
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To explore the concept of Europe since 1989, examining the nature of European,
national and regional identities.
Content:
Immediate consequences of 1989; the resurgence of particularism; forces for
integration.
ESML0385: European political thought
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
Students should acquire a solid understanding of the history and development
of political theory in Europe.
Content:
The course provides a survey of the major European politcal thinkers from Niccolo
Machiavelli to Antonio Gramsci.
ESML0410: Political ideologies
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES50 EX50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To provide a grounding in the study of political ideologies, namely the thought
which has been central to modern political debate, and to show the importance
of ideas to the study of politics. By the end of the unit students should be
able to demonstrate i) an understanding of the notion of ideology, and of the
key political ideologies discussed, and ii) an ability to engage with and analyse
the main debates and arguments discussed in the course.
Content:
The lectures will focus on the main ideologies which have helped shape the modern
world, together with more methodological debates surrounding the study of ideology.
Lectures will include: what is 'ideology'?; liberalism; conservatism; Marxism;
social democracy; nationalism; feminism; ecologism; and the 'end of ideology'
debate.
ESML0414: American politics
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim is to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of central
arguments and debates relating to the American political system, and to equip
them to contribute to these debates, citing relevant evidence.
Content:
The course applies the concepts and theories of political science to the United
states of America, assessing the role played by formal and informal political
entities. Notions of liberal democracy are assessed by reference to debates
on the role of political parties, interest groups, elites and political culture
on political outcomes in America. A number of case studies consider the political
significance from a European perspective of questions of race and poverty, judicial
review, and the American foreign policy process.
ESML0415: Media politics
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim is to provide students with a grounding in the theory and practice relating
to the political significance of the mass media, with reference to a number
of case studies. Students should attain an awareness of the significance of
the media in the public sphere and in the democratic process. They should also
attain skills in conceptualising the media's role.
Content:
The course examines alternative theories of the political role of the mass media,
and applies these to case studies. Topics include the Frankfurt School and mass
culture, Marxist and pluralist notions of the media, the 'propaganda model',
notions of public broadcasting, cinema and politics, the global role of the
media, and the media and war.
ESML0416: Totalitarian politics
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To further student's knowledge of comparative politics and history by examining
20th century European communist and facist movements and regimes, with particular
attention being paid to the relevance of the concept of 'totalitarianism' to
these. The main focus will be on Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. By the end
of the unit, students should be able to demonstrate: i) an understanding of
the main theories of the rise, nature and failure of communism and fascist regimes;
ii) familiarity with the concept of 'totalitarianism' and debates relating to
its use.
Content:
The concept of 'totalitarianism'; the role of ideas and ideology in the genesis
of fascist and communist movements and regimes; state and leadership in communist
and fascist regimes; coercion and support; the Holocaust; the decay of communism;
the possibility of the revival of fascism and communism in Europe.
ESML0417: British politics
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To provide a grounding in the study of the British political system, including
wider aspects of Britain's relations with the EU. Students will attain a broad
knowledge of British Politics, and the skills of being able to engage with the
main arguments and debates, and analyse major problems in the subject area.
Content:
The lectures will focus on a wide range of specific topics central to beginning
to study politics (parties, institutions, etc.). Lectures will include: conservatism;
social democracy; voting behaviour; the media; electoral systems; parliament;
executive; Britain and the European Union.
ESML0428: Film, politics & society
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To provide students with a grounding in debates about the social and political
significance and "effects" of film and television drama and documentary, in
various industrial, national and global contexts. Students should attain the
ability to read and interpret film texts and to understand and assess the visual
and other codes of film language; they should also gain a confidence in discussing
and analysing the significance of film in particular political and historical
contexts.
Content:
The course draws on a number of theoretical approaches to film and the mass
media, and draws on theoretical work on the political and social significance
of film. The course deals with questions of the construction and reception of
political meaning in film and television drama, and at issues relating to film
and national identity, film policy, political culture, censorship, propaganda,
and the notion of documentary. Examples are drawn in particular, but not exclusively
from American and European film.
ESML0441: Women & politics in Europe
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES67 CW33
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of this unit is to introduce students to the relationship between gender
and politics in contemporary Europe by examining theory and a number of thematic
case studies. By the end of this unit students will have a basic theoretical
knowledge of the relationship between women and politics and will have explored
certain aspects of the realities of women's involvement in politics across Europe.
Content:
This course will first introduce some of the major debates in contemporary feminist
political theory. It will then move into a comparative analysis of the relationship
between women and the political processes in Europe by examining feminist movements,
women's voting patterns, women's participation in government and political parties,
social policy concerning women and women's involvement in the European parliament
and commission.
MANG0013: Employee relations 1
Semester 2
Credits: 5
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX60 ES40
Requisites:
Students should already have taken MANG0005 or MANG0080 Aims & learning objectives:
The course has three aims: to give a broad overview of the major features of
industrial relations in the UK; to explore the practical aspects of managing
relations with employees in unionised and non-unionised organisations and to
place industrial relations in its wider legal, economic, and political environments.
Particular attention is paid employee relations in the workplace.
Content:
Employment Relationship: some concepts; perspectives on employee relations;
changes in the management of the employment relationship; introduction to methods
of resolving conflict; formal and informal bargaining in the workplace; employee
participation and involvement; managers, supervisors and team leaders; employee
representatives.
MANG0029: Employee relations 2
Semester 1
Credits: 5
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX60 ES40
Requisites: Pre MANG0005
Aims & learning objectives:
The course examines developments in the management of the Employment Relationship
in the UK and makes comparisons with changes in other countries. Particular
attention is given to changes in the institutions of Employee Relations.
Content:
Key changes in the Management of the Employment Relationship; Employers and
Managers; Trade Unions; Industrial Conflict; Role of the State in Employee Relations;
Legal intervention.
MANG0040: European integration studies 1
Semester 1
Credits: 5
Contact:
Topic: IMML - 50% MANG 50% ESML
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Students should have taken MANG0006 or MANG0070, or equivalent Economics
unit. IMML students must take MANG0059 in the next semester if they take this
unit. Aims & learning objectives:
To provide a basic grounding in the theory, politics and economics of European
integration. Students will complete the course with a sound knowledge of European
Union institutions and key economic policies.
Content:
Subjects covered will be: integration theory; EU political institutions, their
legitimacy and their accountability; the EU decision-making process; EC finances
and funds; the single market and Europe's lost competitiveness; competition
policy; the EU, world trade and developing countries; regional policy; economic
and monetary union; the enlargement of the EU, the EEA and Central and Eastern
Europe. Lectures will be supplemented by case study discussions, tutorial sessions
and a revision workshop.
MANG0045: Pay & rewards
Semester 1
Credits: 5
Contact:
Topic: IMML - 50% MANG 50% ESML
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX60 CW40
Requisites:
Students should have taken MANG0029, or MANG0031, or MANG0070 or MANG0083.
If the unit runs in semester 2, MSc students must have taken MANG0169. Aims
& learning objectives:
The course will enable the student to provide informed advice on the major aspects
of pay, rewards and performance management, based on a sound understanding of
the relevant theories and research evidence.
Content:
The role of reward strategy in an organisation. Economic, sociological and psychological
theories which have influenced pay policies and practices. Concepts of reward
structure, reward system and reward levels. Different perceptions of fairness
which influence employees' satisfaction with their rewards. Government pay policies.
Top people's pay. Objectives and limitations of job evaluation. Performance-related
pay in principle and in practice. Knowledge-based, skill-based and competence-based
rewards. Pay discrimination and equal pay. Employee benefits.
MANG0054: Business strategies & human resource management
Semester 2
Credits: 5
Contact:
Topic: IMML - 50% MANG 50% ESML
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX60 CW40
Requisites:
Students should have taken MANG0029, or MANG0031, or MANG0070 or MANG0080,
or MANG0169. Aims & learning objectives:
The course will enable to the student to study Human Resource Management at
an advanced level especially by critically examining contemporary theory and
practice on the link between HRM and business strategies. The student will appreciate
the effect of different types of HRM strategies on firm performance and locate
these within the context of the role of the state and trade union organisation,
membership and strategy. The student will be able to evaluate the strategies
and policies of a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors
and be equipped to debate these issues with senior HR and Personnel executives.
The key topics covered include HRM: Rhetoric and Reality; Strategy, structure
and devolution/decentralisation; the pursuit of flexibility in its various forms;
the resource view of strategy; the distinction between high commitment management
and the matching models of HRM; cost leadership models and the fragmentation
of the firm; management style in the context of trade union behaviour and the
role of the state in the UK and Europe. Examples will be taken from numerous
countries.
MANG0059: European integration studies 2
Semester 2
Credits: 5
Contact:
Topic: IMML - 50% MANG 50% ESML
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES100
Requisites: Pre MANG0040
IMML students must take this unit if they have taken MANG0040 in the previous
semester. Aims & learning objectives:
To provide an advanced knowledge of the impact of European policies on individuals,
managements and work organisations in the European Union. Students will complete
the course unit with a detailed knowledge of social, environmental and sectoral
impacts of integration and how business interests can influence the EU decision-making
process.
Content:
Subjects covered will be: Social and employment policy issues and the firm;
EU environment policy and its impact upon business and communities; the harmonisation
of company law; sectoral impacts of the single market and business strategies;
lobbying the EU; transport policy and trans-European networks; implementation
of EC law; the future direction of the EU. Lectures will be supplemented by
case study discussions, a decision-making game, and tutorial sessions.
MANG0072: Managing human resources
Semester 1
Credits: 5
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The course aims to give a broad overview of major features of human resource
management. It examines issues from the contrasting perspectives of management,
employees and public policy.
Content:
Perspectives on managing human resources. Human resource planning, recruitment
and selection. Performance, pay and rewards. Control, discipline and dismissal.
PSYC0001: Psychology 1
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of this unit is to introduce students to basic concepts and current
themes and debates within psychology. Students will understand basic ideas in
psychology and have a familiarity with some classic studies and methods. They
will understand how psychologists approach problems of mental processing.
Content:
Lectures will be broadly based on the question "Who am I"? They will put forward
the idea that in order to understand ourselves and our behaviour we need to
remember that we are members of human societies with histories and cultural
traditions: that who we are is, at least in part, determined by those around
us, our families and our friends and the social groups to which we belong. The
topics covered include: society and the individual, conformity and deviance,
gender and social identity, the self, language and social life, thinking and
reasoning, personality, life-span developments, clinical psychology.
PSYC0002: Mind, brain & behaviour
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To equip the student with an understanding, at a basic level, of brain functioning
and the relationship between mind and brain. No prior biological training is
required. Students will understand the basic brain functions that relate to
psychological processes. They will have a introductory level understanding of
consciousness and of what can be learnt from studies of brain damage.
Content:
The brain - a user's guide. How we encounter our world through our senses and
how the brain processes and organises input and output. Conscious and non-conscious
functioning. Sleep and dreaming. Emotions, stress and anxiety. What can we learn
from brain damage and dysfunction - when things go wrong.
PSYC0007: Developmental psychology
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Students must have taken one of the following units: Psychology 1 (PSYC0001),
Becoming a social person (PSYC0057), or The intelligent being (PSYC0058). Aims
& learning objectives:
To provide an understanding of human development from infancy to old age. Students
will understand how psychologists approach human development, and the main theoretical
approaches. They will understand the specific methodological requirements of
developmental psychology. They will understand the role of culture in human
development.
Content:
This unit combines an overview of key issues in theory and method in the study
of human development and addresses questions of relevance to future practitioners
in psychology and other social services. How does the 'well-equipped strange'
infant become a competent adult? How does language develop? The role of culture
in individual development. Life 'crises' and normal transitions. How does the
growing individual become a moral and social agent? The development of 'self'.
PSYC0008: Cognitive psychology
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre PSYC0001, Pre PSYC0002, Pre PSYC0058
Aims & learning objectives:
To equip the student with an understanding of cognitive psychology including
current methodological and theoretical issues. Students will understand the
principles of human cognitive functioning, and the main debates and theoretical
controversies. They will be familiar with the methodological issues surrounding
research on cognition.
Content:
How psychologists model and investigate information processing, problem solving,
reasoning, perception and the representation of knowledge. Consciousness, monitoring
and attention. How we use tools, and their relationship to thinking. Models
of mind/brain relations. Problems of logic and rationality. Individual and interpersonal
factors in tasks and problems. Experts and novices. Decision making.
PSYC0009: Social psychology
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre PSYC0001
Aims & learning objectives:
To understand the relationship between individual, social and cultural psychological
processes Students will understand the ways in which psychologists approach
problems of communication and the construction of meaning. They will be familiar
with the debates about the individual and the social and cultural context.
Content:
Language as dialogue and social negotiation. Rhetoric and discourse: how to
persuade, argue, negotiate and interpret. The construction and communication
of representation of meaning. The relationships between individual schemas,
representations and lay theories, and social and cultural repertoires. Effective
and ineffective communication. The role of metaphor and narrative in individual
and cultural meaning.
PSYC0010: Clinical psychology
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre PSYC0001, Pre PSYC0002
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce the work of clinical psychologists in the main areas of Adult Mental
Health, Learning Disabilities and work with older adults. At the end of the
course students should be able to set this work within the context of organisational
change within the NHS and to contrast a psychological approach with other approaches,
such as those of psychiatry. Students will also have more extensive knowledge
of a specific psychotherapeutic technique.
Content:
The basis of psychiatric diagnosis; introduction to counselling and psychotherapy;
depression; loss and bereavement; anxiety; schizophrenia; learning disabilities;
older adults; eating disorders; the context of work and evaluating interventions.
PSYC0013: Models of counselling & psychotherapy
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic: Psychology
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre PSYC0001
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce the main models of counselling and psychotherapy used in clinical
practice. At the end of the course students should be able to set this work
within the context of the main issues and dilemmas involved in working psychotherapeutically
and to be familiar with some of the clinical problems that people present to
a therapist. Students will also be able to formulate a clinical case.
Content:
The context within which psychotherapists and counsellors work; the main models
of psychotherapy (i.e., psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, systemic, humanistic
and group); evaluating interventions (outcome and process research); a postmodernist
approach to counselling and psychotherapy.
PSYC0015: Economic & political psychology
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre PSYC0009
Aims & learning objectives:
The theoretical basis of this course will be on the psychological organisation
of social, political, economic and ethical beliefs, and their development and
aetiology. The implicit models of psychological processes that underpin expert
and common-sense conceptions of rationality and ethics. The problematic nature
of links between beliefs and action. The tensions between 'discourse' and 'ideology'
models of explanation.
Content:
Topics include: psychological models of ideology in the organisation of beliefs;
mainstream and emergent political-social beliefs (feminism, Green politics);
lay beliefs, e.g., about unemployment, poverty, ethics; concepts of fairness
and equity; moral development; elite beliefs - what constitutes 'legitimation'?
Political propaganda and rhetoric. Social movements, social change and intergroup
relations. Students must have undertaken one other unit from Cognitive (SOCS0089),
Developmental (SOCS0088) and Clinical Psychology (SOCS0091), as well as the
necessary pre-requisite (SOCS0090).
PSYC0016: Health psychology
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre PSYC0008, Pre PSYC0009
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce students to concepts, theory, methods and applications of health
psychology. Students will be introduced to health psychology theory and methods
using the concepts of social psychology and psychobiology. They will be expected
to know about the range of methods appropriate to the measuring process and
evaluating outcomes in health psychology. A major theme in the course questions
what it means to be healthy or well and to have a good quality of life in relation
to health care and investigates how this can be assessed. They will be in a
position to appreciate some of the key interventions designed by health psychologists
for use in clinical and non-clinical settings with patients suffering from the
major chronic disease groups, e.g., cardiovascular, cancer and chronic pain
conditions. The reporting of symptoms and the management of acute illness in
GP consultations forms a central part of the course. Attention will be paid
to the range of settings in which health care is delivered and the impact of
hospitalisation and institutionalisation. The seminars provide a range of topics
connected with preventing disease e.g., AIDS and on health promotion and education.
Students will be expected to be able to set the psychology of health within
a broad multidisciplinary context in the health and social sciences. They will
be encouraged to understand not only how health care is appraised by patients/clients,
but also the reciprocal role of giving care on the part of health care workers.
They should be able to appraise the dynamics of organising psychological care
within the health care system.
PSYC0017: Controversies in cognition
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre PSYC0007, Pre PSYC0008, Ex PSYC0063
Aims & learning objectives:
To equip the student with an understanding of current issues and controversies
in psychology
Content:
The course will address key issues in contemporary psychology relating to cognition,
language and models of mind. These will include: problems of consciousness and
the interface of neuroscience, cognitive science and philosophy; connectionist
theory and its implications; the rise of evolutionary psychology; debates about
culture and human development. This unit shares teaching with the postgraduate
unit PSYC0063 of the same title.
PSYC0019: Artificial minds: Minds, machines & persons
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES60 CW20 PR20
Requisites: Pre PSYC0008, Pre PSYC0025, Ex PSYC0061
Undergraduate students must have taken one of the above pre-requisites in order
to take this unit. Aims & learning objectives:
This course introduces some recent research in the field of computer-based modeling
and simulation of human activities which require the intelligent use of knowledge,
otherwise known as Artificial Intelligence. We will approach machine intelligence
through two complementary questions: could human intelligence be simulated,
equaled or even exceeded by machines? Can the machine-metaphor still help us
understand human cognitive and social processes? Students will understand the
relevance of research in A. I. to larger questions concerning the nature of
intelligence and of scientific approaches to the replication of complex attributes
such as intelligence.
Content:
Machine-metaphors for human thinking and reasoning now compete with evolutionary
biology and neurology for influence in both psychological and sociological approaches
to human behaviour. The course will provide historical background, will introduce
some of the main approaches and research projects in the field, and will set
out two main areas of debate: criticisms made by AI researchers about rival
approaches, and arguments of philosophers, sociologists and psychologists about
the attempt to simulate intelligence. Students will become familiar with key
authors and texts, and will learn to evaluate claims about computer programs
relating to:
* their power, intelligence or other capabilities
* their influence upon psychological and social theory
* their continuing role in psychological and social research
* their influence on our notions of expertise, intelligence, creativity and
humanity. This unit shares teaching with the postgraduate unit of the same title
PSYC0061.
PSYC0020: Artificial lives: Simulation, modelling &
visualisation of complex systems
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: PR60 ES40
Requisites: Ex PSYC0062
Aims & learning objectives:
This unit allows students to develop their understanding of recent applications
of computer modeling and simulation techniques to cognitive and social processes.
Students will be required to examine the literature relating to two influential
developments simulation techniques. No prior programming or modeling experience
is necessary, but practical work with simulation software will be expected.
Students will understand the application of current research techniques in AI
and simulation to the explanation of consciousness and to the exploration of
the dynamics of group processes, and demonstrate basic familiarity with simulation
software and the evaluation of its use.
Content:
This course explores the application of biological models in AI and to social
processes. Students will be expected to understand the applications of computer
simulation in the natural and social sciences, the methods of two major research
projects(in cognitive psychology or a social science), and the implications
of computer simulation for psychological theories of communication, social interaction,
cognition, brain function and consciousness. Students will undertake practical
projects in the form of experiments with computer models and simulation programs,
and the evaluation of such programs, which will be written up as a project report.
This unit shares teaching with the postgraduate unit of the same title PSYC0062.
PSYC0057: Becoming a social person
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre PSYC0001
Aims & learning objectives:
To equip the student with an understanding of how we become 'social beings'.
Students will understand the core questions of social psychology and the development
of social processes. They will be acquainted with classic studies in social
and developmental psychology and the ways in which psychologists have approached
the social nature of the human.
Content:
The unit will use 'classic' studies in social and developmental psychology to
address the following: How do we form early relationship and attachment? How
do we make friends? How do we form impressions of others? How do we behave in
groups? How do groups affect our identity? What is the basis of prejudice, discrimination
and inter-group relations? How do we develop and change our beliefs and attitudes?
PSYC0058: The intelligent being
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Pre PSYC0001
Aims & learning objectives:
To provide a foundation understanding of cognitive processes. The student will
understand the basic questions that psychologists have addressed regarding learning,
memory and reasoning. They will have been introduced to the methods and theories
by which research has been conducted in general psychology.
Content:
This unit will introduce some of the classic studies which address the questions:
How do we learn? How do we remember? How do we reason and solve problems? How
have psychologists thought about learning, remembering and reasoning? How have
psychologists thought about intelligence and how has it been measured? How does
intelligence develop? What is the role of emotion in our understanding of the
world? What can we learn from the errors we make? The unit will highlight different
approaches in psychology and where they contrast.
SOCP0001: Introduction to social policy & the welfare
state 1
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: CW100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce basic concepts of social policy; to examine the historical evolution
of social policy and the welfare state in Britain; to review and analyse recent
developments in major social service areas; to introduce the work of 'classic'
writers in social policy.
Content:
Services and sectors in Social Policy; 1834 Poor Law; the 1842 'Sanitary Report';
The Liberal Reforms and the Introduction of Pensions; Beveridge and the impact
of the 2nd World war; the Post-War Welfare State; Thatcherism and Social Policy;
Educational Reform; Housing; Community Care
SOCP0002: Introduction to social policy & the welfare
state 2
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Pre SOCP0001
Aims & learning objectives:
To provide an introduction to social policy as a field of study. To examine
the nature and extent of poverty and inequality in Britain today, as a means
of developing an understanding of social policies as a field of study.
Content:
Introduction to Social Policy; Concepts and Definitions of Poverty; Social Exclusion;
Evidence on the Incidence of Poverty and Inequality; Demographic Factors and
their relationship to Poverty; Poverty, Gender and 'Race'; Poverty and Policy.
SOCP0003: 'Race' & racism
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To develop an understanding of issues of 'race' and ethnicity. To examine the
dimensions of discrimination and disadvantage in Britain. To analyse key policy
areas to highlight the prevalence and effects of racism. To evaluate attempts
to eradicate racism, discrimination and disadvantage.
Content:
Concepts of 'Race' and Ethnicity; Racial Inequality in Britain; Racism; Colonialism;
Racial Harassment; Immigration; Race Relations Law; Multi-Culturalism, Anti-Racism
and Education; Urban Unrest; 'Race', Racism and Policing; 'Race' and Citizenship.
SOCP0004: Family and gender
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To examine changing patterns of family and working life, the causes of these,
and their implications for gender roles and for social policy, in the UK and
elsewhere.
Content:
Definitions of the family; The politics of the family; The regulation of sexual
behaviour, marriage & divorce; Lone parenthood; Feminist theory and the family;
Childhood and children's rights; Support for families; Concepts of Family policy;
The relationship between family policy and other areas of policy.
SOCP0005: Politics and the policy process
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Ex ECOI0080
Aims & learning objectives:
This unit introduces students to key concepts for analysing the policy-making
process. By the end of the unit students should have a basic understanding of
problems and issues in the making and implementation of social policy in Britain.
This course has a common lecture programme with the Politics and Policy course,
however each course has a separate seminar programme.
Content:
Each lecture covers one conceptual topic, including: Introduction to Policy
Analysis; Theories of the State; Power; Models of Decision-making and Policy
Formulation; Implementation; Street-Level Decision-Making; Organisational Constraints;
Interest Groups and Policy Communities. The seminars apply these to topical
issues in social policy.
SOCP0006: Political values & social policy
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
This unit introduces students to a range of values and principles used to justify
the role of the state in social policy. By the end of the module students should
be familiar with the broad range of principles and should be able to apply some
of them to current debates.
Content:
Each lecture will cover one core principle, including: Need, Freedom, Equality,
Justice, Citizenship, Community. The seminars will apply each to one issue or
problem in contemporary social policy; for example, training schemes and equality
of opportunity; citizenship and rights to a basic income.
SOCP0008: Social policy dissertation 1
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: OT100
Requisites: Co SOCP0009
Aims & learning objectives:
To design and conduct a research project on an approved social policy topic.
To gain experience of undertaking primary research in social policy. To develop
a critical awareness of methodological issues in applied social research.
Content:
Students will choose a specific research topic and design a research project.
Students will undertake fieldwork research on their chosen topic.
SOCP0009: Social policy dissertation 2
Semester 2
Credits: 12
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: DS100
Requisites: Co SOCP0008
Aims & learning objectives:
To complete fieldwork research undertaken in Semester 1. To analyse fieldwork
data. To prepare a research dissertation on the student's chosen topic.
Content:
Students will complete their fieldwork research (started in Semester 1) and
analyse data collected. Students will write up their research projects in the
form of a 10,000 word dissertation.
SOCP0010: Social policy evaluation
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Pre SOCP0002
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of this course is to develop an understanding of the principal approaches
to social policy evaluation, and to develop the capacity to apply appropriately
these approaches to policy examples. As a result of this course, students should
* understand the strategic and political dimensions of social policy evaluation
* be able to compare and contrast the strengths of the different approaches
and their uses in different settings
* be able to design an evaluation project
* be able to write a project report
Content:
1. What is evaluation and why evaluate? 2. Evaluation methodology 3. Effectiveness,
efficiency and economy 4. Performance indicators, outcomes and quality assessment
5. Illuminative evaluation 6. The evaluation of innovation 7. The politics and
organisation of evaluation 8. Learning through experience
SOCP0011: Health policies & politics
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
This course aims to develop an understanding of how health policy integrates
with wider social policy issues, as well as a detailed understanding of the
content and dynamism of health policy processes. As a result , students should
* understand the impact of different welfare models on health care systems in
Europe and America
* understand the political forces behind health care reform in the British NHS
* understand the pressures exerted on health care systems and the range of responses
that have arisen
* be able to compare and contrast the strengths of the different approaches
and their uses in different settings
Content:
1. Health, health care and health policy 2. Comparing health systems: the UK
3. Comparing health systems: the USA and Europe 4. Pressures on health care
systems (1) Demographic and economic changes 5. Pressures on health care systems
(2) Science and technology 6. Politics of reform: 50 years of the NHS 7. Rationing
and priority setting 8. Medicine and the media: the effect on policy 9. Paying
for care and the mixed economy 10. Evaluating health care and health policy
11. Informing health policy: the politics of data gathering 12. The New Public
Health
SOCP0012: European social policy: a comparative approach
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0001, Pre SOCP0002
Aims & learning objectives:
This unit introduces students to the social policies of several European countries.
By the end of the module students should have a basic knowledge of the patterns
and development of welfare policies in these countries and be able to situate
them in relation to models of different welfare state regimes.
Content:
The course adopts two approaches to the material. In the first part, it examines
in depth the development of social policies in specific countries which represent
different 'welfare regimes': Germany, Sweden, Italy and Russia/ Central Europe.
Second, it then compares specific policy areas across these countries, such
as pensions and health services. The module concludes by considering the impact
of the EU and the prospects for converging social policies in Europe.
SOCP0013: Social security policy and welfare reform
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0001, Pre SOCP0002
Aims & learning objectives:
To compare different ways of meeting financial need, including historical and
cross-national comparisons. To examine the assumptions and values that structure
social security provision. To examine approaches to welfare reform in Australia,
the USA and the UK in the 1980s and 1990s.
Content:
The scope of structure of social security policy; Models of social security
policy; Reviews and reforms; Australia, UK, USA; Social Security expenditure
trends; Benefit take-up and adequacy; Fraud and Abuse. Reform in relation to
specific policy areas: Unemployment and work incentives; Families and lone parents,
Child Support; Housing; Pensions; Disability.
SOCP0016: Communication skills
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS and ASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
The course aims to extend and develop the communication skills of students for
use in social work practice.
Content:
Various styles of communication are addressed with the main focus on interviewing,
report writing and non verbal communication. Telephone skills, assertiveness,
working with interpreters and use of Makaton signing are considered and students
are provided with information about extra-curricular specialist training available
locally. There is an introductory session on observation. Students are encouraged
to apply their communication skills to future interactions with service users,
colleagues and other professionals and to consider issues of power and status.
The importance of developing anti-discriminatory practice is emphasised at all
levels of communication but particularly in face to face interactions with serve
users. Effective non-oppressive ways of communicating with disadvantaged groups
such as minority ethnic groups, older people, disabled people, people with mental
health problems or learning difficulties and children are explored. The course
asks students to think, to plan and to reflect before they take action. They
are required to examine themselves closely to develop awareness of what they
communicate about themselves and what they carry with them into interactions.
They will consider their abilities to empathise, to respect and to understand
the positions of others. Small groups, role plays and other exercises are used
to practice listening and interviewing skills.
SOCP0017: Groupwork
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim is to provide students with a basic understanding of the theory and
competencies in the practice of working with groups in human service organisations.
Objectives of the unit are that students will be able to identify indications
and counter-indications for using groupwork as a method of intervention, plan
and induct members into formed groups, select appropriate leadership styles
and the tasks associated with them, understand the groupwork role in relation
to self-led groups, solve common groupwork problems, and evaluate the process
and outcomes of groupwork.
Content:
* purposes of groupwork
* group typologies
* models of group development
* planning groups
* leadership styles and tasks
* working with user-led groups
* problem-solving in groups
* recording and evaluating groups
SOCP0018: Community profiling: research in action
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: ES100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0105
Aims & learning objectives:
Students will achieve a level of understanding of the importance within social
welfare of good information, particularly the needs of users and potential users
of social services. They will explore the importance of "hearing the voice"
of communities and individuals in planning service development. They will build
upon prior knowledge to develop an understanding of the range of skills necessary
for successful information gathering and social research in a real social research
project. They will learn skills in working collaboratively, both within project
teams and with others involved in service user and provider networks. They will
build upon year one experience of managing workloads, collecting and collating
data and presenting it in different forms for information purposes.
Content:
This will be achieved by teaching input on the context, purpose and value of
community profiling as a responsive, user-focused and anti-discriminatory task,
and the skills and knowledge base for effective practice. Students will then
carry out small projects in collaborative groups, either within the University
Community (e.g. exploring an issue in relation to disabled students), or for
a local community organisation. Non-SWASS students will be allocated more complex
projects that will reflect the level of attainment expected of their status
as second year students. Tutorial support will be available during the process
of these projects, and there will be a presentation day when all teams will
present their final reports. This unit shares teaching with a level 1 unit of
the same title (SOCP0105).
SOCP0019: Developing professional competence 1
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS and ASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
This unit introduces the style of learning to facilitate the transition from
university student to qualified practitioner - the development of professional
competence.
Content:
Models of adult learning; observation techniques for social work practice; exploration
of the links between theory and practice in social work; values in practice;
methods of obtaining user feedback; core knowledge on welfare rights; the legal
framework of social work; statutory, voluntary and private sectors; conflicts
and dilemmas in transferring social work values to practice; use of supervision.
SOCP0020: Discrimination & empowerment in social work
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: CW100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS and ASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
To build on prior understanding of how some groups in society are marginalised
and discriminated against; to understand the way in which social work practice
and social work organisations impact on these groups; raising awareness of discrimination
to form the development of strategies for practice individually and collectively,
personally and professionally, which will reduce service users' experience of
discrimination and enable them to take greater control of their lives; to learn
how to evaluate practice using skills learnt elsewhere, eg personal reflection,
service user feedback, supervision, group discussion, use of theory and recorded
experience.
Content:
Group rules for discussing challenging issues in a group setting; reflections
on childhood and the experience of marginalisation; developing personal action
plans; raising personal awareness and developing strategies in relation to racism,
sexism and discrimination against children, mental health service users, disabled
people, older people, people with learning difficulties and people diagnosed
as HIV positive; the social model of disability and the way it informs social
work practice; ageism and social work with older people; gay men and lesbians;
learning about HIV, AIDS and the implications for social work.
SOCP0021: Social work placement 1
Semester 1
Credits: 18
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
To enable students to develop and then to demonstrate that they have acquired,
integrated and applied the knowledge, skills and values for social work practice.
Content:
Development to a foundation level of the six core competencies: communicate
and engage; promote and enable; assess and plan; intervene and provide services;
work in organisations; develop professional competence. Also demonstration that
the value requirements have been met; ie that they identify and question their
own values and prejudices and their implications for practice; respect and value
uniqueness and diversity and recognise and build on strengths; promote people's
rights to choice, privacy confidentiality and protection whilst recognising
and addressing the complexities of competing rights and demands; assist people
to increase control of and improve the quality of their lives, while recognising
that control of behaviour will be required at times in order to protect children
and adults from harm; identify, analyse and take action to counter discrimination,
racism, disadvantage, inequality and injustice, using strategies appropriate
to role and function; and practise in a manner that does not stigmatise or disadvantage
either individuals, groups or communities.
SOCP0022: Organisation & management of personal social
services
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Pre SOCP0001, Pre SOCP0002
Aims & learning objectives:
Students will build upon direct or indirect knowledge of Personal Social Services
organisations to understand the connections between policy, organisation, practice
and service delivery. They will learn what effect organisation has on the development
of social work practice and service delivery, with additional focus on other
roles within the Personal Social Services - e.g. the role of management, and
inter-disciplinary practice.
Content:
Values in the Personal Social Services. Supervision: contrasting and comparing
styles experienced in practice. Functions of supervision and the effect in learning
in organisations. Priority setting and planning in PSS. Exploring how and why
social workers ration services. Is it possible for rationing to improve service
delivery? Workload and time-management. Recording: relating recording to purpose,
evaluating records - power, open recording and access to records in the Law.
Teams in the PSS - what is their purpose and value? Issues and problems of decision-making
in multi-disciplinary meetings. Understanding the agency as an organisation.
What are organisational aims and objectives and how are competing aims resolved?
A critical view of the role and function of management in the PSS.
SOCP0023: Child care research & practice
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
The aims of this course are: to develop students' skills in child observation;
to build their understanding of the links between child care research and practice;
to consider the implications of legislation for practice; to build their knowledge
of recent child care research findings and to develop their ability to critically
evaluate and use this research to inform their practice; and to ensure all students
have a grounding in the principles and practice of child protection work.
Content:
Topics covered include: the skills of observation for child assessment; 色中色,
policy and practice links. Historical overview of child care developments. Backdrop
to the 1989 Children Act; key concepts of the Act and their implications for
practice. Child care research of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Children in need, family
support and direct work. Children looked after. Child protection: key points
of the 1989 Children Act; definitions of child abuse; child abuse in a social
context; personal, professional and theoretical perspectives on child abuse;
indicators, signs and symptoms of abuse; multi-agency work in child protection;
child protection procedures; issues of ethnicity and culture; assessment in
child protection; research and its relevance for practice.
SOCP0024: Legislation for social work practice 1
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS and ASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of the unit is to provide an introduction to the framework of child
care legislation applicable to personal social services agencies and to practitioners.
Learning objectives include first, the development of a basic comprehension
of the principles and key facts in child care law and youth justice; secondly,
to prepare students who intend to become practitioners with the knowledge base
required to help them to safeguard children and promote their welfare and thirdly,
to equip students with the skills to apply the law to practice.
Content:
Each week focuses on one area of legislation. Topics include: private law; Social
Services support to families; child protection; Care and Supervision Orders;
family placements; residential placements; regulation and monitoring, youth
justice and family court welfare.
SOCP0025: Theories & methods in social work
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS and ASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
This course aims to introduce students to the main social work methods within
their theoretical frameworks. Learning objectives include: providing knowledge
of a wide range of social work methods within their theoretical contexts; developing
critical, analytical and reflective skills; equipping students to engage in
self-assessment and evaluation of learning and practice; clarifying the links
between theory and practice and enabling students to apply theories and methods
to social work practice.
Content:
The relationship between theory and practice is examined critically and the
question 'what works in social work?' is posed. An overview of theories which
impact upon social work is given and distinctions drawn between the broad theoretical
perspectives which underpin practice and those theories of social work methods
which more closely prescribe action. To meet the learning needs of future practitioners,
theories and methods which have most relevance to present day social work are
selected as the knowledge base most likely to inform future practice. They include
counselling; family therapy; task-centred work; crisis intervention; behavioural
and cognitive approaches. Methods of working with alcohol and drug dependency
involves contrasting a social and psychological approach with a medical one.
Motivational interviewing is taught in this context. Various styles of adult
learning are used and students are expected to participate in small groups,
role plays and other exercises. Placement experiences provide illustrations
of theories and methods in practice and also case examples for analysis.
SOCP0026: Sociology of social work
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: ES100
Requisites: Pre SOCP0001, Pre SOCP0002, Ex SOCP0106
Aims & learning objectives:
The aims of the unit are to deepen students existing understanding of sociological
theory through its application to the topic of social work, and to consider
social work as a substantive focus of sociological inquiry. Objectives of the
unit are that students should be able to draw on and apply a range of sociological
perspectives in the analysis of social work and social services, and that they
should develop a critical understanding of a range of contemporary controversies
in social work and the personal social services.
Content:
* relationships between sociological theory and social work
* the social construction of child abuse
* professionalisation and social work
* discourse and social work
* social models of disability
* power and social work
* gender and social work
* 'race' and social work
* technology, post-Fordism and social services This unit shares teaching with
a level 1 unit of the same title (SOCP0106).
SOCP0027: Social work dissertation 1
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: CW100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
The dissertation provides an opportunity for students to study and discuss one
topic of relevance to social work in depth. Through preparation of the dissertation
they develop their capacity for critical analysis, evaluation, application of
theory and integration of values in practice
Content:
Preparation of an outline of the dissertation plus selected bibliography.
SOCP0028: Social work dissertation 2
Semester 1
Credits: 12
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: DS100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
The dissertation provides an opportunity for students to study and discuss one
topic of relevance to social work in depth. Through preparation of the dissertation
they develop their capacity for critical analysis, evaluation, application of
theory and integration of values in practice
Content:
Knowledge and understanding of related concepts and theories from the social
sciences must be evident in the analysis, which should also include an evaluation
of research and published accounts of practice in the specific area of study.
Topics might include a particular social work task, a form of social work intervention,
a particular issue of relevance to social work etc. Students will be expected
to undertake and to present a review of relevant literature.
SOCP0028: Social work dissertation 2
Semester 2
Credits: 12
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: DS100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
The dissertation provides an opportunity for students to study and discuss one
topic of relevance to social work in depth. Through preparation of the dissertation
they develop their capacity for critical analysis, evaluation, application of
theory and integration of values in practice
Content:
Knowledge and understanding of related concepts and theories from the social
sciences must be evident in the analysis, which should also include an evaluation
of research and published accounts of practice in the specific area of study.
Topics might include a particular social work task, a form of social work intervention,
a particular issue of relevance to social work etc. Students will be expected
to undertake and to present a review of relevant literature.
SOCP0029: Legislation for social work practice 2
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0107
This unit is for SWASS and ASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
This unit complements the child care law module in the previous summer term.
The aim is to help future practitioners to develop sufficient understanding
of the legal framework and the law specific to social work to appreciate the
implications for practice.
Content:
The course is taught by specialist practitioners and academics with practice
experience to maintain the focus upon social work values and the tensions between
them and legal constraints. The unit explains how the law may be used as an
effective social work tool as well as how to work within its parameters. Students
are directed towards sources rather than offered exhaustive accounts of the
detailed law government each area. They are expected to supplement course materials
with further reading and research. Specific topics include: social work practice
in the Courts, - law and mental health, - law and disability, - law and race,
- law and older people, - law and homelessness, - law and sex discrimination.
This unit shares teaching with a unit of the same title which is assessed differently
(SOCP0107).
SOCP0030: Developing professional competence 3: principles
of practice
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
To respond to ethical issues in social work practice raised for students in
their prior learning; to develop thinking in identifying and clarifying values
and principles for social work generally and students individually; to explore
some of the ethical dilemmas and confusions raised in everyday social work practice.
Content:
General consideration of ethics and their place in social work; identification
of ethical issues and dilemmas from students' experience - eg values and conflicts
of interest; authority and accountability in social work; cultural relativism
and values; values and the maintenance of purpose and morale.
SOCP0031: Community care
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0108
This unit is for SWASS and ASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
To focus prior knowledge, skills and understanding of values into the broad
area of Community Care; to develop this prior understanding to prepare students
for practice in their preferred area for final placement; to understand the
development of Community Care both as a range of concepts and as a way of organising
and delivering social services to service users; to develop specific understanding
of the role and practice of care managers in assessment for, delivery and development
of services; to respond to the interests and learning needs of individual students
in this broad subject area (eg in relation to service user groups or type of
service provision); to provide a service user focus on the delivery of service.
Content:
Flexible to accommodate students' own learning aims but will include: the development
of Community Care; service user involvement in both care management and service
development; care management skills, including user empowerment; community work
skills (assessment of community needs, service development, networking, collaboration
with formal and informal community groups); multi-disciplinary work; diversity
of Community Care provision (the "mixed economy of care"); informal carers;
gender, culture and the concept of caring. This unit shares teaching with a
unit of the same title which is assessed differently (SOCP0108).
SOCP0032: Mental health
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
This programme is designed to prepare students for practice in a range of mental
health settings. It aims to develop students' understanding of the interrelationships
between the statutory and independent sectors and the importance of developing
skills for working at the interface of these sectors; and then offer core knowledge
and skills, complimenting clinical psychology and alcohol and drugs dependency
modules.
Content:
This course begins with a focus on the knowledge and skills required to undertake
networking, multi-disciplinary work and inter-agency work. It draws on students'
placement experience. It then relates these to work in the mental health field.
The course covers a range of mental health perspectives and social work methods.
It focuses upon racism and psychiatry, user participation, community care and
multi disciplinary practice, mental health and gender, working with carers,
mental health social work with older people, statutory mental health procedures
and practice, and services for mentally disordered offenders.
SOCP0033: Children & families
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0109
This unit is for SWASS and ASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
The aims of the course are: to develop students' understanding of the interrelationships
between the statutory and independent sectors and the importance of developing
skills for working at the interface of these sectors; to enable students to
develop their knowledge and skills in relation to work with children and families.
Content:
This course begins with a focus on the knowledge and skills required to undertaken
networking, multi-disciplinary work and inter-agency work. It draws on students'
placement experience. It then relates these to work with children and families,
focusing on such topics as: child observation; life-cycles; parent child relationships;
family support work; direct work with adults and with children; attachment and
loss; children and mental health; children with special needs; child abuse;
its impact and long-term effects; assessment of risk; treatment methods; planning
work; contracts and written agreements; reviews and evaluations; children and
young people looked after; theories of residential care; impact of the child
care system. Adoption and fostering; the role of the Guardian ad Litem; working
with families post-divorce/separation; working with stepfamilies; youth justice
and young offenders. Throughout the sessions we ensure the voices of service
users are heard; that is, the views of parents and of children and young people
who have been in receipt of social work support and/or intervention in their
lives. This unit shares teaching with a unit of the same title which is assessed
differently (SOCP0109).
SOCP0034: Working with offenders
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
pre SOCP0049 or SOCP0050 for non-SWASS students Aims & learning objectives:
The aim is to examine and evaluate methods of working with convicted offenders
within the criminal justice system. The context is practice and legislation.
The unit is preparation for those who are considering working with offenders
in a wide range of agancies and organisations, not just probation and social
work. As well as having vocational relevance, this unit is suitable for those
with academic and research interests. For non social work students the unit
builds upon earlier learning, either from the Sociology of Crime and Deviance
unit and the Sociology of Criminal Justice Policy unit, by adding perspectives
from practice and the detail of legislation.
Content:
The core knowledge base comprises: community sentences;prison work; post-release
supervision; National Standards for the supervision of offenders; PSRs; the
value base of work with offenders; methods - theory and practice [with emphasis
upon cognitive-behavioural programmes]; effectiveness and the "What works?"
debate; risk assessment; working with addictions, homelessness and educational
needs. Categories of offenders include: children and young offenders; women;
mentally disordered offenders; sex offenders; lifers and other serious offenders.
SOCP0035: Social work placement 2
Semester 2
Credits: 24
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
Only available to Social Work Students Aims & learning objectives:
To enable students to develop and then to demonstrate that they have acquired,
integrated and applied the knowledge, skills and values for social work practice.
Content:
Development of the six core competencies: communicate and engage; promote and
enable; assess and plan; intervene and provide services; work in organisations;
develop professional competence. Also demonstration that the value requirements
have been met; ie that they identify and question their own values and prejudices
and their implications for practice; respect and value uniqueness and diversity
and recognise and build on strengths; promote people's rights to choice, privacy
confidentiality and protection whilst recognising and addressing the complexities
of competing rights and demands; assist people to increase control of and improve
the quality of their lives, while recognising that control of behaviour will
be required at times in order to protect children and adults from harm; identify,
analyse and take action to counter discrimination, racism, disadvantage, inequality
and injustice, using strategies appropriate to role and function; and practise
in a manner that does not stigmatise or disadvantage either individuals, groups
or communities.
SOCP0043: Sociology of industrial societies 1: classical
theories
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES100
Requisites: Co SOCP0044
Aims & learning objectives:
To understand the basic sociological questions, theories and evidence of industrial
society
Content:
To answer the following questions: 1) How and why is industrial society distinctive?
2) Does industrial society have a logic of social differentiation, based on
conflict , control, or social order? Differences in work, authority and decision
making, kinship and gender, culture and community. The theories of Marx, Durkheim
and Weber.
SOCP0044: Sociology of industrial societies 2: social
change & social control
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Co SOCP0043
Aims & learning objectives:
To understand the changing nature of industrial societies, modern and post-modern
theories and evidence of social stratification, organisation and control
Content:
To answer the following questions: 1) Do industrial societies display common
trends, even superseding industrialism? 2) What are the main modes of social
regulation and social control in changing societies? Theories and evidence of
post-industrialism, convergence, managerialism, ethnic and gender forms of social
stratification in relation to social control and citizenship.
SOCP0047: Sociology of work & industry
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0044
Aims & learning objectives:
This course examines sociological approaches to the changing forms of work and
work organisations. Key issues include rationalisation and bureaucratisation;
the introduction and impact of new technologies; managerial and worker strategies
in the control of work; conflict and accommodation at the workplace; corporate
structure - ownership, control and managerialism, implications for theories
of class and gender relationships. The course investigates these issues in three
broad contexts: the period of early industrialisation, the development of mass
production and 'Fordism' and the growth and consolidation of modern industrial
structures.
SOCP0048: Understanding industrial behaviour
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0044
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of the course is to give students a Sociological understanding of industrial
behaviour, showing the competing paradigms and theories that describe industrial
relationships, institutions and social structures.
Content:
The course takes students through the main debates in management and work organisation
theory, looking at Taylorism and Fordism. The Hawthorne Studies and the early
Human Relations School. This is followed by an analysis of the Socio-Technical
School and its prescriptions. Contingency Theory and Labour Process Theory bring
the debates up to the 1990s. During the course a number of case study examples
are used to illustrate the key points of the differing schools.
SOCP0049: The sociology of crime & deviance
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 CW50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0044
Aims & learning objectives:
Introduction to the main sociological theories of crime and deviance. The course
also provides invaluable preparation for the Sociology of Criminal Justice Policy
and the necessary undergraduate training for all those who intend to do postgraduate
work in the areas of crime and/or social control.
Content:
Divided into two parts the lectures and seminars cover, in the first part, the
history of the sociology of crime from the late 19th century to the present
day; in the second, they deal with THREE major crime-related sociological issues:
class and crime, racism and crime; and gender and crime.
SOCP0050: Sociology of criminal justice policy
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0049
Aims & learning objectives:
Current research and policy issues in the criminal justice and penal systems.
It will examine trends in criminal policy; the politics of policing and police
accountability; the development of penal sanctions and the related issues of
alternatives to custodial measures; the efficacy and equity, or lack of them,
of the legal processes of the criminal courts; the role of new technologies;
the management of prisons including the issues of privatisation and other issues
concerning the social context of penal policy.
SOCP0051: Social structure & languages of class
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aims of this unit are to demonstrate differences in structural theories
of industrial and capitalist societies, and to develop an understanding of the
ways in which classical sociological theory has been developed and changed to
explain social stratification and inequality.
Content:
Parsons' AGIL framework, and the Functionalist Theory of Stratification. Althusser
and 'structuralist' Marxism, contributions from the Frankfurt School. Empirical
issues and evidence from the sociology of class and stratification.
SOCP0052: Theoretical issues in sociology
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0062
Aims & learning objectives:
This module examines key debates in contemporary social theory and their relationship
to classical sociology. These will include such issues as: the debate over human
agency versus social structure; power and knowledge; language and social interaction;
modernity and postmodernity; industrialism and postindustrialism and globalisation.
SOCP0054: Power & commitment in organisations
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0044, Pre SOCP0048
Aims & learning objectives:
The aim of the course is to explore the themes of ideology, power and legitimacy
in the context of organisations. To look at different methodological and empirical
attempts to study these issues in enterprise and organisational contexts. By
the end of the course the student will have familiarity with a number of ways
of qualitatively apprehending the operation and construction of legitimate forms
of management.
Content:
The course begins with the theoretical problem of conceptualising power. Students
are introduced to the Marxist and Weberian approaches and to Lukes' philosophical
attempt to distinguish three different dimensions. The course then looks at
specific themes starting with Decision-making in enterprises and boardroom activity.
Other themes are Collective bargaining, the creation of rules and industrial
legality. Worker participation and consultation. Managerial strategies to gain
commitment, the growth of corporate cultures, Japanisation and Human Resource
Management practices.
SOCP0055: Comparative industrial relations
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES40 CW10
Requisites: Pre SOCP0043, Pre SOCP0044
Aims & learning objectives:
This course examines the changing role of trade unions in industrial societies
- their relationship to the state and political parties, the significance of
ideology and different national traditions; the economic and social causes and
consequences of industrial conflict. Comparative cross-national studies will
focus on the post-war period, conflict and maturation approaches and union responses
to economic, social and political adversity.
SOCP0056: Environmental policy & the countryside
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To develop a clear understanding of the politics of the policy process as it
applies to the countryside and the environment
Content:
Concern for the environment has become a radical and innovative element in European
politics. By focusing on developments between the passage of the 1981 Wildlife
and Countryside Act and the publication of the 1995 Rural White Paper the Unit
explains the factors which have transformed the agenda of rural policy making.
Corporatist politics and competitive pluralist politics are contrasted and special
attention is given to the changing balance of private and public rights and
responsibilities in the countryside.
SOCP0057: Sociology dissertation 1
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Co SOCP0058
Aims & learning objectives:
Application of sociological principles and methodology to piece of empirical
research. Dissertation modules I & 2 are linked units. These will be jointly
assessed at the end of the year by a final mark based on the assessment of the
completed dissertation of not more than 10,000 words. By the end of Semester
I students will be required to submit a progress report and synopsis in order
to progress to Dissertation 2. All students will also by required to make a
presentation of their work to the workshops.
SOCP0058: Sociology dissertation 2
Semester 2
Credits: 12
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: DS100
Requisites: Co SOCP0057
Aims & learning objectives:
See Dissertation I (SOCS0133).
SOCP0059: Core skills for social scientists: social
research methods
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Co SOCP0110
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce students to classical, influential examples of investigations and
research in various social sciences, and to introduce the main methods as well
as philosophical and methodological issues raised by each.
Content:
Classical and influential case studies in political, sociological and psychological
research; different types of methods; classification, quantification and meaning;
controversial studies and their implications.
SOCP0060: Quantitative methods: Surveys & data analysis
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Co SOCP0110
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce students to the main assumptions, concepts and methods of survey
methods, sampling, descriptive and inferential statistics, and to establish
basic competence sufficient for investigative, exploratory data analysis using
the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). By the end of the course
the students will be able to:
* use techniques for conducting a small surveys
* use a number of basic statistical techniques and tests employed in descriptive
and inferential statistics
* use the basic functions of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
in analysing quantitative data
* recognise the broader theoretical and methodological issues that arise from
(and accompany) the use of quantitative methods in social research.
Content:
Basic principles of surveys, construction of questionnaires and sampling; Basic
descriptive statistics and Graphical Representation of Quantitative Data; Measures
of central tendency and variability; Introduction to the Statistical Package
for Social Sciences (SPSS); The normal distribution and z-scores; Tests of associations:
An overview of tests for Nominal, Ordinal and Interval/ Ration variables; Introduction
to Inferential Statistics; Estimates, Hypothesis testing and Predictions; Tests
for significance for Nominal variables (the chi-square test).
SOCP0061: Quantitative methods: Advanced techniques
for social & policy research
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Pre SOCP0060
Aims & learning objectives:
To consolidate the statistical knowledge that was obtained during SOCP0060 and
introduce advanced quantitative methods and techniques for the analysis of social
and policy issues. By the end of the course the students will be able to:
* use a variety of statistical techniques and tests in analysing complex social
and policy issues
* use a variety of SPSS procedures in analysing quantitative data
* understand the broader theoretical and methodological issues that arise when
using quantitative methods in social research.
Content:
Introduction (revision of basic principles) and tests of significance - overview
of test for nominal and ordinal variable (revision of the Chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis
H-test, Mann-Whitney U-test), Tests of significance for Interval/ Ratio variables
[Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)], Introduction to the basic principles of Multivariate
Analysis, multiple linear regression and path analysis, event history analysis.
SOCP0062: Qualitative social research methods
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: PR100
Requisites: Pre SOCP0044
Aims & learning objectives:
The evaluation of data gathered by a range of qualitative research strategies.
A critical understanding and ability to assess these different approaches, their
strengths and weaknesses, as well as an appreciation of the relationship between
different research strategies and wider theoretical and methodological issues.
Main approaches considered will include participant observation, ethnography,
community studies, experiments and historical and comparative methods. Special
attention will be paid to classical sociological studies in each area.
SOCP0067: Placement
Academic Year
Credits: 60
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment:
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
Students will be placed with organisations, either in the UK or overseas, which
offer an opportunity for them to apply their knowledge, most typically in some
sort of research or evaluation setting. The aims of the placement go beyond
work experience: it is intended to provide practical experience which can be
related to knowledge gained at the University; to allow students to develop
personal and transferable skills (in communication, planning, time management,
decision making, problem solving). It will enhance the critical appreciation
of material presented in taught courses and usually provide a basis for the
final year dissertation.
Content:
Further information about past placements can be obtained from the Director
of Studies for Placements.
SOCP0069: Social theory & social philosophy
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
The aims of this unit are to demonstrate the significance of different theories
of scientific methodology for the social sciences and the distinctive contribution
of the interpretivist perspective to sociological and related social sciences.
Students should learn the problematic relevance of natural science models for
social science and the substantive and methodological claims and value of interpretivist
social theory.
Content:
Positivist models of scientific method and the interpretivist tradition in sociology:
Popper, Kuhn, Winch and Weber. 'Actor-based' approaches: Goffman and ethnomethodology.
SOCP0070: Social issues in contemporary Europe
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: PR100
Requisites:
Aims and Learning Objectives: To develop student understanding of the major
social themes affecting Europe today. This unit will adopt a comparative perspective
that looks at the changing boundaries social agendas in place in major European
countries. The course will attempt to display elements of convergence and divergence
within those different and developing social agendas.
Content:
The idea of Europe as a social entity; EU developments promoting common social
policies; comparative demographics regarding family, gender, employment, labour
market, education, welfare and social policies. Comparative analysis of social
institutions and modes of approach to common problems.
SOCP0071: Sociology of punishment
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites:
Aims and Learning Objectives: Sociological analysis of the changing social,
cultural and political meanings of formal and informal modes of penality and
custodial social regulation.
Content:
Justifications for punishment, history of imprisonment, theories of imprisonment,
prison populations, current issues in imprisonment, non-custodial sentences,
capital punishment, studying prisons.
SOCP0072: The social dialectics of business sovereignty
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
Aims and Learning Objectives: To identify the changing boundaries and interactions
between business and society in relation to both the evolution and impact of
socio-political demands for business accountability and the social foundations
of business activiy; so that students understand the main challenges to business
sovereignty and the inter-dependence social relationships and business enterprise.
Content:
Changes in social and political challenges to capitalist enterprise. Philosophical,
historical and social structural sources of these challenges. Socialist, corporatist
and environmentalist and communitarian challenges. The social foundations of
business commerce and trade: trust, association, community, values, and citizenship.
SOCP0084: The politics of the welfare state
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX50 ES50
Requisites: Pre SOCP0001, Pre SOCP0002
Aims and Learning Objectives: To discuss and assess different theories of policy-making
in the area of social policy. To apply them to selected current social policy
issues.
Content:
Socio-economic explanations; political explanations; institutional explanations;
theory of welfare retrenchment; public opinion and the welfare state; the middle
classes and the welfare state; the think tanks and the welfare state; globalization
and the welfare state; population ageing and pension reform; the development
of active labour market policies.
SOCP0085: Using existing data: secondary analysis in
social research
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Co SOCP0061
Aims and Learning Objectives: To introduce students to the range of official
and other statistics produced in the UK and EU, and the advantages and disadvantages
of these as tools for social research. This will provide essential preparation
for the final year dissertation.
Content:
Official statistics, production and use; main sources of UK data (the Census,
the General Household Survey, the Family Expenditure Survey) analysing specific
topics (e.g., unemployment, family trends, crime, gender, poverty); statistics
on the Internet; the ESRC Data Archive.
SOCP0086: Social work placement 2 (4 year prog)
Semester 2
Credits: 30
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
Requisites: pre SOCP0001, SOCP0002 for non-SWASS students Aims &
learning objectives:
To enable students to develop and then to demonstrate that they have acquired,
integrated and applied the knowledge, skills and values for social work practice.
Content:
Development of the six core competencies: communicate and engage; promote and
enable; assess and plan; intervene and provide services; work in organisations;
develop professional competence. Also demonstration that the value requirements
have been met; ie that they identify and question their own values and prejudices
and their implications for practice; respect and value uniqueness and diversity
and recognise and build on strengths; promote people's rights to choice, privacy
confidentiality and protection whilst recognising and addressing the complexities
of competing rights and demands; assist people to increase control of and improve
the quality of their lives, while recognising that control of behaviour will
be required at times in order to protect children and adults from harm; identify,
analyse and take action to counter discrimination, racism, disadvantage, inequality
and injustice, using strategies appropriate to role and function; and practise
in a manner that does not stigmatise or disadvantage either individuals, groups
or communities.
SOCP0087: Child care research & practice (4 year prog)
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites:
This unit is for SWASS students only Aims & learning objectives:
The aims of this course are: to develop students' skills in child observation;
to build their understanding of the links between child care research and practice;
to consider the implications of legislation for practice; to build their knowledge
of recent child care research findings and to develop their ability to critically
evaluate and use this research to inform their practice; and to ensure all students
have a grounding in the principles and practice of child protection work.
Content:
Topics covered include: the skills of observation for child assessment; 色中色,
policy and practice links. Historical overview of child care developments. Backdrop
to the 1989 Children Act; key concepts of the Act and their implications for
practice. Child care research of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Children in need, family
support and direct work. Children looked after. Child protection: key points
of the 1989 Children Act; definitions of child abuse; child abuse in a social
context; personal, professional and theoretical perspectives on child abuse;
indicators, signs and symptoms of abuse; multi-agency work in child protection;
child protection procedures; issues of ethnicity and culture; assessment in
child protection; research and its relevance for practice. This unit is co-examined
with Community Care (SOCP0108) and Children & families (SOCP0109).
SOCP0090: BSc Social Sciences Placement
Academic Year
Credits: 60
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: CW100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
*Within the context of a local community, to apply the knowledge and skills
acquired in University study;
*To acquire generic skills in such areas as communication, planning, problem-solving,
group working and decision-making
Content:
The placements which are offered for the degree in Social Sciences are concentrated
in Swindon and Wiltshire. This degree has been developed as part of the partnership
between the 色中色 and the employers and educational institutions
of Swindon and Wiltshire: the placement offers students the opportunity to take
advantage of this partnership, by conducting a research and work experience
project in the Swindon and Wiltshire community, with local as well as University
support
SOCP0097: Sociology of health and illness
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: ES50 EX50
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
This option is intended to introduce students to the way in which sociologists
have thought about health and illness. By the end of the course students should:
a) be familiar with sociological issues around health and illness. b) question
the role of medicine in the modern world and problematise the concepts of 'health'
and 'illness'. c) be aware of inequalities in health, particularly in relation
to social class, gender, age and ethnicity.
Content:
A central theme of the course is the issue of how socially constructed 'knowledges'
about health and illness manifest themselves in particular systems of health
care provision and why one system rather than another may be favoured at any
one time. Specific topics will include: definitions of health and illness; the
medicalisation of everyday life; social inequalities in health and illness;
'alternative' medicine; institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation; gender
and health; the body; ageing; dying and death.
SOCP0099: Childhood: sociological perspectives & policy
issues
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment: ES100
Requisites:
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce sociological theories of childhood and then to examine a range
of social policies which impact upon children in the UK. By the end of the course,
students should be familiar with a range of sociological theories of childhood
and be able to analyse and reflect upon current social policy issues relating
to children.
Content:
Definitions and models of childhood(s). Children's rights; children and the
law. Children and social policy: poverty; health; education & child care; housing;
children and the personal social services; vulnerable children (disabled children,
traveller children, asylum seekers and refugees, child exploitation, children
and the criminal justice system).
SOCP0102: Applied social studies dissertation preparation
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: CW100
Requisites: Co SOCP0103
Aims & learning objectives:
The dissertation provides an opportunity for students to study and discuss one
topic of relevance to the fields covered by applied social studies. The aim
of the dissertation is to equip students to research, organise and produce an
extended piece of work in a relevant area. The objectives of the unit are that
students should be able to define a topic or research question, systematically
search the literature, develop a project plan for completing the dissertation,
and show that they organise the intellectual content of a longer study.
Content:
Definition of a topic or research question. Systematic search and preliminary
review of the literature. Development of a strategy or project plan for completing
the dissertation. Production of a summary and chapter outline of the dissertation.
SOCP0103: Applied social studies dissertation
Semester 2
Credits: 12
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: DS100
Requisites: Co SOCP0102
Aims & learning objectives:
The dissertation provides an opportunity for students to study and discuss one
topic of relevance to the fields covered by applied social studies. The aim
of the dissertation is to equip students to research, organise and produce an
extended piece of work in a relevant area. The objectives of the unit are that
students should be able to bring to completion the dissertation prepared in
the previous semester. This will include being able to show how concepts and
theories from the social sciences can be applied, critically review the relevant
research and practitioner literature, conduct an empirical or literature-based
research study, and to write this up in the form of a dissertation.
Content:
Students will take forward the study prepared in semester 1, complete any necessary
fieldwork or literature-based research, analyse the findings and write this
up in the form of a 10,000 word dissertation.
SOCP0105: Community profiling: research in action -
Year 1
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0018
Aims & learning objectives:
Students will gain a basic level of understanding of the importance within social
welfare of good information, particularly the needs of users and potential users
of social services. They will be introduced to the importance of "hearing the
voice" of communities and individuals in planning service development. They
will understand the range of skills necessary for successful information gathering
and social research at a fundamental level. They will start the process of learning
about working collaboratively, both within project teams and with others involved
in service user and provider networks. They will begin to understand the importance
of managing workload, the collation of data and its presentation in different
forms for information purposes.
Content:
This will be achieved by teaching input on the context, purpose and value of
community profiling as a responsive, user-focused and anti-discriminatory task,
and the skills and knowledge base for effective practice. Students will then
carry out small projects in collaborative groups, either within the University
Community (e.g. exploring an issue in relation to disabled students), or for
a local community organisation. Year One students will be allocated projects
that will reflect the level of attainment expected of them. Close tutorial support
will be available during the process of these projects, and there will be a
day set aside when all teams will present their final reports. This unit shares
teaching with a level 2 unit of the same title (SOCP0018).
SOCP0106: Sociology of social work - Year 1
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: ES100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0026
Aims & learning objectives:
The aims of the unit are to explore 1) how social work as a topic illuminates
sociological theory 2) to use sociological frameworks to explore contemporary
issues in the organisation and practice of social work. Objectives of the unit
are to introduce students to a range of sociological perspectives which have
value in analysing social work, and to develop the analytical skills to apply
sociological understanding to substantive controversies in social work and the
personal social services.
Content:
* relationships between sociological theory and social work
* the social construction of child abuse
* professionalisation and social work
* discourse and social work
* social models of disability
* power and social work
* gender and social work
* 'race' and social work
* technology, post-Fordism and social services This unit shares teaching with
a level 2 unit of the same title (SOCP0026).
SOCP0107: Legislation for social work practice 2
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0029
This unit is for SWASS (4 year degree) students only Aims & learning
objectives:
This unit complements the child care law module in the previous summer term.
The aim is to help future practitioners to develop sufficient understanding
of the legal framework and the law specific to social work to appreciate the
implications for practice.
Content:
The course is taught by specialist practitioners and academics with practice
experience to maintain the focus upon social work values and the tensions between
them and legal constraints. The unit explains how the law may be used as an
effective social work tool as well as how to work within its parameters. Students
are directed towards sources rather than offered exhaustive accounts of the
detailed law government each area. They are expected to supplement course materials
with further reading and research. Specific topics include: social work practice
in the Courts, - law and mental health, - law and disability, - law and race,
- law and older people, - law and homelessness, - law and sex discrimination.
This unit shares teaching with a unit of the same title which is assessed differently
(SOCP0029). This unit is co-assessed with Legislation for Social work Practice
1 (SOCP0092).
SOCP0108: Community care
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0031
This unit is for SWASS (4 year degree) students only Aims & learning
objectives:
To focus prior knowledge, skills and understanding of values into the broad
area of Community Care; to develop this prior understanding to prepare students
for practice in their preferred area for final placement; to understand the
development of Community Care both as a range of concepts and as a way of organising
and delivering social services to service users; to develop specific understanding
of the role and practice of care managers in assessment for, delivery and development
of services; to respond to the interests and learning needs of individual students
in this broad subject area (eg in relation to service user groups or type of
service provision); to provide a service user focus on the delivery of service.
Content:
Flexible to accommodate students' own learning aims but will include: the development
of Community Care; service user involvement in both care management and service
development; care management skills, including user empowerment; community work
skills (assessment of community needs, service development, networking, collaboration
with formal and informal community groups); multi-disciplinary work; diversity
of Community Care provision (the "mixed economy of care"); informal carers;
gender, culture and the concept of caring. This unit shares teaching with a
unit of the same title which is assessed differently (SOCP0031). This unit is
co-examined with Child care research and practice (SOCP0087) and Children &
families (SOCP0109).
SOCP0109: Children & families
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 3
Assessment: EX100
Requisites: Ex SOCP0033
This unit is for SWASS (4 year degree) students only Aims & learning
objectives:
The aims of the course are: to develop students' understanding of the interrelationships
between the statutory and independent sectors and the importance of developing
skills for working at the interface of these sectors; to enable students to
develop their knowledge and skills in relation to work with children and families.
Content:
This course begins with a focus on the knowledge and skills required to undertaken
networking, multi-disciplinary work and inter-agency work. It draws on students'
placement experience. It then relates these to work with children and families,
focusing on such topics as: child observation; life-cycles; parent child relationships;
family support work; direct work with adults and with children; attachment and
loss; children and mental health; children with special needs; child abuse;
its impact and long-term effects; assessment of risk; treatment methods; planning
work; contracts and written agreements; reviews and evaluations; children and
young people looked after; theories of residential care; impact of the child
care system. Adoption and fostering; the role of the Guardian ad Litem; working
with families post-divorce/separation; working with stepfamilies; youth justice
and young offenders. Throughout the sessions we ensure the voices of service
users are heard; that is, the views of parents and of children and young people
who have been in receipt of social work support and/or intervention in their
lives. This unit shares teaching with a unit of the same title which is assessed
differently (SOCP0033). This unit is co-examined with Child care research &
practice (SOCP0087) and Community Care (SOCP0108).
SOCP0110: Core skills for social scientists: information
technology methods
Semester 1
Credits: 3
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 1
Assessment: PR50 CW50
Requisites: Co SOCP0059, Co SOCP0060
Aims & learning objectives:
To introduce students to basic computing skills needed to support methods modules
in Years 1 and 2.
Content:
Through practical experience students will acquire basic skills in word-processing,
spreadsheets, simple databases, file management, use of networked PCs and accessing
remote sources (WWWeb); competence will be assessed through practicals and through
successful use of skills in later methods modules.
XXXX0013: Approved unit
Semester 1
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment:
Requisites:
This pseudo-unit indicates that you are allowed to choose one unit from the
University's Generally Available Catalogue, subject to the normal constraints
such as staff availability, timetabling restrictions, and minimum and maximum
group sizes. You should make sure that you indicate your actual choice of units
when requested to do so. Details of the University's Catalogue can be seen on
the University's Home Page.
XXXX0013: Approved unit
Semester 2
Credits: 6
Contact:
Topic:
Level: Level 2
Assessment:
Requisites:
This pseudo-unit indicates that you are allowed to choose one unit from the
University's Generally Available Catalogue, subject to the normal constraints
such as staff availability, timetabling restrictions, and minimum and maximum
group sizes. You should make sure that you indicate your actual choice of units
when requested to do so. Details of the University's Catalogue can be seen on
the University's Home Page.