Course summary

Are we living in a ‘broken society’? What new forms of cultural identity are emerging? What are the effects of globalisation on cultural, economic and political life? Answering questions such as these is the challenge of our era. The BA Sociology will provide you with the knowledge and skills to critically engage issues such as globalisation, the changing nature of work and the family, gender roles and sexuality, multiculturalism, the impact of the media and information technologies, and new forms of politics. Studying Sociology at Birmingham will provide you with the toolkit to form your own critical judgements on social changes reshaping the world today. In addition to these 'big picture' social theories we place a strong emphasis on developing social science research skills - so valued by employers - with research methods training in each year. This culminates in a final year dissertation where you will research and write an extended piece on a topic of your own choice, with the support of an expert supervisor. This reflects our view that you should be doing Sociology, not just reading about it, from the very start of your degree. In addition to our Single Honours programme, Sociology can also be studied as part of a range of Joint Honours options including Political Science, Social Policy, Philosophy, and Education.