Sociology with Media Studies BSc (Hons)

You’ll critique contemporary topics and debates to understand how sociologists make sense of the social world in radically different ways than common assumptions.

As well as reviewing current research and theories, you’ll gain crucial skills you’ll need to succeed in your degree and become an independent, creative thinker.

You'll examine a range of films and documentaries to reveal what they say about key social theories and the way societies are constructed. We'll watch films and documentaries that each reflect a specific social theme and use them to think critically about how these themes affect society today.

You'll also explore how visual media, like films and documentaries, shapes the way people think and affects the social policies that govern our lives.

You'll spend most of your time learning how to analyse data for your research, looking at both quantitative and qualitative methods, and how to examine data ethically.

You'll learn about ways of collecting data, such as surveying, interviewing and observation, before drawing conclusions and presenting what you've learned.

You'll learn how to create clear research plans that investigate real-world issues, and how research can be used to make positive changes in business, government, advocacy or academia.

On this module, you’ll investigate the structures of power, privilege and inequality that shape society. You’ll examine intersectional perspectives on how gender, race, class and other categories intertwine to limit opportunities – discussing urgent issues like educational outcomes, discrimination, welfare failures and more.

You'll also explore ideas that challenge the status quo and innovative policies aimed at balancing the scales.

With sociological research as your guide, you'll tackle thought-provoking questions head on: What barriers do people face at school, work and beyond? How do setbacks compound over a lifetime? And what hope exists for creating a truly just world?

You'll examine traditional and modern social theories in relation to your own personal experiences and current events happening in society today.

Get to grips with the big ideas in social theory and how they can be used to understand modernisation, power structures, social justice and the human condition.

As you learn, you'll also develop skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking and effective communication.

You'll work as part of a small group with your fellow students, choosing a sociology problem to research and designing a project to investigate it.

You'll work together to create research strategies, collect and analyse data, and share findings - taking your project from idea to completion.

Your research project will help you gain skills in working with others and progressing your work through peer feedback. You'll also learn how sociological research evidence is created and used for different purposes.

You'll look at ideas on industrial employment from key figures in history such as Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, considering how these hold up against today's modern workplaces and economies.

You'll study the ways that workers themselves have shaped employment through fighting and negotiating for their rights. Through class discussions and activities, you'll also develop an understanding of modern sociological ideas about the changing divisions of work, labour and employment, such as Emotional and Aesthetic work.

By the end of the module, you'll be able to explain complex ideas about shifting workplace dynamics and social divisions, and the evolving nature of employment in our rapidly changing world.

You'll learn about major economic, political and cultural changes in Western Europe over the nineteenth century, and how these affected the rest of the world as time went on.

You'll explore the big ideas that have shaped the modern world, and weigh up the benefits and perils of globalisation. Skills you'll develop on this module include independent research, critical thinking and effective communication.

You'll also learn to understand the opportunities and challenges of today's world from an informed, global perspective.

You'll explore this question on this module, looking at the uncertainties of our world and how these risks impact our everyday lives. Examine how social institutions shape people's perceptions of risk and how aspects of our own identities, such as class and gender, affect the way we approach risk as individuals.

You'll also have the chance to investigate risk and society in relation to a topic you're most interested in, for example, health, crime or technology.

Learn about the influence of TV, movies, ads, online platforms, and newspapers in the US, Canada, and Ireland. Understand how these outlets build a sense of who we are. You’ll develop key research skills to delve into the media’s cultural role.

You’ll get to watch films, listen to lectures, and work on a detailed project. This will help you learn ways to study identity, assess media in context, and create your own studies on how national stories affect our identity.

This module will equip you with the ability to critically evaluate the media’s role in forming national identity and give you the tools to conduct your own research into this complex process.

You’ll trace the development of film, TV, and digital media, grasping historical impacts and the concept of spectatorship. Look into expert analyses to explore how interactive technologies shape audiences and people. You’ll contextually analyse screen entertainment as an industry, considering economic factors and passive vs active engagement. Through a mix of practical and theoretical work, your projects will showcase your in-depth understanding of the subject. You’ll also evaluate online materials to support your findings.

By the end, you’ll have a well-rounded understanding of screen culture. You can use this to pursue many careers, from media programming to content creation.

You’ll collaborate with students on other courses to explore and address societal and environmental challenges faced by local and global communities. You’ll choose projects from a range of topic areas aligned with the university's Civic Strategy.

With input from local organisations, you’ll think about your topic from multiple perspectives, developing your interdisciplinary thinking and ability to work with others.

You’ll explore emerging technologies to understand how the internet, social media, and ambient media shape—and are shaped by—human behaviour. Consider expert opinions to spark discussions about online communities and the idea of an ‘information society.’ We’ll show you how to find trustworthy sources online, helping you delve into the participation culture across platforms.

By making your own digital content, you’ll learn about the impact of what people create and share in our always-connected world. Crucially, by taking part, you’ll improve your ability to use different media platforms and develop your creativity, preparing you for jobs in today’s digital-first workplace.

With a minimum 80-hour commitment, you’ll apply what you’ve learned so far on your degree to real-world professional settings within our community of local businesses, social enterprises, and third-sector organisations.

You’ll have support from interactive workshops, tutorials, and guest speaker events, encouraging you to set achievable professional goals and evolve your professional identity.

You’ll explore how the media covers topics like environmentalism, immigration, and mental health. By researching, reviewing, and discussing these issues, you’ll use theories to understand urgent, complex debates and sharpen your ability to think ethically.

Looking at past and current real-world controversies, you’ll finish this module ready to make and understand media responsibly.

It's up to you what your dissertation is about – this will be your chance to showcase your passion for sociology by choosing a topic that most interests you.

You'll draw on everything you’ve learned so far to investigate, analyse, craft and refine your dissertation project, using existing texts, sources and artefacts to support your arguments and give them social and historical context.

You'll have the support of a dedicated dissertation supervisor to guide you throughout this module.

This real-world, project-based module lets you address an identified need or gap by designing an innovative product, service or resource.

With support from university staff and external partners, you'll demonstrate critical thinking, ethical awareness and project management abilities.

Your final project and presentation will showcase your employability and capacity for high-impact solutions.

Research from diverse lenses to build a questioning, reflective grasp of celebrity's principles and boundaries. Hone skills in independent thought, analysis, and articulation of ideas. Use presentations to illustrate arguments around the societal role of fame.

On this module, you’ll critically analyse the complex economic, political, cultural and environmental impacts of consumption, thinking creatively about alternatives and solutions to the many controversies surrounding consumerism today.

By evaluating theories and research on consumerism, advertising, fashion, credit, debt and more, you’ll develop an insightful understanding of the profound consequences of our consumer lifestyles.

Considering diverse theories from sociology, feminist and queer studies, you'll evaluate everyday 'common sense' ideas alongside norms that police our bodies and behaviours.

You'll examine how today's societal structures continue to maintain inequality, building your ability to question assumptions, identify bias and pursue equity across intersections of race, age, class and more.

You’ll debate ideas relating to wellness culture, self-help and self-improvement.

By examining theories of psychiatry and mental health, you’ll gain tools to analyse how individuals make sense of themselves and their own levels of happiness amidst complex social scripting.

This module will help you form your own nuanced perspectives on humanity’s timeless quest for meaning and inner peace.

By analysing global case studies, you’ll assess how journalism prioritises sensational stories over peaceful resolutions during war. You’ll scrutinise the political and societal impacts of media coverage that favours violence and engage in discussions about this bias, forming your well-researched viewpoints.

This module invites you to consider how ethical journalism can transform the way we understand global discord.

You'll learn to apply intersectional theories to decode how racism intersects with privilege and oppression, and look at the rise of 'colour blind' racism in recent decades. Through reflective analysis of case studies on both sides of the Atlantic, you'l develop your sociological imagination, critical thinking abilities, and passion for social justice.

You'll challenge assumptions about the subjective nature of personal taste as a marker of social class, examining how people make judgments about 'good' and 'bad' taste and how this brings them together and sets them apart.

You'll consider whether cultural attitudes have become more tolerant, as well as how culture provides meaning in the world through stories, symbols and sounds.

By examining celebrity culture and the attribution of value in society, you'll learn about cultural production and tensions with market forces, individual expression vs societal norms, and cultural appropriation vs appreciation.

You’ll consider the growth of interest in emotions in sociology, and examines their role in classical sociological theory. Working in groups and workshops, you’ll weigh up debates on emotional life and apply them to real examples.

You’ll also explore sociological approaches to a range of distinct emotions, as well as the rise of therapy and self-help culture in contemporary western society.

On this module, you’ll explore radical frameworks for understanding and eradicating intersectional oppression. We'll analyse different ways of challenging injustices, from interrupting homophobic microaggressions to disrupting the social impacts of global issues like the climate crisis.

You'll learn about how ideas like feminism, anti-racism and inclusive education can challenge domineering structures like capitalism, racism and patriarchy. You’ll examine the politics of knowledge itself alongside ideas that empower the disadvantaged.

On this module, you'll explore the surprising interconnections between generations, personal relationships, life stages and the changing meaning of a 'career'.

By reviewing theories and debates around concepts like work-life balance and gender roles, you'll gain insight into how career choices can be influenced by social expectations and family pressures.

You'll bring these ideas together and consider the interesting ways in which 'what we do' and 'who we are' exist in a very close relationship with each other.

Explore popular texts that have sparked dedicated fan bases. You’ll learn theories to grasp why audiences get so engaged. Study the roots of subcultures united by favourite movies, TV shows, and merchandise. Look at research on how fans interact, create communities, and set themselves apart. You’ll also get hands-on experience by joining fan groups online to study and support ideas about our strong connections with media.

With a mix of critical analysis, real-world examples, and practical research, you’ll uncover the social dynamics of fandom.

This module will deepen your understanding of why people become fans and how these communities operate, enriching your knowledge through both study and direct experience.

With hundreds of thousands of individuals from Africa and the Middle East attempting to breach borders by land and sea, many are asking questions regarding the responsibilities of Western nations, and 'the West' generally, for this mass movement of people.

On this module, you'll explore the nationalism that shapes many peoples' attitudes towards migrants, through lenses of history, identity and global inequality.

You'll examine anxieties around border breaches and cultural change - investigating how privilege and national identity shape perspectives.

With a minimum 80-hour commitment, you'll apply what you've learned so far on your degree to real-world professional settings within our community of local businesses, social enterprises, and third-sector organisations.

You'll have support from interactive workshops, tutorials, and guest speaker events, encouraging you to set achievable professional goals and evolve your professional identity.

Use theory and history to see how literature, film, TV, new media, and journalism present technology, scientists, and science’s place in our world. You’ll learn to tell real science from fiction by evaluating their cultural settings. This will help you see how media shapes our understanding of science.

By looking at many examples and carefully thinking about them, you’ll discover how important it is to communicate science creatively.

You'll look critically at corporate, state, technical and consumerist norms within our society, and how these powers-that-be are challenged by resistance from protest movements that highlight the ways society is failing those with the least power. By investigating historical and modern case studies of revolutions and revolts, you'l think about how we can apply social justice and ethical practices to other societies by generating ideas and developing creative solutions of benefit to society and the economy.

On this module, you’ll explore the sociological significance of education.

Moving beyond the classroom, you’ll explore how schooling shapes identities and uphold society - for better or worse.

Through iconic texts, you’ll interrogate big ideas around inequality, control and reform, and form your own views taking into account pressing issues like class, gender and race.

You'll examine key theories and research methodologies for understanding personal life, relationships, sexuality and generational change.

You'll have the opportunity to pursue topics matching your interests, whether that's shifts in dating cultures, new family forms, LGBTQ identities, or issues like consent, respect and ethics.

The module develops critical thinking skills by evaluating different frameworks and perspectives on contemporary intimacy and relationships. There is an emphasis on inclusivity, diversity, and social justice throughout.