• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Imagining Social Worlds: Texts

Module description

Anthropologists and sociologists are primarily concerned with understanding the human condition. In order to do this, they engage in research processes which enable them to explore the lives, experiences and world-views of their human subjects. In anthropology this has traditionally meant living in small, remote communities for an extended period of time, while sociologists have tended to work closer to home, and on a larger scale in the cities of Europe and North America. Yet regardless of the location, both disciplines share a repertoire of research tools, theoretical ideas and analytical frameworks. This module involves the systematic study of selected problems and questions in social research with a focus on the end products of ethnographic study: the written and multi-media texts which social researchers produce to enable them to tell the stories of the people and places they will have studied.

In this module, you will find out about how sociologists and anthropologists research the social world. You will become familiar with different strategies for gathering and evaluating empirical evidence. We will do this by approaching academic books and other texts as reflections of how the sociologists and anthropologists in question imagine the social worlds of the 'others' they have studied. Through a focus on research which has been conducted by sociologists and anthropologists in a range of contexts around the world you will be able to explore the issues, areas of study and methods of enquiry associated with anthropological and sociological research. As a result, this module will provide you with key skills and understanding you will need at the start of your academic careers. No prior knowledge or pre-requisite modules. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to introduce you to a range of theoretical and practical issues faced by sociologists and anthropologists as they attempt to engage with and understand their human research subjects. Through a focus on a broad range of anthropological and sociological texts, the module aims to teach you how to research the social world. As a result, this module will equip you with analytical skills required for developing your own anthropological and sociological imagination.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate a basic knowledge of a range of key methodological approaches and theoretical orientations in anthropology and sociology
• 2. demonstrate a basic knowledge of the ways in which social and historical context has influenced the process of social research;
• 3. evaluate the research strategies and theoretical approaches employed by a selection of established sociologists and anthropologists;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Evaluate at a basic level a range of social scientific arguments, methods of data collection and analysis of data
• 5. describe at a basic level a range of key concepts, theories and methods of anthropological/sociological analysis;
• 6. describe at a basic level some of the ways in which anthropological/sociological knowledge can be applied;
• 7. demonstrate a basic ability to evaluate your own cultural assumptions and those of a range of established social researchers;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. plan and execute work independently, within supportive guidelines, to achieve acceptable outcomes;
• 9. discuss ideas and interpretations with others in a clear and reasoned way;
• 10. Demonstrate the capacity for structured argumentation both in writing and orally.

Syllabus plan

Through a series of interactive lectures and seminars which focus on the published work of established social researchers, students will be introduced to a broad range of methods, theories used by sociologists and anthropologists in their work, as well as a number of core issues they have addressed and areas of study they have focused on while conducting their research.

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Material Objects and the Social
• Bodies and the Social
• Researching the Everyday
• Researching Work
• Researching Social Stratification
• Researching Crime
• Researching technology

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Sociology

• Abercrombie, Nicholas. 2004. Sociology: A Short Introduction. Oxford: Polity Press.
• Alexander, Jeffrey C., Kenneth Thompson, and Laura Desfor Edles (eds). 2012. A Contemporary Introduction to Sociology: Culture and Society in Transition (Second Edition). Boulder, London: Paradigm Publishers.
• Giddens, Anthony (ed.) 1992. Human societies: An Introductory Reader in Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press.
• Lemert, C. (2012) Social Things: An Introduction to the Sociological life, 5^th edition, London: Rowman & Littlefields
• Halsey, A. H. 2004. A History of Sociology in Britain: Science, Literature and Society. Oxford Scholarship Online. [ebook]

Anthropology

• Barnard, Alan and Jonathan Spencer (eds). 1996. Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Routledge. [ebook]
• Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. 2001. Small Places, Large Issues. Pluto Press.
• Hendry, Joy. 2008. Sharing our Worlds: An Introduction to Anthropology (2nd revised edition). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Kuper, Adam. 1996. Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British School (3rd edition). London and New York, Routledge.
• Moore, Henrietta and Todd Sanders (eds). 2006. Anthropology in Theory: Issues in Epistemology. Blackwell. 

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Other resources:
Ethnographic and feature films

Key words search

Anthropology, Social Worlds, Sociological research.