help me finish this sociology assignment 2 need 4000 words..
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
SCHOOL OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL POLICY AND CRIMINOLOGY
MSC IN Sociology/SOCIAL POLICY
Semester 2 2021-22 SOCI 6043
Understanding Social Change
Module Team
Bindi Shah (Convener) b.shah@soton.ac.uk
Rosalind Edwards r.s.edwards@soton.ac.uk
Maria Villares-Varela m.villares-varela@soton.ac.uk
Charlie Walker charlie.walker@soton.ac.uk
For individual discussions, you can email us to make an appointment for a
meeting via MS Teams.
There are also assignment writing advice surgeries built into the course.
Seminar Time
Wednesday 10:00 -12:00 – Room to be
confirmed
Aims
The aim of this module is to examine the relationship between social
change and social theory:
● How does social change challenge sociological theories and
concepts?
● How do sociological concepts and theories respond to social
change?
● Building on the consideration of major theoretical traditions of
social theory (as explored in Understanding Modernity) students
will consider a range of contemporary theoretical debates within
sociology and explore this in particular empirical contexts.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course unit students should be able to demonstrate
● an understanding of a range of key concepts within
contemporary sociology;
● an ability to demonstrate how these concepts may be utilised in
specific research contexts, identifying the benefits and problems
which may arise from doing so;
● an ability to apply these considerations to their own research
plans and objectives, exploring the development of the concepts
they plan to use, showing their linkage to methodological
considerations and evaluating their utility in the proposed research
context.
Teaching and learning methods
This course will be taught by means of a weekly two-hour seminar
discussing pre- set questions. Like most PGT modules, this is not a
lecture-based unit. Instead, it is reliant upon a high degree of student
participation and advance preparation. The teaching and learning
methods are largely student-led. The course is underpinned by personal
study and the preparation of assessed work. You are expected to read
widely from the list of references provided for each seminar and make
notes prior to each seminar, so that you can contribute to discussion.
You will be asked to deliver short presentations based on your readings in
some of the sessions.
Assessments
The course will be assessed by two assignments:
1 x 2000-word book review weighted at 40%, deadline for
submission 18 March 2022.
1 x 4000-word essay weighted at 60%, deadline for submission 27
May 2022.
Students should submit their assignments via the Turnitin links on the
SOCI 6043 Blackboard page.
Prospective reading
The following are sources for good background reading and will give you
a taster of the discussions to come:
Meghji, A. (2020) Decolonizing Sociology: An Introduction, Wiley
[HM 435 MEG]
Bhambra, G. (2014) Connected Sociologies, London, Bloomsbury
[H61 BHA]
Gane, N. (2004) The Future of Social Theory, London, Continuum
[electronic]
Heaphy, B. (2007) Late Modernity and Social Change:
Reconstructing Social and Personal Life, Abingdon: Routledge –
especially Chapter 2 ‘Founding narratives of modernity and the
logics of social change’ [electronic]
Reed, K. (2006) New Directions in Social Theory: Race, Gender and
the Canon. London: SAGE [electronic]
Urry, J. (2002) Sociology Beyond Societies, London, Routledge –
especially Chapter 1 ‘Societies’ [HM 585 URR + electronic]
SCHEDULE OVERVIEW
Semester 2
Tutor
Introduction to the module and
Week 1
Bindi Shah
02.02.22
Week 2
09.02.22
Week 3
16.02.22
Week 4
23.02.22
Week 5
02.03.22
Week 6
Theorising social change –
apocalypse of the social
Rosalind
Edwards
Stigma
Rosalind
Assignment 1 – book review
Edwards
writing surgery
Charlie
Walker
Charlie
Walker
Class, masculinity and ‘crisis’
Class, femininity and selfhood
Maria
Villares-
09.03.22
Topic
Varela
Mobilities and migration
Week 7
Maria
Villares-
16.03.22
Varela
Community, belonging and
inequalities
18th March
2022
Assignment 1
hand-in
Week 8
Bindi Shah
Algorithmic society
23.03.22
EASTER BREAK
Week 13
Maria
Villares-
27.04.22
Varela
Emerging forms of social action:
social innovation and social
entrepreneurship in the era of
welfare reforms
Week 14
Bindi Shah
Religion in late modern societies
Bindi Shah
Conclusion and essay planning
Bindi Shah
Assignment 2 writing surgery
04.05.22
Week 15
11.05.22
Week 16
18.05.22
27th May 2022
Assignment 2
hand-in
The Seminar Programme
Introduction to the module and Theorizing social change: apocalypse of
the social?
(Bindi Shah)
This session aims to introduce you to the module and set out the
provisional scope. It will consider whether and how we may need to
reassess dominant social theories in the light of social change through
debates about what constitutes the social and to establish what we
understand today of the ‘forces’ of change. Globalization, economics,
science and technology suggest very large-scale processes affecting
people around the planet. On the other hand, we shall need to understand
how local practices not only are affected by large events, but how they
may also produce change from the ground up. The reading for this week
will establish key theoretical arguments to be explored throughout the
module in more empirical and practical examples.
Questions for discussion:
What issues did the classical traditions of sociology leave unresolved?
What new issues have emerged to be added to the sociological agenda?
To what extent did classical sociology create a Eurocentric canon? Does
the contemporary world present challenges to sociology that are not
adequately addressed by the classical theorists? Which ones and why? In
what ways do we have to change theory to decolonize it and meet
modern experiences?
Reading list:
Meghji, A. (2020) Decolonizing Sociology: An Introduction, Wiley
[HM 435 MEG]
Gane, N. (2004) The Future of Social Theory, London, Continuum
[electronic]
Crow, G (2002) ‘Community Studies: fifty years of theorization’
Sociological Research Online 7: 3
Alatas, S.F. and Sinha, V. (2017) Sociological Theory Beyond the
Canon. [electronic] (Introduction: Eurocentrism, Androcentrism and
Sociological Theory, pp 1-13).
L Ray (2007) Globalization and Everyday Life, Oxon, Routledge [JZ
1318 RAY]
Albrow, M., Eade, J., Durrschmidt, D. And Washbourne, N. (1997)
‘The Impact of Globalization on Sociological Concepts’. John Eade
(ed) Living in the Global City: Globalization as a local process.
Routledge. [electronic, available
athttps://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=dc8be475-d05beb11-b9ed-281878520afa]
Scholte, J. A. (2005) Globalization: a critical introduction, NY,
Palgrave. [electronic] (introdution to Part II Change and Continuity
& Ch. 5 ‘Globalization and production: from capitalism to
hypercapitalism’).
Turner, B.S. (1990) Theories of modernity and postmodernity [HM
101 TUR]
Benko, G. (1997) Space and social theory interpreting modernity
and postmodernity [GF 21 BEN]
Stigma
(Rosalind Edwards)
Social stigma is an established and enduring sociological concept,
influentially theorized by Erving Goffman in the context of post-war USA.
Goffman discussed stigma as interactional: constructed in and through
social relationships. It attaches to character traits, physical attributes or
group identities that are regarded socially as spoilt, engendering
stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination by ‘normal’ (unstigmatised)
people. In this session we will look at the attempts to revisit, reframe and
re-read the concept of stigma to understand pressing features and
inequalities of contemporary society.
Questions for discussion:
What was the social context for, and the features of, Goffman’s
conceptualization of stigma? Do these features need revisiting and
rethinking to understand contemporary social developments? Why and
how have contemporary sociologists sought to do this? Does the concept
of stigma retain theoretical relevance today? What contemporary
purposes is stigma said to serve?
Reading list:
Goffman, E. (1963/1990) Stigma: Notes on the Management of a
Spoiled Identity, Harmondsworth: Pelican/London: Penguin [HM136
GOF – also available as an e-book through the library]
Hannem, S. and Bruckert, C. (eds) (2012) Stigma Revisited:
Implications of the Mark, Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press
[electronic]
Link, B.G. and Phelan, J. (2014) Stigma power, Social Science and
Medicine, 103: 24-32
Parker, P. and Aggleton, P. (2003) HIV and AIDS-related stigma
and discrimination: a conceptual framework and implications for
action, Social Science and Medicine, 57(1): 13-24 [downloadable]
(Blog) Perez, C. (2014) Revisiting Erving Goffman’s stigma: notes
on the management of spoiled
identity:https://sahncambridge.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/revisiti
ng-erving-goffmans-stigma-notes-on-the-management-ofspoiled-identity-by-cristina-perez/
Scambler, G. (2009) Health-related stigma, Sociology of Health
and Illness, 31(3): 441-455 [hard copy and downloadable]
Tyler, I. (2020) Stigma: The Machinery of Inequality, Zed Books
[HM1131 TYL – also available as an e-book through the library]
Tyler, I. and Slater, T. (eds) (2018) The sociology of stigma, The
Sociological Review,
66(4):https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/sora/66/4 [downloadable],
You can listen to a podcast of Imogen Tyler in conversation about the
sociology of stigma and rethinking social inequalities:
https://www.thesociologicalreview.com/the-undisciplining-sessionsepisode-4-the-sociology-of-stigma-and-rethinking-contemporarysocial-inequalities/
Assignment 1: book review writing surgery
(Rosalind Edwards)
This seminar comprises a collective and individual writing surgery to
support you in writing your book review for assignment 1. In the first half
of the seminar, collectively we will discuss the process of writing a book
review drawing on the topics document and the book review examples
posted on BlackBoard. The second part of the seminar will be set aside
for individual consultation.
See later in module guide for coursework assignment details.
Class, masculinity and ‘crisis’
(Charlie Walker)
Crises’ of masculinity, wherever and whenever they have emerged, usually
seek to protect men and patriarchy from a perceived threat. In addition to
this, and in contrast to previous crises, the crisis apparently brought
about by the economic and cultural shifts associated with neoliberalism
has also had a tone of culpability in relation to working-class men.
Standing against neoliberalism’s ethos of responsibility, flexibility, and
self-reinvention, men left behind by deindustrialisation and economic
restructuring are amongst those pathologised,
‘marked by recidivism, abjectness and reactionary cultural politics’
(Hayward and Mac an Ghaill 2014). The recent surge in right-wing
populist movements, epitomized by the election of Donald Trump in the
USA, has been regarded at least in part as a backlash from the
‘deplorables’ left behind by the new, post-industrial economy. This
session explores the role of social class in shaping the ways in which
recent economic transformations have impacted on different groups of
men, and how they have responded to them.
Questions for discussion:
What changes have led to the notion that there is a crisis of masculinity?
In what ways are transformations related to social class central to this?
How has sociological theory shed light on the challenges faced by (some)
men and the ways they have responded to them?
Reading list:
Aho, T. (2017) ‘Driving Through Neoliberalism: Finnish Truck Drivers
Constructing Respectable Male Worker Subjectivities’, in C. Walker
and S. Roberts, Masculinity,
Labour and Neoliberalism: Working-Class Men in International
Perspective, London: Palgrave, pp 289-310
Carroll, H. (2008) ‘Men’s soaps: automotive television programming
and contemporary
working-class masculinities’, Television and New Media, 9 (4), 263–83
Connell, R.W. and Wood, J. (2005) ‘Globalization and Business
Masculinities’, Men and
Masculinities 7 (4), 347–64
Francis, B. (2006) ‘Heroes or zeroes? The discursive positioning of
“underachieving
boys” in English neo-liberal education policy’, Journal of Education Policy,
21 (2), 187–
200
Gahmen, L. (2017) ‘Gender, Neoliberalism and Embodiment: a
Social Geography of Rural, Working-Class Masculinity in Southeast
Kansas’, in C. Walker and S. Roberts, Masculinity, Labour and
Neoliberalism: Working-Class Men in International Perspective,
London: Palgrave, pp 243-264
Haylett, C. (2001) ‘Illegitimate subjects? Abject Whites, neoliberal
modernisation, and middle class multiculturalism’, Environment and
Planning D: Society and Space, 19, 351–70.
Haywood, C. and Mac an Ghaill, M. (2014) Education and
Masculinities: Social, Cultural and Global Transformations,
Routledge: London.
Lindisfarne, N. and Neale, J. (2016) ‘Masculinities and the lived
experience of
neoliberlism’, in Cornwall, A., Korioris, F. and Lindisfarne, N. (eds)
Masculinities under
Neoliberalism. London: Zed Books, 29–50.
O’Neill, R. (2015). The Work of Seduction: Intimacy and Subjectivity
in the London
‘Seduction Community.’ Sociological Research Online, 20(4), 1– 14.
https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.3744
Reay, D. (2001) ‘Finding or losing yourself?: Working-class
relationships to education’,
Journal of Education Policy, 16 (4), 333–46
Rhodes, J. (2011) ‘Fighting for “Respectability”: Media
Representations of the White, “Working-Class” Male Boxing
“Hero”’, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 35 (4), 350– 76
Savage, M. 2000 Class Analysis and Social Transformation,
Buckingham: Open University Press
Walker, C. and Roberts, S. (2017) ‘Masculinity, Labour and
Neoliberalism: Reviewing the Field’, in C. Walker and S. Roberts,
Masculinity, Labour and Neoliberalism: Working- Class Men in
International Perspective, London: Palgrave, pp 1-28
Class, femininity and selfhood
(Charlie Walker)
In the session on Class, masculinity and ‘crisis’, we looked at the ways
men have responded to recent social and economic changes that have
challenged traditional constructions of masculinity. This session
addresses the ways in which parallel changes have repositioned women
and femininity at the centre of contemporary social transformations. For
commentators such as Valerie Walkerdine, the female worker has become
the mainstay of the neo-liberal economy, with both the expanded higher
education sector and the new service-driven economy acting as primary
sites for the production of the upwardly-mobile, predominantly feminine,
neo-liberal subject. As for men, however, class remains a central factor in
shaping both the ways in which women experience the demands of the
new economy and the resources they can draw on in responding to them.
Questions for discussion:
Why is femininity/the feminine subject central to notions of neo-liberal
transformation?
How have working-class and middle-class women experienced the forms
of ‘self- invention’ demanded by neo-liberal economies?
How has ‘the social’ been psychologized, and what roles do class and
gender play in constructions of ‘resilience’?
Reading list:
Baker, J (2010) Great expectations and post-feminist
accountability: Young women
living up to the ‘successful girls’ discourse. Gender and Education 22(1):
1–15. Giddens, A (1991) Modernity and Self-identity: Self and Society in
the Late Modern Age. Oxford: Polity Press.
Gill, R., & Orgad, S. (2018). The Amazing Bounce-Backable Woman:
Resilience and the Psychological Turn in Neoliberalism. Sociological
Research Online, 23(2), 477–495.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780418769673
Savage, M (2003) A new class paradigm? British Journal of
Sociology of Education
24(4): 535–41
Skeggs, B (2005) The making of class and gender through
visualizing moral subject formation. Sociology 39(5): 965–82
Skeggs, B (2011) Imagining personhood differently: Person value
and autonomist working-class value practices. The Sociological
Review 59(3): 496–513.
Walker, C. (2015). ‘I Don’t Really Like Tedious, Monotonous Work’:
Working-class Young Women, Service Sector Employment and
Social Mobility in Contemporary
Russia. Sociology, 49(1), 106–122.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038514530537
Walkerdine, V (2003) Reclassifying upward mobility: Femininity and
the neo-liberal subject. Gender and Education 15(3): 237–48
Mobilities and migration
(Maria Villares-Varela)
Scholars have argued that international migration is one of the key
processes of social change and globalization. International travel and
permanent moves are part of the time-space compression mechanisms
that characterize our modern times. People are coming and going to a
larger number of countries than ever before, which sets this period apart
from the labour migration flows that characterized the twentieth century.
In this session we explore why people move across the globe and what
factors and levels of analysis migration theories address. We will do so by
exploring core (social) theoretical perspectives, spanning disciplines such
as economics, geography and sociology, to grasp the drivers of mobility,
and by discussing the links between mobility and social change.
Questions for discussion:
Why do people move? Are structural factors or the agency of individuals
shaping migration processes? How have scholars theorized migrations?
What is the link
between internal and international migration? Can migration lead to social
change?
Reading list (* = priority readings):
Bakewell, O. (2010) Some reflections on structure and agency in
migration theory,
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36(10): 1689-1708.
Castles, S. (2010) Understanding global migration: a social
transformation perspective,
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36(10): 1565-1586.
de Haas, H. (2021). A theory of migration: the aspirationscapabilities framework. Comparative Migration Studies, 9(1), 1-35.*
de Haas, H., Natter, K. and Vezzoli, S. (2016) Growing
restrictiveness of changing selection? The nature and evolution of
migration policies, International Migration
Review:https://doi.org/10.1111/imre.12288
de Haas, H. and Fransen, S. (2018) Social transformation and
migration: an empirical inquiry, International Migration Institute,
Working Paper Series, No.
142:https://dare.uva.nl/search?identifier=0cb94585-e10e-4c57bb1c-4cdb30cfa2fc
King, R. and Skeldon, R. (2010) “Mind the gap!” Integrating
approaches to internal and
international migration, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies,
36(10): 1619-1646*
Massey, D.S., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A. and
Taylor, J.E. (1993) Theories of international migration: a review and
appraisal, Population and Development Review, 431-466.*
Portes, A. (2010) Migration and social change: some conceptual
reflections, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 36(10): 15371563.
Community, belonging and inequalities
(Maria Villares-Varela)
Traditional terms of social analysis, like community and society, are under
threat and their relevance is questioned given the impact of recent social
changes.
Likewise recent theoretical interests in identity and community have
raised questions about the nature and meaning of ‘place’ as the location
where we establish and maintain our primary identities. In this session we
will explore key concepts that relate to identities such as belonging,
relations of power, and intersecting social divisions.
Questions for discussion:
Are place-based communities declining in significance in the
contemporary world? Are diverse contexts a challenge to social cohesion?
Do we experience new forms of conviviality? How are belonging and
identity interacting with inequalities?
Reading list (* = priority readings):
Anthias, F., (2016) Interconnecting boundaries of identity and
belonging and hierarchy- making within transnational mobility
studies: Framing inequalities. Current Sociology, 64(2), pp.172-190.
*
Barber, T. (2020). Differentiated embedding among the
Vietnamese refugees in London and the UK: fragmentation,
complexity, and ‘in/visibility’. Journal of Ethnic and Migration
Studies, 1-18.*
Blunt, A., & Sheringham, O. (2019). Home-city geographies: Urban
dwelling and mobility. Progress in human geography, 43(5), 815834.
Meissner, F. and Vertovec, S. (2015) Comparing super-diversity.
Ethnic and racial studies, 38(4), pp.541-555.
Meissner, F., & Heil, T. (2020). Deromanticising integration: On
the importance of convivial disintegration. Migration Studies,
https://doi.org/10.1093/migration/mnz056
Wessendorf, S. (2016) Settling in a super-diverse context: Recent
migrants’
experiences of conviviality. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 37(5), pp.449463.
.
Algorithmic society
(Bindi Shah)
Digital technologies are heralding a new ‘data age’ in which traces of
human activity are recorded at a scale and pace previously unimaginable.
Through the application of algorithms, this new data resource is
increasingly used to make decisions that affect us in all spheres of our
lives: credit and insurance ratings, medical diagnoses, the education we
receive, the pricing of goods and services, which jobs we are offered,
which news stories we see online, and whether or not our children may be
taken into care of the state. Our data are linked and mined, individuals
are profiled and categorised, social groups are identified and classified
by algorithmic systems that advise and decide on what actions should be
taken. In this algorithmic society, processes and decisions that were once
undertaken by humans are now conducted by algorithms, designed by
human modellers or derived from machine learning.
Questions for discussion:
What are the implications of machine agency for conceptualising
algorithmic society? What are the notions of ‘datafiction’ and
‘connectivity’? What theoretical concepts are available for sociologists in
this context? How/do algorithmic
systems raise questions of ‘risk’ and how it is understood in society?
Reading list:
Elliot, A. (2021) Making Sense of AI: Our Algorithmic World.
PolityBooks [electronic]
Benjamin, R. (2019) Race after technology: abolitionist tools for the
new Jim code. Medford, MA: Polity [electronic]
Beer, D. (2017) ‘The social power of algorithms’, Information,
Communication & Society 20:1, 1-13
Couldry, N. and Mejias, U.A. (2019) The Costs of Connection: How
Data is Colonizing Human Life and Appropriating It for Capitalism,
Stanford University Press.
Crawford, K (2015) “Can an Algorithm Be Agonistic? Ten Scenes
from Life in
Calculated Publics.” Science, Technology & Human Values.
Eubanks, V. (2018) Automating Inequality, New York: St Martin’s
Press.
Eubanks, V. (2018) How algorithms designed to alleviate poverty
can perpetuate it instead, Scientific American, 319(5): 6871https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/algorithmsdesigned-to-fight-poverty-can- actually-make-it-worse/
Hintz, A., Dencik, L. and Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2019) Digital
Citizenship in a Datafied Society, Cambridge: Polity Press.
[electronic]
Kitchin, R. (2017) “Thinking Critically about and Researching
Algorithms.” Information, Communication and Society, 20(1).
Pasquale, F (2015). The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms
That Control Money and Information. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press.
van Dijck, J. (2014) Datafication, dataism and dataveillance: Big
Data between scientific paradigm and ideology. Surveillance &
Society 12(2). Available
at:https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/surveillance-andsociety/article/view/datafication
van Dijck, J. (2013) ‘Facebook and the Engineering of Connectivity:
A Multi-Layered Approach to Social Media Platforms’ Convergence:
The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
19(2): 141-155.
Williamson, B. (2017) ‘Computing Brains: Learning Algorithms and
Neurocomputation in the smart city.’ Information, Communication
& Society, 20(1).
Sharma, S. and Nijjar, J. (2018) ‘The racialized surveillant
assemblage: Islam and the fear of terrorism.’ Popular
communication: The International Journal of Media and Culture, 16
(1): 72-85.
+++++ EASTER BREAK +++++
Emerging forms of social action: social
innovation and social entrepreneurship in
the era of welfare reforms
(Maria Villares-Varela)
Social innovation and entrepreneurship has flourished in the past decades
as the panacea for solving social challenges across the globe. Critical
perspectives in social entrepreneurship argue that the celebration of
social enterprise is not taking into account the transfer of responsibility
from the public to personal domains. The idea of the ‘citizen as
consumer’ is explored in this session by discussing how business values
have been brought to the public sphere, and their impact on third sector
organisations.
Questions for discussion:
What are the arguments in favour of social entrepreneurship? What are
the
arguments against it? How does social entrepreneurship relate to broader
discourses of twenty-first century social provision, the role of the third
sector and individuals?
Reading list (* = priority readings):
Dey, P., Teasdale, S. (2013). Social enterprise and did/identification:
The politics of identity work in the English third sector,
Administrative Theory and Praxis 35, 2, 248– 70*
Dey, P., Teasdale, S. (2016). The tactical mimicry of social
enterprise strategies: Acting
‘as if’ in the everyday life of third sector organizations, Organization 23, 4,
485–504
Teasdale, S., & Dey, P. (2019). Neoliberal governing through social
enterprise: Exploring the neglected roles of deviance and ignorance
in public value creation. Public
Administration,https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12588 *
Kibler, E., Salmivaara, V., Stenholm, P. and Terjesen, S. (2018) The
evaluative legitimacy of social entrepreneurship in capitalist welfare
systems. Journal of World
Business, 53(6), pp.944-957.
Kuisma, M. (2013). Understanding welfare crises: The role of ideas,
Public Administration 91 (4).*
Macmillan, R (2013) Decoupling the state and the third sector? The
‘big society’ as a
spontaneous order, Voluntary Sector Review 4, 2, 185–203*
Teasdale, S & Nicholls, A (2017).Neoliberalism by stealth? Exploring
continuity and change within the UK social enterprise policy
paradigm, Policy and Politics. 45, 3, 323- 341
Teasdale, S., Roy, M.J., Ziegler, R., Mauksch, S., Dey, P. and
Raufflet, E.B. (2020) Everyone a changemaker? Exploring the moral
underpinnings of social innovation discourse through real utopias.
Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, pp. 1-21.
Religion in late modern societies
(Bindi Shah)
Despite dominant perceptions that late modern societies, such as Britain
and USA, are secular societies, contemporary trends point to the
continuing importance of religion and religious institutions in our social
and cultural life. Religion continues to play a central role in world affairs
and as a powerful influence in the lives of countless individuals. This
trend has been reinforced by globalisation, immigration and the growth of
non-Christian and evangelical religions.
Questions for discussion:
We will address this topic from two aspects: from a societal perspective
and from an individual perspective. Can we be fully modern and fully
religious? In a global world of mobility, flows and networks can religion
express the social? What are the implications of religious diversity for
social cohesion? How can we understand the fate of religion in societies
that appear to be obsessed with individualism, choice and consumerism?
How and why is religion still important? How does religion shape the
identities and practices of particular groups? How can we explain the rise
in spirituality? Why is there a rise in religious pilgrimages in the
contemporary period?
Reading list:
BBC Radio 4 Reith Lecture 2016, Lecture 4 @
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07z43ds
Davie, G. 2015. Religion in Britain: A Persistent Paradox. 2nd
Edition. Wiley Blackwell. [electronic]
Bender, C. et al. (eds.) 2013. Religion on the Edge: De-centering
and Re-centering the Sociology of Religion. Oxford University
Press. [electronic] (Chs.1, 6, 10)
Berger, P., Davie, G. and Fokas, E. (2008) Religious America,
secular Europe? A theme and variations. Ashgate. [BL 2747.8 BER]
(Chs. 2, 6 & 7).
Kurien, P. (2006) ‘Multiculturalism and “American” Religion: The
Case of Hindu Indian Americans’, Social Forces, Vol. 85, No. 2:
723-741.
Beaman, L. G. (2003) ‘the Myth of Pluralism, Diversity and vigor:
The Constitutional Privilege of Protestantism in the United States
and Canada’. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 42,
Issue 3: 311-325.
Buchholtz, G. (2021) ‘Religious diversity in the public arena as a
cornerstone for social integration and the impact of law.’ In
Religion, Migration, and Existential Wellbeing, edited by M. K.
Dahlin, O. L. Larsson, and A. Winell, pp. 39-52. Routledge [copy
posted on Blackboard]
Roof, W. C. (1999) Spiritual Market Place: Baby boomers and the
Remaking of American Religion. Princeton University Press.
[electronic] (Introduction & Chs. 2 & 5).
Heelas, P., Woodhead, L., Seel, B., Szerszynski, B. and Tusting, K.,
(2005), The spiritual revolution: Why religion is giving way to
spirituality, Oxford: Blackwell [BV 4501.3.HEE] (Ch. 3 as EResource available
athttps://contentstore.cla.co.uk/secure/link?id=d2c4bfb3-5f5aeb11-b9ed-281878520afa].
Houtman, D. and Aupers, S., (2007), ‘The Spiritual Turn and the
Decline of Tradition: The Spread of Post-Christian Spirituality in
Fourteen Western Countries (1981- 2000)’, Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion, 46 (3): 305-320.
Sharma, S. and Aune, K. (2017) Women and Religion in the West:
Challenging Secularization. Routhledge ISBN 9781138276048
[electronic]
Collins-Mayo, S. and Dandelion, P. (eds), (2013) Religion and Youth.
Ashgate [electronic]
Possamai, A. (2009) Sociology of Religion for Generations X and Y.
Equinox: London. [electronic]
Shah, B. (2014) ‘’Religion in the everyday lives of secondgeneration Jains in Britain and the USA: resources offered by a
dharma-based South Asian religion for the construction of religious
biographies, and negotiating risk and uncertainty in late modern
societies’, The Sociological Review, 62 (3): 512-529.
Coleman, S. and J. Eade. 2004. Reframing Pilgrimage: Cultures in
Motion. Routledge. [electronic]
Eade, J. & Garbin, D. (2007): ‘Reinterpreting the relationship
between the centre and periphery: pilgrimage and sacred
spatialisation among Polish and Congolese communities in Britain’,
Mobilities 2 (3).
Concluding discussion
(Bindi Shah)
In this session we shall take stock of where we have got to in all our
discussions so far and ask whether we are in a position to ask new
questions about what constitutes the social and social change, and what
these might possibly be!
Questions for discussion:
What are the main drivers of social change? How are they embedded in
classical and modern theories of social order? Do we need to reassess
the drivers of change themselves? Why? In what ways do we have to
change theory to decolonise the hegemonic cannon? In what ways do we
have to change theory to meet modern experiences?
Reading list:
[add readings]
Giddens, A. (2002). Runaway World: How Globalisation is Shaping
Our Lives. London: Profile. [electronic]
Giddens, A (1991) The Consequences of Modernity Cambridge:
Polity [electronic] (especially section I)
Beck, U. (1992) ‘From Industrial Society to Risk Society: Questions
of Survival, Social Structure and Ecological Enlightenment’ in
Theory, Culture & Society, 9 (1): 97-123.
Baudrillard, J. (1998) The Consumer Society, London, Sage
[electronic]
Bauman, Z. (2013) Liquid Modernity. [electronic] (both Forewords,
and chapters 2 and 5)
Giddens, A. (2008). Modernity and Self Identity: Self and Society in
the Late Modern Age. Cambridge: Polity Press. [electronic] (Chs 2
and 3).
Beck, U. (1992) ‘Individualization, Institutionalization and
Standardization’, in Risk society: towards a new modernity;
translated by Mark Ritter. London: SAGE, [electronic].
Davis, M. and Mestrovic, D. S. (2013) Liquid Sociology: Metaphor in
Zygmunt Bauman’s Analysis of Modernity [electronic] (Chs 5 and
10).
Tucker, A (1998) Anthony Giddens and Modern Social Theory,
London, Sage [electronic] (esp. ch. 4 ‘The state, capitalism and
social change’)
Neubert, D. (2022) ‘Do Western Sociological Concepts Apply
Globally? Towards a Global Sociology’.
Sociologyhttps://doi.org/10.1177/00380385211063341
Assignment 2 writing surgery
(Bindi Shah)
This time is available for tutorial help with the second assignment.
See the essay writing checklist posted up on BlackBoard.
Assessments
The course will be assessed by two assignments:
1 x 2000 word book review assignment, weighted at 40% deadline 18 March 2022, 11.59pm
1 x 4000 word essay, weighted at 60% – deadline 27 May 2022,
11.59pm
You should indicate word length at the end of your assignment and
submit electronically via the TurnItIn link on the SOCI 6043 Blackboard
page.
Assignment 1: Book review
2000 words max.
Choose one of the following books to review:
O’Hara, M. (2020) The Shame Game: Overturning the Toxic Poverty
Narrative, Bristol: Policy Press. (E-book available in the Library)
Sayer, A. (2005) The Moral Significance of Class, CUP (E-book
available in the Library).
Hall, S. A. (2021) The Migrant’s Paradox: Street Livelihoods and
Marginal Citizenship in Britain. Minnesota: University of Minnesota
Press (E-book available in the library)
In this initial assignment you are required to demonstrate an
understanding of the arguments put forward in the book and of debates
in the field, as discussed in the relevant module seminars
Guidance on writing a book review can be found in the Blackboard ‘Book
Review’ folder under ‘Assignments’. Examples of book reviews are also
posed in this folder. We will discuss writing a book review in seminar 3.
Assignment 2: Essay
4000 words max.
Choose one of the following essay titles:
Critically evaluate the emergence of social entrepreneurship in
relation to the challenges of welfare state provision.
What challenges are posed for sociological theory in understanding
the role of algorithmic systems in social change and the nature of
society?
In what ways have class and gender been seen to play a role in the
forms of
‘self-invention’ apparently demanded by neo-liberal economics?
Outline and critically discuss the arguments that religion continues
to play a significant role in late modern societies.
‘Intersectionality provides a way of thinking about the complex
inequalities found in relations of hierarchization and stratification’
(Anthias 2016). Discuss in relation to debates on belonging and
inequalities.
Marking Criteria and Grade Descriptors
Most written work by students – essays, reviews, dissertations, exams –
is assessed into different class categories by the using the following
marking criteria:
RELEVANCE – the ability to focus your work on the question at
hand, gathering literature and data that relate clearly to the subject
STRUCTURE – the ability to achieve a coherent structure in your
work so that it flows logically and fluently, using good paragraphing
and signposting, with a clear introduction and conclusion
ACCURACY – describing empirical phenomena and key ideas and
theories accurately and clearly
EVIDENCE – using relevant, appropriate, authoritative sources to
back up your claims and arguments, indicating strong knowledge of
the literature
ANALYSIS – the ability to move beyond a descriptive approach to
key ideas and information towards harnessing these in the
construction of an insightful response to the question
CRITICAL JUDGEMENT – the ability to engage critically with the
sources you use, reflecting on their strengths and limitations and
using such reflections to
develop your own argument
COMMUNICATION – writing carefully with good grammar, spelling
and word choice, to communicate your arguments and analysis
effectively
REFERENCING – correctly citing and attributing the sources you
use in written work through an identified referencing system. All
Social Science subjects at Southampton use the Harvard
system:http://library.soton.ac.uk/citing-and- refeencing/harvard
Grade descriptors mapped to Categorical Marking Scheme
Students studying modules within the Department of Sociology, Social
Policy & Criminology are marked according to the following categorical
marking scheme in order to avoid any ambiguity in the standard achieved.
This policy is in common with that adopted by other disciplines across
the University.
Qualities include
relevance (a high
DISTINCTION
degree of focus on
the question),
accuracy of
interpretation,
originality and
insightfulness of
analysis, critical
reflection, wide
reading, coherence of
structure, and clarity
of expression. These
factors will be present
to varying degrees in
a first class answer.
An assessment that
100
Outstanding 1st
could not be bettered
within the time
available.
Distinguished by
90
Excellent 1st
substantial scholarship
and, in some cases,
originality.
An answer that includes
85
Very good 1st
almost all the first class
qualities.
An answer showing a
great deal of insight
78
Good 1st
into the question, and
one which indicates
wide reading beyond
the reference lists
provided in course
handouts.
An answer showing
substantial evidence of
most of the first class
qualities,
demonstrating a
comprehensive
72
Low 1st
coverage of the subject
matter and relevant
literature, a very strong
analysis, and no major
inaccuracies of
interpretation.
Qualities include a
good degree of focus
on the question and
accuracy of
interpretation,
evidence of reading of
PASS WITH
MERIT
the core literature and
some insightful
analysis. Although not
necessarily original,
the answer will
articulate a clear and
well-supported
viewpoint on the key
issues being
discussed. The work
will be well-structured
and relatively clearly
expressed.
Displays all pass with
merit qualities, but
narrowly misses
68
High: Very good
distinction, most
commonly in areas of
insight or breadth of
additional reading.
An answer that displays
most of the pass with
merit qualities. There
will be clear evidence
of reading of relevant
literature and key
issues will be
65
Mid: – Good
interpreted accurately,
although the answer
may not be entirely
comprehensive, or may
be let down by one or
two weaker
components such as
coherency of structure.
62
Low: – Capable
An answer which
displays some of the
pass with merit
qualities. There will be
evidence of reading of
relevant literature and
key issues will be
interpreted mostly
accurately, although
the answer may be let
down by one or two
weaker components
such as coherency of
structure, coverage of
key issues
and readings.
Qualities include a good
degree of relevance,
coverage of the topic and
accuracy of
interpretation. There is
PASS
evidence of reading, but it
is limited in extent.
Coherence of structure,
clarity of analysis and
degree of insight and
critical reflection are also
limited.
High: –
58
Displays all of the pass
qualities, but fails to
Competent
demonstrate much reading.
Structure is present, but
may not be the most
suitable. Typically, such an
answer may cover the
course material and be
correct, but display a lower
level of clarity in
comprehension and
analysis than a low 2:1.
An answer that displays
most of the pass qualities,
Mid: –
55
Satisfactory
largely relevant and
accurate and covering the
topic, but with limited
coverage of the literature
and limited insight.
Some of the required
qualities are significantly
lacking. The structure may
be weak, or there may be
little evidence of reading.
52
Low: – Adequate
An answer at this level may
be let down by significant
sections which are not
relevant to the question, or
by some inaccuracy of
interpretation.
Work with severe
shortcomings in
presentation, relevance,
analysis and structure.
Though there may be
FAIL
some evidence of basic
knowledge of the
literature, it is likely to be
superficial and/or
inaccurate.
An answer that is relevant
to the question and
demonstrates some of the
key points, but with little or
no evidence of reading, and
48
Rudimentary
possibly large segments of
inappropriate material. The
answer demonstrates little
or no insight and is
weakly structured.
An answer that is only
partly relevant to the
question and covers only
some of the key issues,
45
Weak
with little or no evidence of
reading, and possibly large
segments of inappropriate
material. The answer
demonstrates little or no
insight and is weakly
structured.
An answer that
demonstrates only a
rudimentary understanding
of the key issues, with little
focus on the question, little
or no evidence of reading,
42
Very weak
and possibly large
segments of inappropriate
material. The answer
demonstrates
little or no insight and is
weakly structured.
Answers with serious
omissions or errors, but
with some material relevant
to the question. There is
evidence that the question
has been understood in
part, but that there is only a
38
Poor
fragmented and shallow
acquaintance with the
subject. Work at this level
will demonstrate serious
weakness in argument,
and/or a serious lack of
knowledge and
understanding.
Little substance or
30
Inadequate
understanding, but with a
vague knowledge of the
correct answer.
Some relevant facts but an
inadequate structure and
approach leading to a
jumble of disorganised
material. This grade is also
appropriate for an answer
18
Unsatisfactory
which is wholly tangential
to the question, or to a very
short answer (less than one
side), without promise of
being better had it been
longer.
Virtually nothing of
0
Wholly unsatisfactory
relevance to the answer,
lacking any real structure.