Sociology
Goldsmiths’ Department of Sociology is one of the largest in the UK. We have an established reputation for our contribution to contemporary sociological thought, and offer a vibrant and expanding research culture. We have a wide range of staff who lead research in their specialist fields, a lively mixture of students, and excellent facilities.
Please note: in the Summer term you can choose to do 2 additional credits of project work related to courses studied in the Spring term. This work is negotiated individual study supported by some tutorial guidance.
You should inform your home university and the International Office at Goldsmiths of the agreed topic once it has been confirmed. When you tell your International Liaison tutor the topics you are interested in studying, they can consider appropriate tutorial guidance arrangements. You should aim to confirm these details by week 6 of the Spring term.
See also Professional and Community Education: Cultural and Social Studies for other courses in this subject.
Level 1
SO51002A
Critical Readings: The Emergence of Sociological Rationality
(10 credits, Full year)
You are introduced to sociology’s key thinkers by focusing on extracts from their writing. You concentrate on key texts in sociology and are expected to learn to read critically – that is, to think carefully about, analyse, compare, make links between, identify the arguments of, identify problems with, and formulate your own ideas and arguments about what you read. You are expected to develop the ability to approach and analyse texts with greater confidence.
Critical Readings: The Emergence of Sociological Rationality
(10 credits, Full year)
You are introduced to sociology’s key thinkers by focusing on extracts from their writing. You concentrate on key texts in sociology and are expected to learn to read critically – that is, to think carefully about, analyse, compare, make links between, identify the arguments of, identify problems with, and formulate your own ideas and arguments about what you read. You are expected to develop the ability to approach and analyse texts with greater confidence.
SO51003A
Modern Knowledge, Modern Power
(10 credits, Full year)
The course introduces you to the ‘sociological imagination’ in the work of classical social thinkers. You examine different structures and relations of power in a modern context, and how key sociological thinkers have analysed these. You examine the roots of sociology in the Enlightenment project with its concern with reason, freedom, progress and the individual, in order to consider the consequences of this project for other forms of society outside Western modernity.
Modern Knowledge, Modern Power
(10 credits, Full year)
The course introduces you to the ‘sociological imagination’ in the work of classical social thinkers. You examine different structures and relations of power in a modern context, and how key sociological thinkers have analysed these. You examine the roots of sociology in the Enlightenment project with its concern with reason, freedom, progress and the individual, in order to consider the consequences of this project for other forms of society outside Western modernity.
SO51004A
Culture and Society
(10 credits, Full year)
This course is primarily concerned with the relations between culture and social processes, and approaches these in a number of ways: by outlining various sociological uses of ‘culture’, by identifying the role of culture in examples of macrosocial phenomena (eg education, consumption, the city), and by discussing microsociological analyses of the role of culture in social interaction.
Culture and Society
(10 credits, Full year)
This course is primarily concerned with the relations between culture and social processes, and approaches these in a number of ways: by outlining various sociological uses of ‘culture’, by identifying the role of culture in examples of macrosocial phenomena (eg education, consumption, the city), and by discussing microsociological analyses of the role of culture in social interaction.
SO51005A/6A
Researching Society and Culture
() SO51005A: 4 credits, Autumn; SO51006A: 4 credits, Spring
This course is lecture- and workshop-based and introduces you to the methods that sociologists have developed to analyse societies and to produce sociological knowledge. You also develop core skills in methods of research by being introduced to the practice of sociological research. Methods are introduced in relation to key sociological topics and research traditions, so you can confront methods as real practices rather than abstractions.
Researching Society and Culture
() SO51005A: 4 credits, Autumn; SO51006A: 4 credits, Spring
This course is lecture- and workshop-based and introduces you to the methods that sociologists have developed to analyse societies and to produce sociological knowledge. You also develop core skills in methods of research by being introduced to the practice of sociological research. Methods are introduced in relation to key sociological topics and research traditions, so you can confront methods as real practices rather than abstractions.
Level 2
SO52040A
Culture, Representation and Difference
(4 credits, Autumn)
The course explores the problem of cultural identity in terms of the complex relations between subjects and representational and discursive practices. We draw on work from cultural studies, sociology and social theory in order to think about the importance of culture in the construction of modern selfidentity. Across the course, examples will be taken from advertising, mass media, fashion, photography, tattooing and other cultural forms.
Culture, Representation and Difference
(4 credits, Autumn)
The course explores the problem of cultural identity in terms of the complex relations between subjects and representational and discursive practices. We draw on work from cultural studies, sociology and social theory in order to think about the importance of culture in the construction of modern selfidentity. Across the course, examples will be taken from advertising, mass media, fashion, photography, tattooing and other cultural forms.
SO52061A
Cultural Politics and Globalisation
(4 credits, Autumn)
Through the icons of global culture – from Nike trainers to the cell phone – this course examines contemporary cultural and political issues. It examines how our possessions, the music we listen to, the things we touch, wear and eat are connected to globalisation. Culture has myriad conceptions and manifestations, and it is this openness that makes it such a potent space for politics. The course is divided into two halves. The first aims to introduce the ways in which global interconnection is understood within sociology. The second situates the discussion of cultural politics within an examination of musical cultures and subcultures.
Cultural Politics and Globalisation
(4 credits, Autumn)
Through the icons of global culture – from Nike trainers to the cell phone – this course examines contemporary cultural and political issues. It examines how our possessions, the music we listen to, the things we touch, wear and eat are connected to globalisation. Culture has myriad conceptions and manifestations, and it is this openness that makes it such a potent space for politics. The course is divided into two halves. The first aims to introduce the ways in which global interconnection is understood within sociology. The second situates the discussion of cultural politics within an examination of musical cultures and subcultures.
SO52074A
Emotions and Social Life
(4 credits, Autumn)
What does sociology have to say about emotions? How does social life shape not only emotional experience, but also how we think about emotions and set about studying them? This course introduces the complexities involved in the study of emotions and their relevance to the study of social life, by focusing on a selected number of themes each year. The course situates sociological theories in the broader context of inter- and trans-disciplinary debates by drawing on historical, philosophical, psychological and biological work.
Emotions and Social Life
(4 credits, Autumn)
What does sociology have to say about emotions? How does social life shape not only emotional experience, but also how we think about emotions and set about studying them? This course introduces the complexities involved in the study of emotions and their relevance to the study of social life, by focusing on a selected number of themes each year. The course situates sociological theories in the broader context of inter- and trans-disciplinary debates by drawing on historical, philosophical, psychological and biological work.
SO52078A
Politics, Culture and Society
(4 credits, Autumn)
This is an introduction to contemporary debates in political sociology and cultural studies of politics. You examine the politics of class and new social movements; privatisation and Thatcherism; globalisation and anti-globalisation; environmentalism and the politics of science; urban politics; regulation and political economy. You are expected to read both sociological texts and more popular analyses of contemporary politics; you are encouraged to focus on specific examples and to make links between their specific concerns and more general debates about politics in social and cultural theory.
Politics, Culture and Society
(4 credits, Autumn)
This is an introduction to contemporary debates in political sociology and cultural studies of politics. You examine the politics of class and new social movements; privatisation and Thatcherism; globalisation and anti-globalisation; environmentalism and the politics of science; urban politics; regulation and political economy. You are expected to read both sociological texts and more popular analyses of contemporary politics; you are encouraged to focus on specific examples and to make links between their specific concerns and more general debates about politics in social and cultural theory.
SO52079B
Contemporary Cultural Theory
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course provides you with an understanding of the relations between state, society and culture in the context of cultural studies (Gramscian to post-Foucauldian). You also apply, develop and question some of these analyses in relation to an increasingly ‘networked’ society. The analytical tools and perspectives of cultural studies are considered alongside notions such as the ‘new economy’, the ‘information society’, ‘post-Fordism’ and ‘actor-networks’.
Contemporary Cultural Theory
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course provides you with an understanding of the relations between state, society and culture in the context of cultural studies (Gramscian to post-Foucauldian). You also apply, develop and question some of these analyses in relation to an increasingly ‘networked’ society. The analytical tools and perspectives of cultural studies are considered alongside notions such as the ‘new economy’, the ‘information society’, ‘post-Fordism’ and ‘actor-networks’.
SO52091A
Nationalism, Fundamentalism and Cosmopolitanism
(4 credits, Spring)
This course explores sociological theories of nationalism, fundamentalism and cosmopolitanism by looking at case studies drawn from the conflicts that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia, the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and the Israel/Palestine conflict. The course aims for a balance of theory and case study in this way it anchors discussions of social theory to the actualities of particular social and historical situations.
Nationalism, Fundamentalism and Cosmopolitanism
(4 credits, Spring)
This course explores sociological theories of nationalism, fundamentalism and cosmopolitanism by looking at case studies drawn from the conflicts that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia, the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and the Israel/Palestine conflict. The course aims for a balance of theory and case study in this way it anchors discussions of social theory to the actualities of particular social and historical situations.
SO52092A
Leisure, Culture and Society
(4 credits, Spring)
This course examines the interconnections between leisure, culture and society. Entitled ‘leisure and the commodity form’, the first part of the course examines capitalist development and the development of leisure. the process of capitalist industrialisation transformed leisure from a collective activity, embedded in occupational communities, into market-based activities compatible with the dictates of the workplace. Several additional links between leisure, culture and society are made within this course. you then examine the Frankfurt School and the seminal analysis of the ‘culture industry’.
Leisure, Culture and Society
(4 credits, Spring)
This course examines the interconnections between leisure, culture and society. Entitled ‘leisure and the commodity form’, the first part of the course examines capitalist development and the development of leisure. the process of capitalist industrialisation transformed leisure from a collective activity, embedded in occupational communities, into market-based activities compatible with the dictates of the workplace. Several additional links between leisure, culture and society are made within this course. you then examine the Frankfurt School and the seminal analysis of the ‘culture industry’.
SO52093A
The Body: Social Theory and Social Practice
(4 credits, Spring)
This course explores a selection of approaches to the sociological study of the body, as well as substantive problem areas where the body has become an important focus of research. We look at how the relationships between the individual and the social body, or between the control of bodily function and the nature of the social order, have been theorised and researched. The course discusses how the body figures in identity politics, and illustrates the construction and power of bodily norms in fields such as psychiatry and criminology, and discusses the body as an object of consumption.
The Body: Social Theory and Social Practice
(4 credits, Spring)
This course explores a selection of approaches to the sociological study of the body, as well as substantive problem areas where the body has become an important focus of research. We look at how the relationships between the individual and the social body, or between the control of bodily function and the nature of the social order, have been theorised and researched. The course discusses how the body figures in identity politics, and illustrates the construction and power of bodily norms in fields such as psychiatry and criminology, and discusses the body as an object of consumption.
SO52094A
Sexuality
(4 credits, Spring)
This course approaches sexuality as a historically and culturally constructed object through which we presume to know or not know ourselves and others. It begins with a historical perspective on how sexuality has come to function as a mode of normalisation and regulation, a promise of liberation, an acclaimed site of pleasure and/or desire as well as a centrepiece in debates on censorship and representation. While the course is structured by different thematic areas such as sexology, HIV/AIDS, public/private rulings on intimacy and sexual citizenship, it includes considerable attention to the theoretical contributions of Foucault, Queer and Feminist theory.
Sexuality
(4 credits, Spring)
This course approaches sexuality as a historically and culturally constructed object through which we presume to know or not know ourselves and others. It begins with a historical perspective on how sexuality has come to function as a mode of normalisation and regulation, a promise of liberation, an acclaimed site of pleasure and/or desire as well as a centrepiece in debates on censorship and representation. While the course is structured by different thematic areas such as sexology, HIV/AIDS, public/private rulings on intimacy and sexual citizenship, it includes considerable attention to the theoretical contributions of Foucault, Queer and Feminist theory.
Level 3
SO53021A
Theorising Contemporary Society
(4 credits, Autumn)
Classical social theory developed in the 19th and early 20th centuries during a period of immense change. Many of the social and economic forms which emerged or were consolidated in the 19th century still exist today, yet there are clear differences between contemporary societies and the industrial societies of the late 19th century. This course examines the implications of such changes for social theory. It considers questions such as: to what extent do changes in social, political and economic life demand new forms of sociological theorising? In what ways have contemporary social theorists distanced themselves from classical social theory in an attempt to comprehend society today?
Theorising Contemporary Society
(4 credits, Autumn)
Classical social theory developed in the 19th and early 20th centuries during a period of immense change. Many of the social and economic forms which emerged or were consolidated in the 19th century still exist today, yet there are clear differences between contemporary societies and the industrial societies of the late 19th century. This course examines the implications of such changes for social theory. It considers questions such as: to what extent do changes in social, political and economic life demand new forms of sociological theorising? In what ways have contemporary social theorists distanced themselves from classical social theory in an attempt to comprehend society today?
SO53022A
Issues in Contemporary Social Theory
(4 credits, Spring)
You focus on recent debates in social and cultural theory. Main themes include Marxism and modernity; ethics and identity; identity and difference; the body in social theory; science and technology; recent debates in feminist theory; ‘race’ and contemporary social theory; modernity and post-modernity, and ‘postmodern sociology’.
Issues in Contemporary Social Theory
(4 credits, Spring)
You focus on recent debates in social and cultural theory. Main themes include Marxism and modernity; ethics and identity; identity and difference; the body in social theory; science and technology; recent debates in feminist theory; ‘race’ and contemporary social theory; modernity and post-modernity, and ‘postmodern sociology’.
SO53129A
Knowledge, Science and Nature
(4 credits, Spring)
This course explores some of the implications of science, progress and the domination of nature within Western culture. You look at how the distinction between reason and nature was important to the 17th-century scientific revolutions and the Enlightenment, and the implications of the dualities between nature and culture, body and mind, reason and emotion for issues of gender, ‘race’ and sexuality. You also consider the different ways ecological movements view nature, and their implications for identity and belonging.
Knowledge, Science and Nature
(4 credits, Spring)
This course explores some of the implications of science, progress and the domination of nature within Western culture. You look at how the distinction between reason and nature was important to the 17th-century scientific revolutions and the Enlightenment, and the implications of the dualities between nature and culture, body and mind, reason and emotion for issues of gender, ‘race’ and sexuality. You also consider the different ways ecological movements view nature, and their implications for identity and belonging.
SO53063A
Philosophy, Politics and Alterity
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course considers the work of contemporary cultural theorists in relation to questions of alterity (difference). It aims to give you a sense of the political spaces and problematics that have been opened up as the certain key thinkers chosen for the course deal with questions of the self, subjectivity and difference, in particular gender, sexuality and racialised difference.
Philosophy, Politics and Alterity
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course considers the work of contemporary cultural theorists in relation to questions of alterity (difference). It aims to give you a sense of the political spaces and problematics that have been opened up as the certain key thinkers chosen for the course deal with questions of the self, subjectivity and difference, in particular gender, sexuality and racialised difference.
SO53149A
Race, 'Racism' and Social Theory
(4 credits, Spring)
You examine the emergence of modern ideas of ‘race’ and racism, and their development as social and political forces. You look at them from the theoretical perspectives of sociology, feminism, and social and cultural theory. The course considers the changing manifestations of race and racism during transatlantic slavery, systems of plantation slavery in the Caribbean and the USA, colonialism in south Asia and central Africa, later processes of forced labour, the emergence of National Socialism from the 1920s, and the impact of the Holocaust. You consider a range of theoretical approaches that have attempted to account for the impact of ‘race’ in contemporary social and political processes.
Race, 'Racism' and Social Theory
(4 credits, Spring)
You examine the emergence of modern ideas of ‘race’ and racism, and their development as social and political forces. You look at them from the theoretical perspectives of sociology, feminism, and social and cultural theory. The course considers the changing manifestations of race and racism during transatlantic slavery, systems of plantation slavery in the Caribbean and the USA, colonialism in south Asia and central Africa, later processes of forced labour, the emergence of National Socialism from the 1920s, and the impact of the Holocaust. You consider a range of theoretical approaches that have attempted to account for the impact of ‘race’ in contemporary social and political processes.
SO53042A
Researching Culture: Case Studies
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course engages you in a range of research methods for the analysis of culture in its many forms and contexts. the course is workshop based and provides you with hands-on experience of different methods. You are introduced through a series of case studies to textual analysis, ethnography and audience analysis, and you are encouraged to consider how some of the more complex theoretical questions addressed in cultural studies, such as cultural objects and cultural identity, might be empirically researched.
Researching Culture: Case Studies
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course engages you in a range of research methods for the analysis of culture in its many forms and contexts. the course is workshop based and provides you with hands-on experience of different methods. You are introduced through a series of case studies to textual analysis, ethnography and audience analysis, and you are encouraged to consider how some of the more complex theoretical questions addressed in cultural studies, such as cultural objects and cultural identity, might be empirically researched.
SO53073A
Vision, Truth and Knowledge
(4 credits, Spring)
This course addresses the relations between vision, visuality, and the production of truths and knowledges in Euro-American culture. It approaches these issues by outlining various sociological arguments about the socially and historically specific character of vision and visuality; by exploring the relation between vision, truth and knowledge through an analysis of a variety of visual technologies (perspective, camera, digital technology); and by examining the different ways that vision and visuality contribute to the production and reproduction of individual and group identities across a range of domains (colonial archives, contemporary film, medicine, law).
Vision, Truth and Knowledge
(4 credits, Spring)
This course addresses the relations between vision, visuality, and the production of truths and knowledges in Euro-American culture. It approaches these issues by outlining various sociological arguments about the socially and historically specific character of vision and visuality; by exploring the relation between vision, truth and knowledge through an analysis of a variety of visual technologies (perspective, camera, digital technology); and by examining the different ways that vision and visuality contribute to the production and reproduction of individual and group identities across a range of domains (colonial archives, contemporary film, medicine, law).
SO53043A
Childhood Matters: Society, Theory and Culture
(4 credits, Autumn)
You approach childhood as a sociohistorically constructed concept, with material, technological and political dimensions and consequences. Through a mixture of theoretical readings and issuebased discussions, you explore the regulated constitution of childhood and its changing parameters. You have the chance to look at significant aspects of contemporary childhood. Some of the main areas you explore include: changing household patterns from the child’s perspective, child sexual abuse, infancy and foetal life, and children’s literature.
Childhood Matters: Society, Theory and Culture
(4 credits, Autumn)
You approach childhood as a sociohistorically constructed concept, with material, technological and political dimensions and consequences. Through a mixture of theoretical readings and issuebased discussions, you explore the regulated constitution of childhood and its changing parameters. You have the chance to look at significant aspects of contemporary childhood. Some of the main areas you explore include: changing household patterns from the child’s perspective, child sexual abuse, infancy and foetal life, and children’s literature.
SO53044A
Law, Identity and Ethics
(4 credits, Spring)
You explore key theories of the relationship between identity and the law. you consider accounts of identity and law by examining important debates in legal and social theory, from Kant to critical race theory. You explore concepts of law and identity in early modern debates, how they shaped contemporary questions, and then examine contemporary debates concerning the subject, the legal and the just. You consider these different approaches using case studies such as legal concepts of ‘the person’; sexual assault; asylum law; citizenship; transitional democracy; and human rights.
Law, Identity and Ethics
(4 credits, Spring)
You explore key theories of the relationship between identity and the law. you consider accounts of identity and law by examining important debates in legal and social theory, from Kant to critical race theory. You explore concepts of law and identity in early modern debates, how they shaped contemporary questions, and then examine contemporary debates concerning the subject, the legal and the just. You consider these different approaches using case studies such as legal concepts of ‘the person’; sexual assault; asylum law; citizenship; transitional democracy; and human rights.
SO53045A
Citizenship and Human Rights
(4 credits, Spring)
This course is concerned with the history, theory and politics of citizenship and human rights. You consider the historical development of the nation-state and the international state systems that produced the social and political conditions of citizenship and human rights. You discuss questions such as: are human rights cosmopolitan? Is there a human rights movement? Does the enforcement of human rights increase democracy? Are human rights structured so that they necessarily privilege certain groups as human?
Citizenship and Human Rights
(4 credits, Spring)
This course is concerned with the history, theory and politics of citizenship and human rights. You consider the historical development of the nation-state and the international state systems that produced the social and political conditions of citizenship and human rights. You discuss questions such as: are human rights cosmopolitan? Is there a human rights movement? Does the enforcement of human rights increase democracy? Are human rights structured so that they necessarily privilege certain groups as human?
SO53046A
Global Development and Underdevelopment
(4 credits, Spring)
You develop a critical and historical understanding of the issues which inform contemporary debates on globalisation. You consider the fields of development studies and sociology of development, focusing mainly on political economy and institutions. You look at: modernisation and its critics: the sociology of development; the development of underdevelopment and world systems; culture and development; and contemporary anti-globalisation movements.
Global Development and Underdevelopment
(4 credits, Spring)
You develop a critical and historical understanding of the issues which inform contemporary debates on globalisation. You consider the fields of development studies and sociology of development, focusing mainly on political economy and institutions. You look at: modernisation and its critics: the sociology of development; the development of underdevelopment and world systems; culture and development; and contemporary anti-globalisation movements.
SO53047A
Animals and Society
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course is concerned with the role of animals in modern western societies, and begins with an overview of the key western philosophical debates about the nature of the animal and the human. Historical changes in the ways in which animals have been represented, in animals’ symbolic role, and in the relations between humans and animals are then presented. The changing role of animals in representing particular virtues and vices, animals’ changing economic function, and the shifting interpersonal relations between humans and animals will be explored over the course of classical and medieval periods, the Enlightenment and modernity, and into late modernity.
Animals and Society
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course is concerned with the role of animals in modern western societies, and begins with an overview of the key western philosophical debates about the nature of the animal and the human. Historical changes in the ways in which animals have been represented, in animals’ symbolic role, and in the relations between humans and animals are then presented. The changing role of animals in representing particular virtues and vices, animals’ changing economic function, and the shifting interpersonal relations between humans and animals will be explored over the course of classical and medieval periods, the Enlightenment and modernity, and into late modernity.
SO53049A
Making Data Matter
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course offers a new approach to understanding social research through data analysis. It avoids formalistic presentations of statistics and qualitative data analysis techniques. Instead it asks questions about central sociological concerns about class gender and race and then sees how the resources of the UK data archive and the ESDS qualidata archive can be mobilised to answer these questions. The course draws on knowledge gained in other research methods units to support the application of this knowledge to a particular substantive research project. A key concern is how theoretical insights can be applied and developed in the context of empirical social research.
Making Data Matter
(4 credits, Autumn)
This course offers a new approach to understanding social research through data analysis. It avoids formalistic presentations of statistics and qualitative data analysis techniques. Instead it asks questions about central sociological concerns about class gender and race and then sees how the resources of the UK data archive and the ESDS qualidata archive can be mobilised to answer these questions. The course draws on knowledge gained in other research methods units to support the application of this knowledge to a particular substantive research project. A key concern is how theoretical insights can be applied and developed in the context of empirical social research.
SO53068A
A Sociology of Objects
(4 credits, Autumn)
Sociology has not only been interested in subjects, in people, but also in objects or things. In particular, it has been concerned with looking at the ways in which the social organisation of things contributes to and legitimates the reproduction of social life. This course introduces a number of these sociological approaches to objects. It focuses on the ways in which such approaches recognise that social life is a relationship, an achievement of subjects and objects, of people and things.
A Sociology of Objects
(4 credits, Autumn)
Sociology has not only been interested in subjects, in people, but also in objects or things. In particular, it has been concerned with looking at the ways in which the social organisation of things contributes to and legitimates the reproduction of social life. This course introduces a number of these sociological approaches to objects. It focuses on the ways in which such approaches recognise that social life is a relationship, an achievement of subjects and objects, of people and things.