Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Social Science (Credit Plus) (SSPS07006)
Course Outline
| School | Centre for Open Learning |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course is designed for students on the HSS International Foundation Programme. It is not available to undergraduate students.
Introduction to Social Science (Credit Plus) will provide an introduction to sociology, social policy, politics, economics and government in an interdisciplinary way through a thematic approach. A study skills component will be offered alongside the main course content to enable students to develop skills to progress to further study. |
| Course description |
1. Modernity, Complexity & Science
a. Why a science for society
b. A car accident and act of terror
c. Social responses to problems
2. Societies across Time and Space
a. Love and marriage
b. Health and illness
c. Crime and punishment
3. Investigating Human Nature
a. Can humans adapt themselves?
b. Cultural variations
c. Humanity in common
4. Study Skills Review
a. Note-taking from classes
b. Reading for classes
c. Finding and using readings
Practice summarising exercise due
5. Allocating Resources
a. Identifying resources
b. Need, consumption and scarcity
c. A global problem?
6. The Transition to Urban Life
a. Pre-capitalist markets
b. The 'best' universal system?
c. Negative externalities
7. Poverty and Inequality
a. Defining poverty
b. Debating the causes of poverty
c. The social effects of inequality
8. Working on Assessments
a. Doing your essay plan
b. Handling the set tables/graphs
c. Doing the referencing exercise
9. The Impacts of State Welfare
a. Who supplies welfare?
b. Welfare changes in the UK
c. The rise of state intervention
Essay Plans due
10. Power and Decision Making
a. Aristotle's modes of rule
b. Four dimensions of power
c. Knowledge, authority and order
Referencing Exercise due
11. Disobedience and Disorder
a. Is disobedience disorder?
b. Sophocles' Antigone
c. Nazism and total war
Final Essay to be submitted by the published due date.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain the role of the social sciences, and the specific contributions of the component disciplines;
- Explain the problem of defining and measuring poverty, and evaluate different approaches to poverty and government policy, including liberal economic and welfare based approaches;
- Define the concepts of politics and power;
- Explain the notions of political obligation and obedience to moral codes, and exemplify instances of justifiable law breaking;
- Discuss the issues around 'scientific method' in studying people (in social science).
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Reading List
Essential
Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M., 2008. Sociology: Themes & Perspectives. 7th edition. London: Collins.
Northedge, A., 2005. The Good Study Guide. New edition. Milton Keynes: OUP.
Recommended
Giddens, A., 2006. Sociology. 5th edition. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hinchliffe, S. and Woodward, K., 2004. The Social & the Natural: Uncertainty, Risk, Change. London: Routledge.
Web sources
http://www.polity.co.uk/giddens6/
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students will have developed skills for independent learning, including reading texts critically; taking notes; debating ideas and contributing to discussion both individually and in groups; and planning and writing essays. They will also have developed skills in reflective strategies to tackle unfamiliar challenges and tasks. |
| Special Arrangements |
Students must only be enrolled by the Office of Lifelong Learning |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Kate McHugh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1589
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Kameliya Skerleva
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email: |
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