BA Sociology and Italian / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

Sociology and languages are inherently tied. 

No study of society can ignore language, and no study of language can be removed from its specific social context. 

You will be challenged to think about the nature of the social worlds in which we live and about how language and culture build and inform such worlds. 

You will study social life and social change, from the reproduction of inequalities in relation to social categories (such as race, class or gender), to the way that wider cultural contexts shape intimate relationships. 

You will develop advanced language skills and learn about the cultures and histories related to that language. 

In the third year of this four-year course, you will undertake a period of residence abroad, studying or working in a country that speaks your language of study. 

Our aim is to help you develop analytical, investigative and linguistic skills, training you to become independent thinkers and researchers with the confidence to work in both English and another language.

The course unit details listed below are those you may choose to study as part of this programme and are referred to as optional units. These are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme. Although language units may show here as optional, they are a mandatory part of your modern languages degree and you will take the units relevant to your level of language in each year of study. It Is compulsory to study language at all levels of your modern languages degree.

Aims

  • Offer a coherent curriculum in sociology that is strongly informed by leading contemporary research.
  • Impart knowledge and understanding in sociological theory and methods allowing them to progress to further study.
  • Develop advanced communicative skills in Italian based on a sound understanding of the structures of the language.
  • Build knowledge and understanding of several contemporary or historical aspects of the cultures or societies of one or more countries where Italian is spoken.

Special features

Residence abroad

You can study and/or work for up to a year in a country or countries relevant to your chosen language to improve your communicative language skills in a native-speaker environment.

Collaborations and partnerships

The University has links with language and cultural institutions across the city, including:

  • Confucius Institute - a hub for Chinese culture;
  • Instituto Cervantes - a centre for Spanish culture;
  • HOME - international and contemporary art, theatre and film;
  • Alliance Française - home of French language and culture.

Societies

The University is home to over 30 international and language-related student societies offering a breadth of cultural activities and experiences.

Teaching and learning

You'll learn through a mixture of formal lectures, seminars and tutorials, spending approximately 12 hours a week in formal study sessions. 

For every hour of university study, you will be expected to complete a further 2-3 hours of independent study.

You will also need to study during the holiday periods. 

The individual study component could be spent reading, producing written work, revising for examinations or working in the University's Language Centre .

Coursework and assessment

You will be assessed in various ways, including:  

  • written and oral examinations; 
  • presentations; 
  • coursework (which may include library research, linguistic fieldwork and data collection, or web-based research); 
  • in your final year, a dissertation based on a research topic of your choice.  

Assessment methods vary from course unit to course unit - see individual course unit listings for more information.

Course content for year 1

Students take a total of 40-60 credits in Sociology.

You will study our core Sociology unit, SOCY10440 Researching Culture & Society. In addition, you will study optional units (total 20-40 credits), such as:

  • SOCY10441 Media, Culture and Society;
  • SOCY10462 Global Social Challenges.

You will also study an additional 60 credits of Modern Language and Culture course units in your modern language subject.

Students have four contact hours per week with their nominated Italian teacher as part of a course specifically designed to build confidence in comprehension, writing, speaking and listening skills.

Post-A-level students have three hours consolidating and building competency on specific language points. All first year students also have an additional linguistics hour, introducing them to the history and structures of the Italian language.

Culture units cover topics from the filmic and literary to the historic and linguistic, all of which reflect academic staff research interests.

You will take only the language units relevant to your level of language in each year of study.

Course units for year 1

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Italian Cultural Studies ITAL10300 20 Mandatory
Researching Culture and Society SOCY10440 20 Mandatory
Crime and Society CRIM10001 20 Optional
Reading Italy: Medieval to Modern ITAL10500 20 Optional
Italian Language 1 ITAL51011 20 Optional
Italian Language 2 ITAL51022 20 Optional
Italian Language 3 ITAL51030 20 Optional
Environment and Society SOCY10202 20 Optional
Inequalities in Contemporary British Society SOCY10402 20 Optional
Contested Foundations of Social Thought SOCY10421 20 Optional
Contemporary Social Thought SOCY10432 20 Optional
Media, Culture & Society SOCY10441 20 Optional
Global Social Challenges SOCY10461 20 Optional
Getting Personal: Intimacy and Connectedness in Everyday Life SOCY10471 20 Optional
Work, Organisations and Society SOCY10912 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 15 course units for year 1

Course content for year 2

Students take a total of 40-60 credits in Sociology.

You will study one of the following core Sociology units (total 20 credits):

  • SOCY20091 Qualitative Social Research Design & Methods;
  • SOST20012 The Survey Method in Social Research.

In addition, you will study optional units (total 20-40 credits), such as:

  • SOCY20501 Social Thought from the Global South;
  • SOCY20012 Sociology of Popular Music;
  • SOCY20962 Racism and Ethnicity in the UK;
  • SOCY20232 Sustainability, Consumption and Global Responsibilities.

You will also study an additional 60 credits of Modern Language and Culture course units in your modern language subject.

In Year 2, the core language component builds on the grammar topics covered in Year 1, in order to prepare you for the year abroad. Both the post-beginners and post-A-level language modules have three contact hours per week, in addition to working on set assignments and undertaking private study.

Your course units in second year are more specialized than in first year, allowing you to explore a diverse range of subjects and approaches. Current options include the Italian Renaissance and Italian Fascism.

All Italian culture units have three contact hours per week and are augmented by materials and content placed in the units' Blackboard virtual learning environment.

Italian modules are assessed by a variety of different coursework assessment types, including essays and commentaries, book reviews, reports, presentations, and innovative digital projects such as group curated exhibitions.

Course units for year 2

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Aesthetics and Politics of Italian Fascism ITAL20501 20 Optional
The Italian Renaissance ITAL21012 20 Optional
Italian Language 4 ITAL51040 20 Optional
Italian Language 5 ITAL51050 20 Optional
Work, Economy and Society SOCY20032 20 Optional
Education and Society SOCY20051 20 Optional
Qualitative Research Design & Methods SOCY20091 20 Optional
Sustainability, Consumption & Global Responsibilities SOCY20231 20 Optional
Decolonising Sociology SOCY20302 20 Optional
Politics, Power and Everyday Life SOCY20311 20 Optional
Youth, Politics & Activism in Contemporary Europe SOCY20412 20 Optional
Family, Relationships and Everyday Life SOCY20701 20 Optional
Gender, Sexuality and Culture SOCY20892 20 Optional
Racism and Ethnicity in the UK SOCY20961 20 Optional
The Survey Method in Social Research SOST20012 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 15 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

In the third year, all students will complete a year studying abroad in an Italian-speaking country.

Course content for year 4

Students take a total of 40-60 credits in Sociology from course units such as:

  • SOCY30920 Dissertation A (20 credits) or SOCY30930 Dissertation B (40 credits);
  • SOCY30061 Urban Sociology;
  • SOCY30091 Changing Social Attitudes;
  • SOCY30141 Body and Society;
  • SOCY30181 Sociology of Cultural Participation and Cultural Policy;
  • SOCY30191 Material Culture: The Social Life of Things;
  • SOCY30241 A Sense of Inequality;
  • SOCY30042 The Sociology of Human-Animal Relations.

You will also study an additional 60 credits of Modern Language and Culture course units in your modern language subject.

In Year 4, you build on the linguistic authenticity acquired abroad in the core language unit, and can choose from a range of specialized content course units. The final year language course develops your core skills to an advanced level, including translation into English, writing different kinds of target-language texts, and oral work including discussion of texts, debates, and presentations. The language component of the course comprises three contact hours per week, in addition to working on set assignments and undertaking private study.

Course units available in final year are closely related to the research interests of individual members of staff, in areas such as romance linguistics, Renaissance Florence, Italy and the Grand Tour, book history, and the political and cultural history of Italy.

You will also be able to undertake a research-orientated dissertation in Italian (often using the primary sources held in the Rylands Library, which has outstanding Italian holdings), and can participate in the Italian department's mentoring and outreach programmes.

Course units for year 4

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Topics in Romance Linguistics ITAL32001 20 Optional
Italian Language 6 ITAL51060 20 Optional
Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures LALC30000 40 Optional
Sociology of Human Animal Relations SOCY30042 20 Optional
Power and Protest SOCY30461 20 Optional
Social Thought from the Global South SOCY30501 20 Optional
Dissertation (20 credits) SOCY30920 20 Optional
Dissertation B (40 credits) SOCY30930 40 Optional

Additional fee information

Fees for entry in 2021 have not yet been set. For entry in 2020 the tuition fees were £9,250 per annum for home/EU students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2021 entry.

Facilities

The University Language Centre is home to language resources, including a new interpreting suite, purpose-built recording rooms, and resources for more than 70 languages.  

The Centre also offers multilingual word processing, language learning software, off-air recording and AV duplication, multilingual terrestrial and satellite TV, and extensive support and advice for learners.  

Learn more at facilities

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk