BA Sociology and Spanish / 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 Spanish 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 the Hispanic world.

Special features

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 take a compulsory language component reflecting the Portuguese you were exposed to in Year 3. 

You take options on the Amazon (travel writing, literature, film, current affairs) and Portuguese cinema and/or a free choice option in another subject. 

Or you can choose to research and write a 12,000-word dissertation with one-to-one supervision from an academic member of staff. (You can only write one dissertation, so if you decide to write one you will need to choose whether to do it in Portuguese or in Sociology).

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.

In Year 1, you are trained in the modern spoken and written Spanish language through compulsory core courses.

You will also be provided with an introduction to the cultural and historical development of the Hispanic world and develop the skills required to be successful in your further study of Spain and Latin America.

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
Researching Culture and Society SOCY10440 20 Mandatory
Crime and Society CRIM10001 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
Cultures of the Hispanic World SPLA10410 20 Optional
Themes in Spanish and Latin American Studies SPLA10420 20 Optional
Spanish Language 1 SPLA51011 20 Optional
Spanish Language 2 SPLA51022 20 Optional
Spanish Language 3 SPLA51030 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 follow a compulsory Spanish language course and take further courses (usually two) chosen from a list, which includes options such as the study of Latin American History, writing women in the Spanish Golden Age, the Cold War in Latin America, and visual cultures in Modern Spain. 

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
Spanish Language 5 SPLA51050 20 Mandatory
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
Visual Culture in Modern Spain: Film, Painting and Photography SPLA20062 20 Optional
Writing Women in the Spanish Golden Age SPLA20161 20 Optional
Spanish Linguistics SPLA20772 20 Optional
Culture and Cold War in Latin America SPLA20871 20 Optional
Modern Latin American Literature SPLA20882 20 Optional
Spanish Language 4 SPLA51040 20 Optional
Catalan Language & Culture 1 SPLA53010 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 19 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

In the third year, all students will complete a year studying abroad in a Spanish-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.

Continue your studies of the Spanish language and perfect your writing and oral skills.

Choose from a wide range of options, including the study of the supernatural in Latin American literature and film, the multi-ethnic condition of Latin American societies, and visual culture from the early modern Hispanic world.

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
Spanish Language 6 SPLA51060 20 Mandatory
Introduction to Interpreting: Context, Skills and Modes ELAN30241 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
Social Issues in Portuguese and Spanish Film SPLA30642 20 Optional
Reading the Rain Forest: Visions of the Amazon SPLA30801 20 Optional
The Politics of Business in Latin America SPLA31092 20 Optional
The Supernatural in Latin American Literature and Film SPLA31132 20 Optional
Memory and Culture in Post-Franco Spain SPLA31141 20 Optional
History of the Spanish Atlantic World: Empire, Trade, War SPLA31151 20 Optional
Catalan Language & Culture 1 SPLA53010 20 Optional
Catalan Language & Culture 2 SPLA53020 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 16 course units for year 4

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