BASS Sociology and Data Analytics / Course details

The aims of this unit are to:  

- Encourage students to apply a case study related to social injustice to practical tasks 

- Identify areas of personal and professional development 

- Reflect on current issues and case study material linked to social injustice through a transdisciplinary perspective 

This course unit is designed to run during Semesters 1 and 2. Students will attend a workshop on alternate weeks that will last for 3 hours. 

Teaching delivery will mostly take the form of active on-campus learning in the form of interactive, student-led workshops. This on-campus learning will be complemented by a variety of e-learning tasks that will be embedded into teaching practice – thereby providing a blended learning environment. For example, prior to an on-campus workshop, students will be given a task to complete online as part of their preparation to bring to the workshop and discuss further. This may take the form of watching a video clip or reading a news article and then posting their reactions or answers to a question on a discussion board. The points on the discussion board can then be drawn out in the workshop, thereby ‘warming up’ students to the topic and making them better prepared for discussion. Therefore, students will experience a range of learning styles to inform their overall experience. 

The 30 contact hours are broken down as follows: 10x workshops spread over 2 semesters, each lasting 3 hours. 

• Use case studies to reflect on existing potential solutions to social injustice and the harms they generate

• Question and compare perspectives on social injustice within a transdisciplinary approach 

• Assess practical challenges related to social injustice 

• Defend given arguments related to an aspect of social injustice
• Communicate ideas to wider audiences 

Online discussion board (500 words, end of semester 1, 20%)

Critical incident scenario (25 minutes, end of semester 2, 80%)

Feedback to students is provided in the following ways: 

- Informal and verbal feedback during workshops on student contributions – this can also be discussed with staff beyond workshops 

- Students can discuss and/or submit a detailed one-page plan for their summative work (online discussion board and critical incident scenario), staff will provide written feedback within 10 working days 

- For the online discussion board assessment, e-learning can also provide informal feedback to students on style and use of technology 

- Written feedback for summative assessments to be provided within standard SoSS timeframes 

Beare, M. (2017) Honouring Social Justice. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 

Grugel, J., Nem Singh, J., Fontana, L.B., and Uhlin, A. (eds.) (2017) Demanding Justice in The Global South: Claiming Rights. Palgrave Macmillan. 

Muhammad, U. (2016) Confronting Injustice: Social Activism in The Age of Individualism. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books. 

Pemberton, S. (2015) Harmful Societies: Understanding Social Harm. Policy Press. 

For Information and advice on Link2Lists reading list software, see:  

http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/academicsupport/informationandadviceonlink2listsreadinglistsoftware/ 

Contact hours 30 (10x workshops spread over 2 semesters, each lasting 3 hours)