BA Sociology and Spanish / Course details

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.

• 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.

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).

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 .

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.

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