BASS Philosophy and Data Analytics / Course details

This course offers an examination of the nature of work in capitalist societies. The first half of the course builds a picture of the development of contemporary, global capitalism. We make sense of the nature of capitalism, and its periods of transformation, through looking at institutions, culture and periods of crisis. In the second half of the course, we turn to an examination of work. Work is presented as a highly pervasive institution, structuring life experience within and beyond the workplace. Observing the nature of work over time also reveals transformations in the operation of power in the workplace, in the way work is organised, and in the cultural values typically attached to work. The course presents these changes, and explains them via the large-scale structural aspects of capitalism covered in the first half of the course. In this way, we can connect macro-level social theory with micro-level depictions of life experience, and thus see how capitalism matters for our everyday lives.

This course examines the development of global capitalism from a sociological perspective. It aims to equip students with an understanding of important institutions and processes including: the role of the corporation in society; new forms of management and control in the workplace; the relationship between work and identity; the causes and impact of globalisation; and the nature of economic crises. Throughout, the course aims to develop students' capacities for critical thinking and synthesis, particularly through the application of theoretical insights about the nature of capitalist institutions to understand micro-level features such as changes in relations within workplaces. 

Knowledge and understanding:

• Explain the characteristics of capitalism through identifying key institutions and describing the relationships between them.
• Identify and accurately describe contemporary trends impacting on the organisation of workplaces and the experience of workers.  
• Evaluate theoretical claims about work and capitalism in relation to empirical evidence presented in academic research.

Intellectual skills:

• Accurately summarise and interpret complex ideas from scholarly sources.
• Explain relationships between concepts, theories and data in relation to the themes on the course.
• Analyse and evaluate key claims about capitalism and work that are made in scholarly sources and wider public commentary.  

Practical skills:

• Utilise appropriate online information sources to find relevant information needed to answer specific questions raised throughout the course.  

Transferrable skills and personal qualities:

• Organise information from multiple sources in a manner suitable for interpretation and analysis.
• Communicate complex ideas in clearly presented, coherently ordered text.

2 hour weekly lecture; 1 hour weekly small-group tutorial; private study with guided reading list.

Explain the characteristics of capitalism through identifying key institutions and describing the relationships between them.

Identify and accurately describe contemporary trends impacting on the organisation of workplaces and the experience of workers.

Evaluate theoretical claims about work and capitalism in relation to empirical evidence presented in academic research.

Accurately summarise and interpret complex ideas from scholarly sources.

Explain relationships between concepts, theories and data in relation to the themes on the course.

Analyse and evaluate key claims about capitalism and work that are made in scholarly sources and wider public commentary.

Utilise appropriate online information sources to find relevant information needed to answer specific questions raised throughout the course. 
 

Organise information from multiple sources in a manner suitable for interpretation and analysis.

Communicate complex ideas in clearly presented, coherently ordered text.

Non-assessed learning portfolio with selection of entries submitted for feedback mid-semester.

Online exam (max 2000 words, 100%)

All sociology courses include both formative feedback - which lets you know how you're getting on and what you could do to improve - and summative feedback - which gives you a mark for your assessed work. In this course you will receive individual written feedback on a non-assessed and assessed assignments, as well as general verbal feedback throughout the course in tutorials and lectures.

Ingham, G. (2008) Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity.

Castells, M. (2009). The Rise of the Network Society (Second edition). Wiley-Blackwell.

Students new to sociology may wish to examine a general sociological textbook. The following is a brief and readable overview:

Jenkins, R. (2002) Foundations of Sociology, Basingstoke: Palgrave