- UCAS course code
- RL36
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Sociology and Spanish
Gain specialist knowledge of Hispanic culture and sociology.
Duration: 4 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: RL36 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
Study with a language
- Typical A-level offer: ABB
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Find out more from student finance
- Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
- Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
- Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
Course unit details:
Contemporary Social Thought
| Unit code | SOCY10432 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 1 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
Critical Theory / Hegemony/ Social Action & Social Interaction /Postmodernism/ Feminism/ Representation/Consumerism & Identity/Social Class/Capitalist Realism
Aims
This course has two complementary aims. You will learn how social theory developed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries amidst new demands of rapid social change, political instability and technological advancement. You will learn to critically engage with a spectrum of ideas and different perspectives that will underpin your sociological understanding. At the same time, through this understanding of theory, we will work together to build group and individual resilience to the many challenges that vex our lives. Learning to become comfortable with nuance, contradiction and complexity is an urgent necessity in our contemporary social landscape mired by deliberate antagonism, mendacious falsehoods and divisiveness.
We will not treat theory as historical. We will interrogate the past, its successes and failures, and ask urgent question about contemporary issues and potential solutions. Social theory is alive. In this course, we will not treat theory as distant and abstract. Each week will take an important theory, theorist or body of thought and consider its application and implication in the here and now. We will critically engage with the core principles of sociological investigation, constructing a solid theoretical scaffold to support your degree, scholarship and citizenship.
Learning outcomes
Students who have completed the course should be able to write competently about a number of key theorists and issues in contemporary social theory. They should possess an understanding of how theories discussed in sociological thought have been extended, critiqued, and developed. Student should have a solid grasp of some of the key debates that structure contemporary social thought. They should be adequately prepared for engaging with the substantive theoretical content of any sociology courses they pursue later in their degree.
Teaching and learning methods
Weekly lectures Weekly tutorials
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written exam | 50% |
| Written assignment (inc essay) | 50% |
1 non-assessed assignment (400 words essay plan)
1 assessed coursework essay, 1500 words; 50% of mark
1 traditional format exam (2 hr/ 2 answers) 50% of mark.
Feedback methods
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.
Recommended reading
Allan, K. (2012). Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Assessment written exam | 2 |
| Lectures | 20 |
| Tutorials | 10 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 168 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Verdine Etoria | Unit coordinator |