London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Modules

10/D10 Introduction to Sociology

A. Sociological Theory and Methods: The major perspectives in sociology, including Structural Functionalism, Marxism and Weberian and other interpretative approaches. Methodology. Theories of knowledge. Sociology as science. Positivism and Phenomenology. The major methods of Social investigation. The relationships between theories and methods.

Students should specialise in one or more of the following:
B. Social Theory: the major theories of social change in relation to industrialisation/de-industrialisation, modernisation, convergence and theories of globalisation.

The Family: the relationship between family change and wider social changes.
Education: the relationship between educational, social, economic and political changes; changing education provision.
Religion: the relationship between changing belief systems and social change, theories of secularisation and rationalisation.
Urbanisation and urbanism: theories, causes and effects.
Social Inequality: the major theories and forms of stratification, the extent of inequality in societies.
Sexual Inequality: major feminist theories, the extent of sexual inequality in the family, in education and at work.
Ethnic Divisions in Society: theories and forms of ethnic inequality within any one society.
Class: utility of concept; theories and extent of class inequality in societies.

Students should specialise in one or more of the following:
C. Power: the major theories in relation to the social bases of power holding: Marx, Weber, Structural Functionalism, feminism and rational choice theory.
Theories of Patriarchy: utility of concept, powers and patriarchy.
Bureaucracy: theories of organisations, the bureaucratic state, bureaucracy and democracy, formal and informal networks of control and communication.

Candidates should relate theories and examples to sociological data from their own society