Sociology BA (Hons)

What holds modern societies together? And what pulls them apart? This module introduces thinking from early social theorists who tried to make sense of rapid change, inequality, and power. It explores how their theories still shape the way we understand the world today. Alongside these classic perspectives, the module also looks at global and non-Western approaches that challenge dominant ideas and offer fresh ways of thinking about social life. From the rise of cities to the impact of colonialism, it examines key debates that continue to influence how people live, think, and relate to one another.

This module introduces students to foundational sociological questions about the nature of society. Is society defined by laws and institutions, cultural norms, or shared identities? Are we isolated individuals or part of something larger? Through exploring key themes—such as race, class, gender, and sexuality—students will examine how social structures shape everyday life in work, education, and home. The module also considers how inequalities emerge and how they might be challenged. Designed to support academic development, it connects with other first-year modules and lays the groundwork for sociological thinking throughout the degree.

What does it mean to become a university student? And how does that shape who you are? This module explores identity and culture through the everyday experiences of student life. Whether you've moved to Nottingham and are living in halls, are commuting from the family home, or navigating a new country, your journey offers a powerful lens for sociological reflection. By examining everyday routines, relationships, and moments of difference, you'll develop an understanding of how your personal experiences connect to wider social issues.

Work takes up a lot of our time throughout our lives – whether that’s paid employment, self-employment, volunteering, or unpaid labour in our own home. But what exactly is ‘work’, how is it changing, and what impact does it have on inequalities and social justice? How can we contribute as sociologists to making work better? This module equips you with sociological tools to understand work, employment, and labour relations, which you can apply in navigating your own career and take with you into whatever workplace you find yourself in.

Having the right skills to help you achieve your best grade potential is the main aim of this module. Delivered through a combination of lectures, hands-on workshops, and online study, university level academic style and standards are demystified and practised with support from a dedicated subject team. You will also learn how to use technology appropriately, such as Generative Artificial Intelligence, and other technical tools and resources that support academic practice. The skills, such as poster design, referencing, or source critique, are highly transferable to your life and career after university too.

This module develops a sociological approach to understanding the multiple environmental crises that surround us. In the classroom, we discover how nature is impacted by human culture, but also how us humans are shaped by our environment. Race, class, gender and income influence the extent to which lives and livelihoods are affected by environmental change and the sustainability agenda. You will discover your own relationship with the environment, and together we tackle some of the most pressing questions of sustainability facing the planet through the lens of our own lives.

The globalised world is full of contradictions, politically we seem ever more divided and yet in our everyday lives we are more inter-connected than ever before. We eat food from India and China, listen to music from Nigeria and Korea, we idolise footballers from Brazil and Argentina, we trade, travel and communicate with people all over the planet - we live, work and play in a global society. In this module we will develop a global sociological imagination to understand this global society, by engaging with thinkers from beyond the traditional western canon and exploring case studies from around the world.

This module provides an exciting opportunity to utilise knowledge acquired across your degree with local social and civic organisations seeking to make a difference across a wide range of contemporary social issues. You’ll apply your knowledge and skills to real-world issues and problems, working with practitioners, academics and community members as ‘sociology/criminology consultants’. This will aid your career development in concert with your disciplinary identity through the application of ideas in practice, contributing positively to a social justice issue, breaking out of the 'student bubble' of the lecture theatre and classroom, and experiencing a different side of Nottingham

The social world is hugely complex - how do we use research to make sense of it? In this module you will learn about a range of research methods which can reveal hidden patterns and solve social mysteries. How do people experience poverty as part of their everyday lives? Why are people from particular ethnic groups targeted for stop and search by the police more than others? Why are men paid more than women in sports? These are all questions that social research methods - interviews, focus groups, questionnaires and surveys, discourse analysis, archival research and many more - can help us answer. In this module you will learn to become a social researcher by asking your own questions and discovering your own answers.

We talk lots about (in)justices and inequalities, but can we address them in a way which is socially just for all. That’s the core question of this module. Through the lens of social sustainability, we explore and evaluate how we engage with everyday social issues ranging from food and fuel poverty, and mental health equity through to crime and night-time economies. And in doing so develop our understanding of the connection between social sustainability and social justice, both at local level and in the wider context of globalisation.

Searching for meaning, belonging and purpose takes many forms in contemporary society. This module invites you to think broadly about the place of religion in contemporary society. We explore discussions of religious decline, continuation and resurgence. We also think about lives without religion reflecting on issues of meaning and morality, and we discuss the diverse places people find meaning today. We also explore how the spiritual and the supernatural exist in everyday life, thinking about the religion in popular culture, contemporary engagements with the supernatural, and the embracing of new technologies by the religious.

This module explores sociological theories of formal education and lifelong learning, examining their roles in shaping identity, social reproduction, and transformation. Term one focuses on the historical development and current structures of statutory and higher education, with attention to inequality. Term two investigates lifelong learning across the life course, considering how social contexts and structures influence learning experiences and ‘career’ trajectories. Through critical analysis, students will gain insight into education as a key institution in modern society.

Explore how politics works beyond the headlines, and the place of social justice in it. This module looks at how sociologists understand power, the state, and civil society, and how these ideas help us make sense of today’s political landscape, policy arenas, democratic innovations, human rights, and social movements. Be ready to engage your sociological knowledge to examine the political world around you and questions of social justice you are passionate about, using examples from the UK and beyond.

Why do pronouns matter? Is the sex we have anyone else’s business? What makes masculinity ‘toxic’? This module focuses on important issues connected to sex, sexuality and gender. In the module you will reflect on diverse masculine, feminine and queer identities. You will explore contemporary sexual practice, including current debates on kink, ‘deviance’ and consent. You will also discuss the relevance of sex and gender to issues of crime, violence and abuse. In the module we are engaging with difficult topics but we do so sensitively and supportively in order to allow you to reflect on the global, political and personal relevance of studying sex, sexuality and gender today.

Our bodies are essential to our engagement with the world around us but are also shaped by it too. This module explores how bodies are central to identity, power, and politics in everyday life. From tattoos and fashion to surveillance and protest, we’ll explore how bodies are controlled, celebrated, and resisted. Drawing on real-world examples, it asks what it means to live in a body today - and why it matters. Whether thinking about gender, race, health, or technology, this module examines new ways of understanding the body as a site of meaning and struggle.

How can social theory enable us to understand issues shaping contemporary society? From power and inequality to identity and global change this module connects theory to real-world issues, encouraging critical thinking about how society works and how it might be different. By doing so it offers new ways of understanding social life and fresh tools for analysing the challenges of the 21st century. Indicative topics include artificial intelligence, global inequalities, migration and illicit economies.

This module enables you to utilise your sociological knowledge to inform future career development. You will explore sociological conceptions of work and career. This will broaden the blunt notion of ‘employability’, prevalent in many education courses, as you will consider other important connected social strands in your life, e.g. housing, health, relationships and learning. The module will also explore how the labour market is organised, managed and segmented across class, gender and ethnic lines. This will enable you to consider how social position influences life-chances and provide insight into how you can utilise your sociological imagination to navigate the precarious 21st century labour market. You’ll engage with formative and summative assessment opportunities that serve to facilitate your career and personal development.

This is your chance to choose a topic that you are passionate about, and conduct research which tackles the questions that really drive you. Supported through one-to-one supervision from a member of the highly experienced academic staff, you’ll be able to decide just how you want to approach your project, drawing upon knowledge and skills developed throughout your degree, while further strengthening your areas of expertise. Along with the optional modules available, the freedom offered within the research project offers the opportunity to extensively customise your degree to your personal interests.

On this module you’ll critically analyse the construction of race, racial identity and racism in both historical and contemporary contexts using sociological perspectives to investigate how they interact with other social identities and contemporary issues such as decolonisation. The module explores the contestability of seemingly fixed concepts like race, ethnicity, culture, and identity, helping you understand how racism and colonial logic continue to shape contemporary social policy.

Like? Love? Lust? Identities and Intimacies engages you in thinking about the role, importance and impact of relationships in everyday life. Focusing on a variety of intimate relationships and expressions such as friendship, romantic relationships, sex and love we discuss how expectations of the intimate reflect and challenge social expectations and we think about how they contribute to our understanding of ourselves. We also explore how intimate expectations and practices vary across time and cultures, reflecting on the impact of issues such as technological change, religion and the mainstreaming of explicit cultures.

Celebrities, influencers, pop stars, rock legends, action movies and bingeable TV dramas. Popular culture permeates our everyday lives, entertaining, shaping trends, reflecting tastes and offering platforms to global megastars and wannabe reality prime-timers. This module critically examines the ways in which popular culture is produced consumed in contemporary society. You will explore how music, film, television, celebrity, and digital media are used to convey meaning, construct identities, reinforce ideologies, and sustain power relations. Whether you’re interested in punk or K-Pop, Hollywood or Bollywood, you’ll learn by discussing examples from around the world to develop a truly global understanding of the significance of pop culture today.

Have you ever thought about how and why inequalities, and social injustices cause harm but unlike crime are not the focus of any formal justice mechanism? This is exactly what this module does. It uses social harm as a lens through which to understand and explain injustices in contemporary society. In this module we explore various (in)justices, moving beyond legalistic, and traditional criminological topics and explanations, to develop a critical appreciation of crime, as well as new and emerging social justice insights.

Algorithms. Artificial Intelligence. Influencers. Digital technologies are increasingly present in all aspects of our everyday lives. During this module you’ll examine the ways in which digital media and social change are interconnected. Identity, communication, power and ethics are just some of the topics that inform lively workshops, while the rapidly changing landscape of digital media means you’ll be discussing the very latest developments in digital media and society as they are unfolding. You’ll also develop skills in writing content for online audiences through the blog-based assessment.