Courses / Module

THINKING LIKE A SOCIAL SCIENTIST

Module code: LW182
Credits: 7.5
Semester: 1
Department: SCHOOL OF LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY
International:

	Overview
	This module provides an accessible introduction to the social sciences for incoming higher education students and provides a sound foundation for later modules such as Researching Criminology and Criminological Theory in Year 2. The goal of the course is to enable students to complement intellectual grounding in their chosen discipline of Criminology with a broad understanding of social scientific approaches, concepts and values.

Overview

This module provides an accessible introduction to the social sciences for incoming higher education students and provides a sound foundation for later modules such as Researching Criminology and Criminological Theory in Year 2. The goal of the course is to enable students to complement intellectual grounding in their chosen discipline of Criminology with a broad understanding of social scientific approaches, concepts and values.

	Learning Outcomes
	On successful completion of the module, students should be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of what the social sciences are, including some fundamental concepts and values. Discuss the purpose and value of the social sciences. Apply the concepts of structure and agency to different �real world� examples. Demonstrate an understanding of some foundational social science theories, as well as how theory can be applied to guide and build social scientific knowledge. Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of social institutions and why they are important to social scientists. Reflect on the practical and dispositional skills needed to �do� social science.

Learning Outcomes

Teaching & Learning methods

Assessment

	Autumn Supplementals/Resits
	Are supplemental/resit registrations permitted? Yes

	Additional Reading
	Flyvbjerg, B. (2001) �The science wars: a way out�, In: Flyvbjerg, B. Making social science Matter. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1. Mills, C.W. (2000) [1959]. �The promise�. In. Mills, C. The sociological imagination. 2nd ed. Oxford. Oxford University Press: Chapter 1. Powers, C. (2009) Making sense of social theory. Chapters 1 and 16. Staines, Z. Hoffstaedter, G. and Binnie, N. (2023) Introduction to the Social Sciences. University of Queensland. Open access book: https://uq.pressbooks.pub/introduction-social-sciences/

Additional Reading

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THINKING LIKE A SOCIAL SCIENTIST

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