Beyond the Vote: Citizenship and Participation in Sociology (L4069A)

15 credits, Level 5

Autumn teaching

This module looks at the sociology of political involvement beyond the vote. It introduces different forms and sites of citizenship in the contemporary state - in relation to welfare, health, work, consumption, family life and the city or urban community - and also considers different expressions of social or civic activism, from volunteering to violent protest.

The use and limitations of direct democratic experiments is examined, through analysis of various types of deliberative forum and citizen polling, and you'll consider the appeal of notions of 'responsibility' and 'choice'. You will learn through examining specific cases each week.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 20 hours of contact time and about 130 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.