Sociology and Criminology

Sociology of Care: caring and work (Spr)

Module code: L4095B
Level 6
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Workshop
Assessment modes: Portfolio, Essay

This module engages with the question how and why people ‘care’ for each other and who gets ‘cared for’ in different social settings.

It draws on concepts and theories from a range of literatures including feminist social theory, sociology of nursing, health and illness and disability studies, and explores experiences of care giving and receiving by family and professionals through a range of empirical cases.

You will be asked to engage with debates about the value and cost of care work and emotional labour, the commodification of care, the implications of new populations in need of care, the concept of vulnerability and its intersection with care needs and provision, and the meaning of care across the life course with particular reference to people with specific disabilities or chronic health conditions.

Module learning outcomes

• Demonstate detailed knowledge and understanding of different theories of care in the social sciences, and consider their relative merits.
• Explain and analyse the contributions of different strands of feminist thought and sociologies of health, illness and disability to our understanding of care.
• Critically explore different forms of care work in comparative perspective
• Make appropriate use of empirical data and theoretical work to produce coherent and detailed written work for an academic audience.