Sociology and Criminology

Making the Familiar Strange

Module code: L4072
Level 4
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Essay

Your studies in this module are based on the question - how do sociologists do sociology?

In this module, you are introduced to epistemological and methodological issues in sociology.

From your engagement with epistemology, methodological questions arise. You address these questions, largely demonstrated through examples.

As part of the module, you explore particular epistemological approaches and reflect on worked examples of these.

You do this by counterpoising classic sociological studies with contemporary examples - critically examining the similarities and differences in epistemological and methodological approaches.

The examples you look at in this module open up space for discussion about appropriate ways of understanding social phenomena with particular ontological and epistemological frames.

Module learning outcomes

• Identify major methods of data collection in some sociological work
• Be able to relate research outcomes to the research process
• Evaluate the appropriateness of different methodologies
• Understand how different sociological approaches and theories can 'make the familiar strange'