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Welcome to theDepartment of Sociology, Lancaster University
BA (Hons) programmes:Media and Cultural Studies
Sociology
Combined degreesCriminology and Sociology
(v. popular joint degree)Religious Studies and Sociology
Film Studies and SociologyOrganisation Studies and Sociology
Social HistoryPolitical Sociology
‘Non standard’ combinations
Why come to Lancaster?• One of the world’s top Universities: listed in the top one
percent of universities in the worldhttp://www.lancs.ac.uk/about-us/rankings-and-reputation/ • Ranked in top 10 of UK Universities
The Times, the Complete University Guide, the Guardian 2011• 1st of all northern Universities
National Student Survey, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Sunday Times University Guide 2011
The student experience: – Lancaster’s college system – all Undergraduates offered on campus accommodation– Our unique degree structure... more on this later
The Colleges8 undergraduate
1 postgraduate
Students choose their college separately from their department - they make friends outside their subject as well as in their department, sharing knowledge, understanding & culture
Bowland, Cartmel, County, Furness, Fylde, Grizedale, Lonsdale, Pendle
The Graduate College: (MA, MSc, PhD, post-Doctoral research)
• a close-knit community: the city of Lancaster; the “town” of campus; the “village” of each college
• help make Lancaster a very friendly University
• you are not just one face in 10,000!
• organise events, sports, socials and more...
Why come to the Department of Sociology at Lancaster?
• Lancaster has one of the best Sociology Departments in the world; in top 5 in UK
• The Department has two highly successful degree programmes
• Our staff undertake research on a range of topics
• This research forms the basis of our teaching curriculum
Our teaching is constantly evolving
New courses recently introduced: Health and Bodies; Media and Violence; Friendship and Society; Terror
Research excellenceRecently published books from Sociology staff:
Teaching excellence
Our external examiner of the BA Media and Cultural Studies degree says:
“A very exciting and innovative programme. Members of the team are clearly committed to enhancing its provision in imaginative ways. Indeed, their dedication to making the key conceptual and methodological debates pertinent to this area of enquiry come alive for their students is, in a word, remarkable.”
Sociology was rated with 'full confidence in the quality of our teaching' the highest category in the most recent official UK Teaching Quality Assessment.
We have the freedom to adapt our curriculum continually to reflect current issues. This means the degree programmes are up-to-date and relevant.
Our degrees aim to:
• teach a range of key theories, concepts and approaches in interesting and relevant ways
• help students apply theoretical ideas to ‘real world’ social and cultural issues and problems
• innovate in teaching methods and keep our classes small
• intellectually challenge and stretch all our students (research led teaching)
• train all our students in a full range of transferable skills, so they are ready to begin their careers
How you are taught: Lectures and Seminars
Lectures: usually one or two hours long and involve larger classes
Seminars: usually one hour, and consist of smaller groups of 10-13 students. They are participatory or student-led.
Assessment: weighted towards coursework (e.g. 70% coursework, 30% exam)
We also teach through: workshops, group work, individual supervision, film screenings…
Your first year at LancasterThree ‘Part I’ courses: your ‘major’ plus two ‘minors’
• The three courses are equally weighted• You sign up for courses in Intro Week when you arrive• Flexibility: after the first year you can change your major degree
You all do a Part I course in your major subject:
• BA Sociology students: Part I Sociology
• BA Media and Cultural Studies students:
Part I MCS
You choose a minor in(Examples):• Sociology• Media and Cultural
Studies• Gender and Women’s
Studies• Religious Studies• Criminology
You choose a minor in(Examples):
• English Literature• Marketing• Politics• History• Computing
Blocks on topics such as:1. Questions of identity; 2. Key thinkers; 3.
Mobile lives; 4. Community and belonging
Sociology Part 1
Blocks on topics such as:
• 1. Key themes in Media and Cultural Studies
• 2. Media Lives • 3. Marginal
cultures • 4. Identity,
resistance and protest in contemporary Britain
Media and Cultural Studies Part I
Gender and Women’s Studies Part I
Run and taught from the Sociology Department
• Examines the different ways in which men and women are located in society and culture, past and present
• Examples: History of feminism in Britain; Disability; Law; Crime; Masculinities; News Media; Race; Class; Eating disorders; Makeover TV; Religion; Work;
• Leads on to many Part 2 courses
On our first year courses:
You are taught by professors who shape the discipline
You are assessed by 60% course work, 40% exam
You get regular feedback on short assignments
Sara Davenport
TOP TIPSGet involved in as many things as you can, e.g. clubs and societies, because
this is an easy way to make friends
Make sure you balance
the social and working
side to university
Keep up to date with your work
and don't be too nervous because everyone is in the
same position.
Don't hesitate to ask if you need help because
there is always someone there to help you.
Try and be open minded: be
accepting of others opinions as it is a
course which evokes debates and discussion
Be willing to read as much as you can: Even
if you're not keen on reading, each week try and do the set readings as they will help you to
make sense of the seminars and lectures
Do some reading (introductory) on the subject
before you have your very first lecture, you do not want to be
in there on the first day and not have a clue about what
your being taught
If you need help, your seminar
tutor is there for you!: Some
people may be too worried to get
help but your tutor wants you
to do well!
Try and have the confidence to speak in seminars:
Engaging in class seminars will build confidence for skills
you need in the future for example presentations and
even job interviews
Print off the lecture slides for each lecture: Allows you to
take down more notes which will help you in your exams
and for essays
Try not to work in your bedroom: Your room is a space to relax and switch off. Try and work in the library or Learning Zone
where there is less distractions to distinguish a time for working and a
time socialising.
Get a job over the summer
for extra boost with money
Learn to cook a few
simple meals
Learn to budget
Work out how a laundrette
works =)
Be yourself! Making friends can be scary but remember
everyone is in the same position. People will love you
for who you are!
Join Facebook group to meet others who are in
your course/ college before starting uni
Read briefly over main theoristsi.e. Marx,
Weber, Durkheim
Save up for a great printer, this helps me keep track of all my
work.
Learn how to find books in the library. At first, I was confused about the class mark system and would spend hours in the library trying to find books. Of course there
are people to help you out. But it's much easier and quicker when you know your way around!
Buy a calendar. My calendar keeps me in
check every day. It tells me where I am, when I
am. Being organised and prepared for
university life keeps the stress away.
AUBREY
MONA-LA
2nd year Core Courses
BA Sociology:Understanding Social ThoughtResearch Skills and Techniques
BA Media and Cultural Studies:Critical Cultural TheoryCultural Analysis
Option Courses – Years 2 and 3
Indicative list:
• Consumer Culture and Advertising
• Information Society
• Media in the Global Age
• Living With Capitalism
• Society and Nature
• Friendship, Intimacy and Society
• Football and Society
• Virtual Cultures
• Introducing Mobilities
• Gender, Sexuality and Society
• Imaging the Body
• The Chinese Century?
• Newspapers, Journalism and Society
• Television, Society and Morality
• Globalisation and Transnational Politics
• Nation, Migration and Multiculturalism
• Gender Performativities
Image of ‘branded baby’ from counter cultural organisation adbusters
Students on this course will be able to…
• Critically engage with the content of contemporary media.
• Have an understanding of the evolving role of television.
• Consider a range of contemporary moral issues.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the social origins of the idea of ‘moral order’, ‘moral culture’ and ‘postmodern ethics’.
• Engage with the philosophical debates around ‘morality’, ‘virtue’, ‘duty’ and ‘good and evil’.
• Undertake their own analyses of television programmes in these terms
Laura M
SOCL309Television, Society and Morality
BLOOD, SWEAT
and T-Shirts
Students on this course will… • Improve skills to employ sociological theory
reflexively in the analyses of films, through discussions and writing.
• Be able to critically evaluate different theories and approaches to cinema.
• Analyse in detail a chosen film.
• Give a coherent account of diverse ideas and actions
• Demonstrate confident knowledge of the issues involved in the analysis of films in a sociological perspective
• Think critically about cinematic objects and artistic ideas
Debbie
SOCL316Sociology Goes to Hollywood
goes to
SOCL340Newspaper, Journalism and Society
Students on this course will be able to…
• Describe and locate newspapers in terms of history, forms conventions and logic.
• Situate print media within a framework of cultural-theoretical questions concerning communication, commodification, reception/readership, history and culture.
• Compare and analyse a range of differing theoretical approaches on the social and cultural significance of newspapers in contemporary cultures. Laura T-F
All Students have the opportunity of spending their second year abroad
Lancaster has well-established exchange Programmes with Canadian, US and European Universities
Studying abroad is not as expensive as you might think as we have reduced fees which helps with the cost of flights.
Details at:http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/international/abroad/finance.htm
Sample topics chosen by paststudents:• Surveillance society• Environmental protesters• Charity advertising• Culture jamming • Advertising culture• Body image and eating disorders• Celebrity culture and role models• The smoking ban• Terrorism• The work of a nightclub bouncer• The internet, online identities, and youtube• The emotional cost of care work’• Social class and pony clubs
Britain is becoming a surveillance society where individuals are filmed hundreds of times a day by security cameras. (Photo: David Moir/Reuters)
Third year compulsory dissertation/independent research project
Extra curricular activities
Lancaster University Volunteer Unit - INVOLVE• Largest in the country• Offers fantastic opportunities for all students to gain work experience in schools, with the police, and with a range of social and charitable organisations.• Some international opportunities
Lancaster also has long-running, successful and student-led:
• Newspaper: Scan• Radio: Bailrigg FM• Student Union
• Alternative Music
• Amnesty Society• Gospel choir• Dance• Ballroom• Art• Cheerleading• Backpacking• Green Action• Ecology
• Organic garden• Music society• United nations• Philosophy• Debating• Photography• Role playing• Theatre Group• Unicef• Creative Writer’s
group• Cinema• Criminology
Society• SocSoc
Student societies50% of students at Lancaster University are members of a Society.
There are between 60 and 70 societies
`Strange doodles‘ photograph of a factory in Lancaster
Some of the Sports....
Classes:• Aerobic Workouts • Weights Inductions • Life Fitness Inductions • Combined Inductions • Climbing Inductions • Climbing Classes • Dance Classes • Squash • Tai Chi • Yoga • Judo • Trampolining • Circuit Workout
Clubs:• Boat• Sub-aqua• Judo• Ski• Cycling• Rugby• Football• Canoe Club• Netball• Tennis• Kickboxing • Cricket• Fencing• Martial Arts• Parachute and Freefall
Plus a new Sports Centre• 8 Tennis Courts• 5 Netball Courts • 2 Multi-Use Games Areas• 2 Floodlit Synthetic Grass pitches• 3 Rugby Pitches• 6 Association Football pitches• Crown Bowling Green• Trim Trail & Woodland Walk• Swimming Pool• 100 Station Gym• Climbing Wall• Sports Hall - includes:
• 8 badminton courts • Trampolining support rigging • Cricket nets• Archery
• Sauna and Steam room
What are Sociology and Media and Cultural Studies for?
Studying these disciplines DIRECTLY impacts on the world we live in
Relevant for:• politics • education• media, culture and creative
industries • planning • law• business
We teach and support transferable skills in:• Critical thinking• Research methods• Analysis • Presentation• Communication• Team-work• Web-work and IT
And afterwards: jobs…
Employers know that students from Lancaster are:• critical• innovative• bright • broad-based
Our students are very employable
Value of the media degree: Students with academic-led degrees are more attractive to employers than students with practical media degrees
Graduate employment in:• Public relations• Advertising• Journalism• Qualitative market research• Teaching• Social work• Police Force• Accounting• Universities: research and teaching• Consulting • Human Relations• Management Training• Law
See: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/
The University is singled out for its high levels of graduate employment in The Sunday Times University Guide 2012.
An above-average proportion of students get graduate-level jobs (74 percent) and Lancaster's unemployment rate is low.
Postgraduate training:• PGCEs (teaching qualification)• Social Work Training• One-year journalism or media
production training courses• Masters courses in areas such as:
– Sociology, Media and Cultural Studies, Marketing, Information Technology, Human Resources…
• Ph.D. research
Our students go on to:
Obtain ‘A’ level / ‘AS’ level / BTEC or equivalentYour offer will be ABB or equivalent
Places limited this year due to government cuts and high competition.
So, if you want to come to Lancaster, put us as your first choice!
If Media and Cultural Studies or Sociology at Lancaster is for you, what next?
Thank you!
Any Questions?
Contact us:Anne-Marie: [email protected]
Beckie: [email protected] & Kate:
