SC208-5-FY-CO:
Stratification Across the Life Course: Inequalities From Cradle to Grave
2018/19
Sociology and Criminology
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Thursday 04 October 2018
Friday 28 June 2019
30
-
Requisites for this module
SC101
(none)
(none)
SC203
SC385, SC830, SC831
BA M900 Criminology,
BA M901 Criminology (Including Year Abroad),
BA M903 Criminology (Including Foundation Year),
BA M904 Criminology (Including Placement Year),
BA L3C8 Criminology with Social Psychology,
BA L3H8 Criminology with Social Psychology (Including Placement Year),
BA LHC8 Criminology with Social Psychology (Including Year Abroad),
BA LP33 Media and Digital Culture,
BA LP34 Media and Digital Culture (including Placement Year),
BA P300 Media and Digital Culture (Including Foundation Year),
BA PL33 Media and Digital Culture (including Year Abroad),
BA CL83 Sociology with Social Psychology,
BA CL93 Sociology with Social Psychology (Including Placement Year),
BA CLV3 Sociology with Social Psychology (Including Year Abroad),
BA L300 Sociology,
BA L301 Sociology (Including Year Abroad),
BA L304 Sociology (Including Foundation Year),
BA L306 Sociology (Including Placement Year),
BA LM38 Sociology and Criminology (Including Placement Year),
BA LM39 Sociology and Criminology,
BA LMH9 Sociology and Criminology (Including Year Abroad),
BA LMHX Sociology and Criminology (Including Foundation Year),
BA L3J9 Sociology with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L3M9 Sociology with Human Rights,
BA LMJ9 Sociology with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BSC L315 Sociology (Applied Quantitative Research),
BSC L316 Sociology (Applied Quantitative Research) (Including Year Abroad),
BSC L317 Sociology (Applied Quantitative Research) (Including Placement Year)
This full year module shares the Autumn term lectures and classes with Researching Social Life II (SC203). In this part of the module, students are introduced to quantitative data analysis. The second term builds on the knowledge gained in the first and introduces students to the study of stratification across the life course, with an emphasis on the critical examination of empirical evidence on inequality in both Britain and the USA.
Aims
In the autumn this module introduces you to the principles and practice of quantitative data analysis. Over ten weeks, students are first introduced to basic descriptive statistics and the fundamental concepts of statistical inference, then to measures of association for both continuous and categorical variables. The term ends with a focus on regression analysis, which is the most commonly used statistical model in social science. Students will learn how to conduct statistical analysis using IBM SPSS software in weekly lab sessions.
In the spring term, building on the knowledge gained in the previous term, students are exposed to a selective introduction to the study of stratification across the life course, with an emphasis on the examination of empirical evidence from Britain and the USA. Social stratification is the unequal distribution of scarce resources, and of the processes by which these resources are allocated to individuals, groups, and social positions. The study of stratification is broad and occupies a central role in sociological research, encompassing studies of income and wealth inequality, occupational and class hierarchies, inequality of educational opportunity, poverty, social mobility between and within generations, gender and race-ethnic inequality, and the consequences of inequality. We will also pay particular attention to the life course perspective on stratification; in other words, how experiences in early life influence later events and choices in education, marriage, or health. In this ten week course, we examine specific examples of sociological research in selected areas, covering the concepts, theories, facts, and methods of analysis used by sociologists to understand different aspects of social stratification. The examples are not meant to provide a comprehensive overview, but rather to illustrate prominent questions in the field and how sociologists go about answering them.
After the introductory week, this course is divided into four two-week sections, each devoted to a stage in the life course. Every section contains two lectures (one each week), followed by a class discussion after the first lecture and a lab session after the second. The class discussion will include in-depth discussion of the readings, with particular attention paid to identifying the research question and discussing the analytical choices and evidence provided by the authors. The class takes most of its examples from the contemporary United Kingdom and the United States. In each lab session, we will formulate our own research questions and hypotheses based on our readings and discussions. Building on knowledge and skills gained in the autumn term, students will then use SPSS software to test these using data from the largest longitudinal study of UK households: Understanding Society (UKHLS).
Learning Outcomes
In the process of taking this module, you will develop skills that are transferable to your undergraduate project, the labour market, or postgraduate work, when you complete your undergraduate studies. You will also appreciate more how sociologists go about applying their skills and knowledge to the empirical investigation of issues they study. Chiefly, upon successful completion of the module, you will:
Autumn term:
1. Have gained an understanding of the principles and practice of quantitative analysis in sociology
2. Have gained an understanding of the fundamentals of statistical inference
3. Have basic skills in analysing and presenting quantitative data using computer software IBM SPSS and Excel
Spring term:
4. Gain a substantive understanding of current key debates and recent empirical work in the field of social stratification
5. Have an improved ability to critically read scientific journal articles and to interpret quantitative evidence
6. Gain the ability to critically examine the link between theoretical framework, research questions, data choice, and modelling strategy
7. Be able to formulating research questions and testable hypotheses, and applying these to real data
No information available.
No information available.
Students have to take either SC208-5-FY or SC203-5-FY, they cannot take both at the same time.
Autumn term:
1 hour lecture in weeks 2-11
1 hour class in weeks 5 and 8
2 hour lab in weeks 2-4, 6-7 and 9-11
Spring term:
1 hour lecture in weeks 16-20, 22-25
2 hour lab in weeks 16-20, 22-25
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Three Mini Homework Exercises |
|
15% |
| Coursework |
Data Analysis report |
|
35% |
| Coursework |
Mini essay |
|
10% |
| Coursework |
Mini Essay |
|
12% |
| Coursework |
Mini Essay |
|
13% |
| Coursework |
Mini essay |
|
15% |
| Practical |
Final Year Project Topic Preference |
|
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Renee Luthra, email: rrluthra@essex.ac.uk.
Jane Harper, Student Administrator, Telephone: 01206 873052
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Monika Krause
London School of Economics
Available via Moodle
Of 140 hours, 29 (20.7%) hours available to students:
111 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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