SOC30350 Work and Social Stratification

Academic Year 2020/2021

This course looks firstly at how work is organized in our society. It examines the division between mental and manual labour. It introduces students to major concepts such as Taylorism and Fordism that seek to explain why this division emerged. It also explores how different groups fare in the labour market, e.g., migrants, women and white-collar employees. It looks at union-employer conflicts and examines new forms of work organisation. The second part of the course aims to introduce students to both conceptual and empirical issues relating to social stratification. It looks at how Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Bourdieu define and deploy the concept of class. The second half of the course looks at inequality globally, in the UK and in Ireland. It discusses how inequality can take many forms and the role that education plays in such processes.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this course should be able to describe how Taylorism and Fordism influenced the division of labour, to compare how different social groups such as migrants fare in the labour market, to describe the main structures through which conflict between employers and unions are organized, to identify the complex and multileveled nature of stratification, to state the rival definitions of class, and to locate how inequality is both a global and societal phenomenon. They should also have a familiarity with stratification and work processes on a national and international level.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

20
Seminar (or Webinar)

1
Specified Learning Activities

10
Autonomous Student Learning

92
Total

123
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
lectures and essays 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Equivalents:
Work & Social Stratification (SOC20020)


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Essay: 2,000 word essay Unspecified n/a Graded No

50
Essay: 2,000 word essay Varies over the Trimester n/a Graded No

50

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be provided on assessed coursework as individual comments published in the VLE, in group sessions at lectures/seminars, and/or in person during office hours as appropriate.