Digital Media and Society BA

Core modules:

Understanding Approaches to Social Research

This module introduces students to doing social research. Students will explore this through close engagement with the ways other academic projects (including those conducted by staff in the school) have been conducted. Students will gain familiarity with the process of doing social research, from designing research questions, and consideration of the approach taken, to the selection of methods, the implementation of ethical research in the field and the analysis and writing up of data.

10 credits

Data Visualisation

This module consists of three key elements. The first is principles of good graphic design, combined with how figures can be used to lie and mislead. The second is learning how to make a wide range of graphs, maps, and figures, for a wide range of different audiences, using the latest and most powerful software. The third is interpreting visual representations of data, whether from other sources or by students on the module themselves, and using them to answer substantive research questions. Fundamentally, this is a hands-on module that allows students to make and understand data visualisations.

10 credits

Introduction to Digital Methods Research

This unit introduces students to methods for carrying out research, sometimes referred to digital methods. It provides hands-on practical opportunities to try out in practice. Digital methods are techniques for researching digital cultures and content. Students will explore online surveys and interviews, or virtual ethnography. They will use new methods devised especially for researching digital content like: social media content, likes and shares; blog posts and comments; hyperlinks; search engine results. Students on this module will learn about the tools, techniques and processes of digital methods, and they will be introduced to the ethical questions that they raise.

20 credits

Digital Media and Society

Students taking this core module will be introduced to key concepts, issues, and debates about the production, use and distribution of digital media and information in society, including how these developments relate to social inequalities. They will work together to develop their own ideas for how to tackle some of the pressing challenges facing the development of inclusive digital societies. As part of learning about these topics, students¿ will also be taught how to use web technologies to produce and publish their own digital content, and will apply basic website design and implementation skills to present their coursework.

40 credits

Optional modules include:

Introduction to Social Theory

This module aims to introduce you to major interventions and advances in social theory in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. It focuses on a variety of crucial theories of social relations, conditions, and processes, such as social conflict, exchange, power, and resistance, among many others

The module seeks to guide you in becoming familiar with, and in understanding the meanings of, the concepts, ideas, and arguments central to those social theories. 

Moreover, you will acquire and develop the skills necessary for researching, grasping, and communicating different theoretical conceptions of the social world. For this purpose, you will be supported in studying a selection of primary texts in social theory.

The module places emphasis on socio-theoretical innovations in explaining the problems and challenges posed by social reality as well as in imagining social change.

A series of lectures will provide expositions of the concepts, ideas, and arguments in the theoretical works at issue on the module. The corresponding series of seminars will support you and your fellow students in collaboratively deepening your knowledge and investigations of the theoretical substance and in sharpening your study and research skills.

20 credits

Social divisions and inequalities: causes, patterns and change

Sociologists are driven to understand how and why material and symbolic rewards are distributed unequally within and between social groups. In this module, you will explore how these inequalities arise from social divisions such as class, gender, and 'race' and ethnicity, and how they also interact to produce unequal outcomes. 

Throughout your learning, you will critically evaluate sociological research that provides evidence of structured inequality in society, as well as contemporary representations of inequalities. In doing so, you will gain an understanding of the difference between common-sense and sociological perspectives of social divisions.  This will support you in developing a sociological framework to critically assess how social divisions operate in the everyday, including in your own lives, and the constraints and opportunities that you and others encounter.

A series of lectures will provide scholarly evidence of and arguments relating to the causes of social divisions, the ways in which patterns of inequality manifest, and how these have changed and/or been challenged over time. Corresponding seminars will enable you to further develop your understanding of the ways in which social inequalities operate and manifest in social life, and how a different future can be imagined. This will deepen your  knowledge, develop your sociological imagination, and sharpen your study, research and communication skills

20 credits

Theories of Society

This module aims for in-depth investigations of decisive advances in sociology's theoretical inquiry into social relations, conditions, and processes. You will receive guidance in interpreting key concepts and ideas in a range of different contributions to social theory and in analysing the configurations of those concepts and ideas.

 

The module will support you in developing the skills to engage closely with complex primary socio-theoretical writings in order to understand, reconstruct, and articulate their essential logical steps and arguments. Moreover, the module seeks to encourage and facilitate critical assessments and discussions of the successes and limitations of different socio-theoretical works. It aims to foster a comparative perspective on the similarities and differences between the theories of society under inspection.

 

The module will enable you to recognise social theory's potential to help make sense of persistent problems and challenges posed by social relations and conditions as well as to help envisage ways of addressing those problems and transforming the social world.

 

A series of lectures will set out and scrutinises the conceptual configurations, inferences, and arguments presented in socio-theoretical writings. The corresponding series of seminars will provide an environment for you and your fellow students to collaborate in in-depth interpretations, analyses, and critical discussions of the course content and in honing your skills to reconstruct and compare a variety of socio-theoretical arguments

20 credits

Understanding and challenging inequality: Sociological and policy debate

Social inequalities and social divisions are fundamental challenges and complex problems in modern societies. This module aims to develop your understanding of societal inequalities and divisions, and of societal debates and actions to challenge and transform societal discourses, relations and structures that underpin social inequalities and divisions. Drawing on multidisciplinary sociological and social policy perspectives and debates, the module will develop your understanding of the complexity of contemporary inequalities and divisions, and the range of political and collective actions required and pursued to address these. You will engage with theoretical, research and policy perspectives about the ways in which the distribution of resources, status, opportunities and life chances in society is associated with economic, social, political and cultural dimensions of inequality and division. You will learn about the ways in which collective actions, transformative social policies and societal activism seek to challenge these dimensions of inequality and division. 

Three key themes will guide your module learning: inequality, justice and injustice; inclusion and exclusion; and local and global relationships. Engaging with these themes, the module will explore a range of sociological, political and social policy issues with module delivery tailored each year to the School's/Department's research expertise providing students with cutting edge learning based on the module team's specialist and current research and policy fields. Each year the module will explore several substantive topics and issues including, for instance, social welfare and social justice; childhood, family life, care and intergenerational relations; migration and transnational relations; crime and criminalisation; the digital world and risks; and decolonisation and neo-colonialism. The module builds on the Semester 1 Part 1 Social Inequalities and Division module to develop students' understandings of the causes, nature and extent of inequalities and divisions in contemporary society; and debates and actions concerned to promote equality, justice and inclusion.

20 credits

Introduction to Media and Communication in Society

This module examines the relationship between media and society. It examines the nature of influence and persuasion, representation, ownership, and identity in contemporary media environments.

10 credits

Analysing News

This module will focus on how to analyse contemporary news outputs. Students will be introduced to a selection of methods such as content analysis, framing analysis and discourse analysis, which will allow them to analyse news outputs and focus on looking at current issues as they arise. Examples of recent studies will be read and discussed and teaching staff may also talk through how they conducted their own studies. The module will enable students to use basic research methods by starting with the news and topics rather than `dry' methodologies, as well as considering the ethics of journalism and the codes used in an attempt to regulate the industry.

20 credits

Making Sense of Education: Facts, Fiction and Data

Politics, practices and media discourses related to Education, frequently invoke 'evidence' or statistical reasoning in an attempt to persuade. These approaches can be deliberately misused or accidentally misleading. This module will equip you with the knowledge you need to become a discerning data user and critic through a mix of active learning, seminars and computer workshops. You will develop practical skills to support your engagement with 'evidence' throughout your studies, explore a range of issues in qualitative and quantitative research design, and create a foundation for your future development as a critical researcher.

20 credits

Reporting Institutions

This module aims to help students understand how the world works - how the levers of power operate in international, national and local politics and how they can use this information and understanding to hold those in power to account on behalf of readers, viewers and listeners.

20 credits

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

Whether you're a journalist writing stories for the public, or a social research analyst working in government, you need to be able to understand, use and present data. This 10 credit module aims to demystify data and encourage critical thinking on statistics; often wrongly used, and sometimes in very misleading ways. The module will equip you with the knowledge and skills you'll need to become a discerning data user, through engaging teaching, active learning and examples from the news media. The module is comprised of a mix of lectures and computer workshops and is assessed through a multiple choice exam.

10 credits

Social and Historical Constructions of Childhood

In this module students will explore how childhood has been portrayed across different societies and at different times, and will examine how childhoods are shaped and influenced by the societies in which children live, learn and are cared for. Through a series of lectures, group work and individual study tasks, students will think about the ways in which childhood has changed over time and how different views and perspectives on childhood create different expectations of children. Through the study of historical and social constructions of childhood, students will develop a fuller understanding of how ways of working with children can be shaped by external influences.

20 credits

History and Culture in China

This module explores what it means to study China at university level, and considers how 'area studies' research on China fits within disciplines such as history and cultural studies. We will consider how histories and cultural understandings of China are built with the following in mind: how researchers use primary evidence such as texts, documents and/or images to understand social change; and how to navigate key debates in a field and evaluate competing arguments. You will finish this module with a deeper understanding of our core topic and the disciplinary approaches that frame it, and a foundation in critical research and writing skills that you can apply and develop in further study.

We will work on a combination of new and established research to explore one core topic: In 2022-2023 we will explore the history of twentieth-century Shanghai as seen from the grassroots.

20 credits

Philosophy of Sex

Sex is one of the most basic human motivators, of fundamental importance in many people's lives, and a topic of enormous moral, religious, and political contention. No surprise, then, that it turns out to be of great philosophical interest. We will discuss moral issues related to sex' asking when we might be right to judge a particular sex act to be morally problematic; and what political significance (if any) sex has. We will also discuss metaphysical issues, such as the surprisingly difficult questions of what exactly sex is and what a sexual orientation is. Throughout our study, we will draw both on philosophical sources and on up-to-date contemporary information.

10 credits

LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans* and Queer) Studies

This module introduces students to study of genders and sexualities, and LGBTQ scholarship, both historical and contemporary. It examines genders and sexualities in society, culture, media, and their academic study, as well as contemporary issues of inequality affecting sexual minorities in different global contexts. The module is team taught by experts in different departments at the University of Sheffield, who will introduce students to a wide range of theoretical and methodological perspectives, such as philosophy, history, social sciences, psychology, evolutionary biology, education, cultural studies, and critical study of religion. The module is assessed by a coursework portfolio, where students answer a number of short questions on different topics in the syllabus.

10 credits

Child Psychology

This module explores the relationship between psychological theory and educational policy and practice, considering some of the ways in which Education and Local Authority services have been influenced by ideas about children developed in psychological research. Some of the core concepts of Psychology are introduced such as cognitive psychology (intelligence, language and learning), behaviourism (including modification techniques), social and emotional development (including family and attachment, trauma) as well as the study of individual differences (with reference to psychopathologies such as autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder).

20 credits

Climate Action

Humans are altering the climate, with significant impacts on livelihoods, wellbeing, equality, and the environment across the globe.  While international organisations and governments are crucial in mitigating and adapting to these threats, individual and small group collective action are also essential in creatively exploring how the necessary changes can be realistically and equitably implemented.  



This module uses the Sheffield community as a Living Lab.  Focusing on one aspect of daily life in which there is potential for more mitigation or better adaptation, you will identify and plan an investigation or intervention (a 'project') to take a step towards more or better climate action.  You will need to justify your choices by elaborating what you would consider success, how you would deliver it, as well as assessing the impact of its wider implementation.

10 credits

Popular Music Studies

This module provides an introduction to the academic study of popular music. You will explore the various definitions of 'popular music' in relation to their socio-cultural context, and investigate some of the major issues and debates of popular music studies.

Lecture materials and in-class tasks will engage with approaches to the analysis of popular music and media, issues of representation, and the relationship between popular musicians and their audiences. Assessments involve critical engagement with the themes of the module in relation to a popular music artist or piece of your choosing.

10 credits

Philosophy of Religion

Religious teachings and practices raise many philosophical questions. For example, how should we understand the nature of God for purposes of evaluating evidence for and against God's existence? Are there persuasive arguments for believing God does exist, or for believing God doesn't? Could the universe itself in some sense be divine? Is there any evidence for thinking that people can survive the death of their physical bodies? Does the pervasiveness of religious disagreement provide support for suspending judgment about religious claims in general? Does it make any sense to follow a religion without believing what it teaches? This module will interrogate philosophical work bearing on questions such as these.

10 credits

Ethics in Antiquity: East and West

How should we live? What are the right values and principles by which we should guide our lives? What weight should we give to considerations of morality and justice? Are there fixed truths about these matters or are they just determined by choice or convention? Ethics is concerned with questions such as these. This course will engage with such questions by examining some important and influential texts from the ancient world, both Western and Eastern, including key writings by the Greek philosopher Plato and the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi.

10 credits

Death

This module is mainly about death itself . What is death? What happens to us when we die? Could there be an afterlife? Would it be a good thing if there were? What is it about death that we dislike so much, or that makes it bad? Is it rational, or even possible to fear death? What is the right attitude towards our own death? Do we have moral duties towards the dead? The course will clarify these questions and attempt to answer them. Readings will be taken from both historical and contemporary sources.

10 credits

Education, Power and Society: Introduction to the Sociology of Education

This module explores the relationship between educational institutions/cultures/systems and social inequalities. We focus on class, gender, ethnicity and disability and look at the ways in which education systems serve to tackle or reproduce patterns of inequality and relations of power. The module also evaluates different policy frameworks and goals. For example, whether the focus of education policy should be placed on nurturing active citizenship (and what this would look like) or whether the main priority should be to serve the needs of the economy (and how this might be achieved).

20 credits

Housing and Home

Issues relating to housing, homes, streets and neighbourhoods that we live in are in the news every day. Whether this is over concerns about housing shortages, affordability, 'generation rent', social housing, evictions, Covid lockdowns, housing condition, domestic violence, flooding, or informal housing, housing is often at the centre of social science research.  In this module, we will develop a critical appreciation for housing and home, questioning some of the taken for granted assumptions that are often prominent in public debates. The module aims to introduce students to this broad and diverse subject by drawing on the expertise of staff who research across these multiple themes. The module focuses on contemporary concerns, while maintaining an appreciation of the impact of historical trends. The module will make use of cases from the UK and internationally to illustrate trends and challenges, making connections which span diverse global contexts. The module introduces students to a range of concepts and debates relating to housing, as well as indicating the linkages to housing and urban policy, developing a more nuanced understanding of this diverse topic.

10 credits

Cities and Inequality

Cities are the primary living spaces of more than half of humanity and are therefore at the centre of debates about growing forms of material and social inequality. Urban studies today is at the forefront of research efforts addressing multiple forms of inequality that include ecological, housing, wealth, gender, and other forms.

Cities and Inequality  will introduce you to many of the problems and divisions that are present across much of our global urban condition. The course pays particular attention to the multiple forms of inequality that pervade urban life and brings students into discussions about the kind of responses that might be developed to challenge conditions that hold back large sections of urban populations.

The course focuses on a broad set of forms of inequality and uses diverse case examples from around the globe to bring these issues to life politically, socially, economically and in terms of debates around geography, planning and urban studies more broadly. 

The course will develop your critical thinking around the reasons for inequality, its multiple forms and interconnections and bring-in cutting-edge assessments of the scale of these issues in diverse urban contexts around the world. Today inequality is linked to the economic, social and political conditions of urban life itself, this course will help you make sense of these issues and questions of social injustice. The aims of the module are to:

1. Introduce students to the diverse forms of inequality that exist in cities around the world today;

2. Describe and analyse the range of political and economic factors that give rise to forms of inequality that are, in many cases, worsening in many cities around the world;

3. To make sense of the roots of these challenges and to identify methods for alleviating and reducing forms of inequality, and;

4. To develop awareness of inequality as a significant source of social injustice that is animating many political and social debates in nations and cities around the world today.

10 credits

Core modules:

Advancing with Digital Methods

Building on what you studied in Level 1, this module will help you advance your understanding of new methods for carrying out digital research.

You will be introduced to advanced techniques for doing research on and about digital platforms, including social media. You will be taught how to use advanced tools, techniques and processes, through extensive practical experience in computer lab sessions. Throughout this module, you will be encouraged to evaluate the discussed tools and techniques in the context of their emergence and sometimes rapid decline. You will be asked to address questions of epistemology, information politics and ethics.

By the end you will have gained a deeper understanding on how digital methods are used to create particular kinds of knowledge.

20 credits

Digital Media and Social Change

This module will introduce you to a range of core theoretical frameworks in order to understand, analyse and evaluate the complex relationship between digital media and social change. You will focus on two key aspects of the relationship between digital media and social change. 

Firstly, you will examine purposeful activist use of digital media to create social change, investigating how new possibilities for participatory communication have been exploited by activists to contest inequalities. Topics you might cover include influential social movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter, to environmental influencers on Youtube and Instagram.

During the second half, you will analyse the large-scale social, economic and political changes created by the internet. This will include assessing the new forms of participation that have been created as audiences become producers, as well as the new forms of surveillance and inequalities that are entangled with these developments. 

This module will support you in developing the critical skills needed to discuss and unpack contemporary scholarship, providing vital scaffolding for your final year dissertations.

20 credits

Digital Storytelling

The use of digital media to enhance the effectiveness of a narrative is common in the fields of business, entertainment, cultural heritage, education and journalism. The module provides an introduction to the area of digital storytelling including key concepts and technologies involved in creating/using digital content and how to use digital media to tell a story. Students will be taught practical skills such as how to create and use digital media such as images, videos, and sounds, and how to design and create complex multimedia applications using Adobe Animate CC (an industry recognised platform, using HTML and CSS).

20 credits

Social Research Design and Methods

Social research methods are an important aspect of higher education in the social sciences, equipping you with practical skills to carry out a research project of your choice. 

In this module, you will be introduced to some key approaches and practices of doing social research. You will learn about different methodological approaches often classified as qualitative and quantitative research, as well as practical ways of doing such research using interviews, surveys, focus group discussions and more. 

You will be able to apply these skills in crafting a research proposal for your dissertation to be undertaken in Year 3 of the programme.

20 credits

Optional modules include:

Data Driven Storytelling

Data-driven approaches to reporting are gaining in popularity and importance in today's world. Established media institutions, such as The New York Times in the US or The Guardian and Press Association in the UK (and many more around the world) already have units that specialise in data journalism. Thus, it becomes essential for the next generation of journalists to be data-literate and to appreciate how data can be verified and used not only to find stories but to tell stories. This module is designed to make you confident and comfortable in working with data and, furthermore, to expand your journalistic toolkit for data-driven, analytic and investigative journalism.

20 credits

Doing Quantitative Sociological Research

This dynamic inquiry-based module will provide you with practical experience of conducting quantitative sociological research that has real-life application to the social world.

Using the latest UK dataset provided by the Office for National Statistics, you will experience the realities of planning and conducting quantitative research, developing your ability to communicate your findings in appropriate formats. 

There will be several hand-on workshops where you will be able to develop and practice your skills in using SPSS.

20 credits

Media Law for Journalists

This module provides for those wishing to be journalists, or studying journalism, essential knowledge of media law applying in England and Wales, and of regulatory codes which UK journalists should comply with. This law includes that of defamation, privacy and contempt of court, and other law governing court reporting. The codes seek to uphold journalistic standards generally, including protection of people's privacy and of the identities of sources promised confidentiality. The module also demonstrates that UK journalists can assert `human rights' which in law and the codes uphold freedom of expression, including publication of material `in the public interest'.

20 credits

Men, Feminism and Gender relations

During this module, you will critically examine the growing body of sociological and other literature concerned with men and masculinities. The content you will cover will locate this growth of interest within the context of the feminist movement and subsequent writings/critiques of masculinities and patriarchy.

You will be supported and encouraged to connect the covered topics to wider scholarship on gender relations. Some of the key case studies that you will explore include men in sport, men and media, men and health/well-being, men and feminism, as well as men and sexualities. Methodological and epistemological issues involved in the study of men and masculinities will also form part of this module.

This module will also introduce students to the new skill of vlogging, which they will be supported to develop for their assessment.

20 credits

Sociological Theory and Analysis

The content of this module will build upon your understanding of sociological theory by encouraging you to explore its relevance to key themes and issues in contemporary society.

The course will explore major theoretical works in critical social theory, feminist social thought, the critique of colonialism, and cultural theory. In order to foster your understanding of social theory, you will study the application of core ideas and concepts to substantive issues in modern contemporary society, including the problem of class, gender relations, race, and order and conflict. 

Overall, you will gain a critical understanding of the importance and use of modern and contemporary social theory.

20 credits

Sociology of Media and Consumer Culture

You will examine the relationship between media and consumer culture.

Some of the key debates you will explore during this module include engaging with various conceptual and theoretical understandings of consumer culture, discussing the relationship between media and marketing, and the impact of media on consumer culture.

By the end, you will have developed a deeper understanding of media, consumer culture, and their wider impacts on society.

20 credits

Understanding 'Race' and Migration

This module explores the meaning of 'race' and migration in various social and political contexts. It aims to develop an in-depth understanding of sociological theories of 'race', racism and migration through an exploration of the development of 'race' as an ideology, as a concept influenced by history and politics, and through its relevance in the contemporary context. The module examines how ideas about race and migration help to shape and determine social and political relations. It also explores the role of race and migration as major sources of social divisions and how racism operates in the reproduction of structural inequalities. These issues are explored through sociological theory, as well as policy and practice areas such as theories of racialised identities, immigration regimes, education and criminal justice.

20 credits

Children and Digital Cultures

Digital technology has transformed the lives of many, impacting on culture and society. Many young people have quickly seen ways of extending and deepening social networks through their uses of technology, and immersed themselves in Virtual Worlds, Facebook etc and enjoyed browsing on shopping sites. This module examines new technologies and associated social practices impacting on children's lives, considering the nature of new digital practices and how these affect identity, society and culture. Educational implications of new technologies is a developing field of research and students will engage critically with debates within the field alongside examining websites and new practices.

20 credits

The Sociology of Crime

Crime, and the process of criminalisation, are major features of all societies. Since the nineteenth century, sociologists have developed a range of criminological theories to explain 'criminality'.

During this module, you will review the historical development of a range of theoretical approaches to the study of crime and consider how sociologists have studied the primary institutions of social control. You will also investigate and discuss the contribution of the sociology of crime to issues of contemporary significance using a case study model of learning.

By the end of the module, you will appreciate the importance of a sociological approach to crime and criminalisation, and be able to apply criminological theories in order to understand some of the most pressing and topical crime problems of today.

20 credits

Sociology of Family: Continuity and Change

Using a sociological and anthropological perspective, this module seeks to problematise the concept of 'family' as a natural and universal phenomenon. The content covered will underscore the need to explore the notion of the family as a social and historical construction by examining the diversity of family life in countries around the world. 

While acknowledging the impact of social change on different family constructions, you will seek to understand how some family structures remain the same, creating a situation where one society can have multiple family structures. In particular, this module will encourage you to focus on the role of the state in constructing the family and the impact these different constructions of family life have on particular individuals, such as women, children and the elderly.

You expand your skills in applying sociological thinking to everyday life and this will increase your awareness of the ways in which some family constructs are privileged whilst others are marginalised in society. In addition to this, you will gain employability skills by enhancing your practices in critical reflection, and by developing your ability to write in ways that have utility beyond the University.

20 credits

Crime, Justice and Social Policy

During this module, you will examine the variety of responses to crime that encompass the use of both crime policy and social policy. Crime policy responses encompass the use of the role of the policy, courts and prisons. Alongside this is the social policy approach which includes health, housing, education, employment, youth and family as a means of crime reduction. 

The content you will cover seeks to demonstrate the criticism of 'traditional' crime policy-based responses to crime and the way in which social policy has emerged as an alternative way to tackle the so-called 'crime problem'. You will consider multiple theories of crime which make competing arguments for the use of crime or social policy as a response, the role of criminologists in policy making, and the criminalisation of social policy as an unintended outcome.

This module speaks more broadly to the challenges and dynamics of the policy-making process when seeking to tackle complex societal issues. You will therefore benefit from situating these challenges within specific examples of governmental attempts to tackle crime with direct and indirect policy initiatives.

20 credits

Social Problems: Policy and Practice

Drawing on current examples and comparative references, you will explore social and ideological constructions of social problems and the role of the state and other agencies in responses to them. This module is team taught which means sessions are delivered by a range of leading experts on different social problems.

Some of the key concepts and themes in social policy and practice that you will cover include inequality, justice and fairness, individual versus collective responsibility, and welfare versus social control. The content of this module mainly focuses on major contemporary issues, including welfare and work, housing and homelessness, and community participation.

By the end, you will be equipped with the necessary critical perspective and skills to understand and explore social problems.

20 credits

Chinese Business and Management

The objective of this module is to provide students an understanding of China's economic reform and open door policies, and the new free market orientation. While module content is academic rather than practical, this unit is designed to acquaint students with Chinese business environment and practice, and to inform them of issues and problems encountered by international businesses operating in China or doing business with the Chinese. Emphasis is on the Chinese business culture, the state-owned enterprise reform, development of the private sector and management issues of Chinese family firms, foreign direct investment and operating foreign businesses in China, human resource management, Chinese consumer behaviour, and the financial markets. An understanding of these topics is highly relevant to companies targeting the China market and essential background for graduates seeking a career in Far Eastern Business. Students are thus encouraged to develop business-related skills.

20 credits

Environment and Development of the Japanese Islands

This module takes geographical, ecological, socio-cultural and political-economic perspectives in charting the emergence of Japan as the world's first non-Western developed country. Beginning with Japan's geological formation in pre-history and ending with a speculative enquiry into the state of Japan in 2100, the module assesses the human and ecological consequences of Japan's development within the country's Asian, Pacific, and global contexts.

20 credits

Theory of Knowledge

The aim of the course is to provide an introduction to philosophical issues surrounding the knowledge. We will be concerned with the nature and extent of knowledge. How must a believer be related to the world in order to know that something is the case? Can knowledge be analysed in terms of more basic notions? Must our beliefs be structured in a certain way if they are to be knowledge? In considering these questions we will look at various sceptical arguments that suggest that the extent of knowledge is much less than we suppose. And we will look at the various faculties of knowledge: perception, memory, introspection, and testimony.

20 credits

Feminism

Feminists have famously claimed that the personal is political. This module takes up various topics with that methodological idea in mind: the family, cultural critique, language. We examine feminist methodologies - how these topics might be addressed by a feminism that is inclusive of all women - and also turn attention to social structures within which personal choices are made - capitalism, and climate crisis .

20 credits

Ethics: Theoretical and Practical

There are some things we morally ought to do, ways we ought to live. Those of us who are not moral sceptics will agree so far. Indeed, we may even agree extensively about what we ought to do or how we ought to live. But why? Ethicists don't just ask what we ought to do. They also try to work out, as systematically as possible, what explains the demands, obligations and requirements that stem from morality. That is what this module will explore. Is morality all about promoting the well-being of humans and other creatures? Does it stem from the requirements of rationality? Is it aimed at achieving the distinctive kinds of excellence that creatures like us can attain?

30 credits

Urban Analytics

This module will serve as an introduction to quantitative and spatial analytical methods, with a specific focus on understanding, interpreting and presenting secondary data in urban contexts. It will expose students to a variety of substantive issues surrounding the use of data in practice and enhance their understanding of methods used in real world policy settings. Students will access and use a range of different datasets, covering demographics, property, and land use and will analyse them using both spatial and aspatial methods. They will be required to demonstrate competence in accessing, analysing and presenting such data using both aspatial and spatial methods in order to gain a deeper understanding of key issues facing urban settings.

20 credits

Sociology of the Body

In the social world, we are understood first through our bodies. This can have an impact on everything from our opportunities for employment to our access to medical care. During this module, you will examine the cultural and societal impact we have on bodies and they have on us by exploring the social contribution of the body and the ways it is controlled and experienced in contemporary society.

Throughout, you will be introduced to key theoretical approaches to the sociology of the body and develop understanding of the social construction of the body. You will have the opportunity to critically explore the range of social factors that can impact the body and identity and discuss how our bodies intersect with our multiple social identities. 

Overall, you will develop an understanding of some of the social factors that can shape bodily experience and identity, such as racialisation, gender, ageing, weight, medicalisation, and representation. You will also be encouraged to develop a social justice focused framework for understanding the marginalised body in contemporary society.

20 credits

Contemporary Chinese Society and Culture

This module introduces students to different ways of thinking about Chinese society and culture. In particular, we focus on sociological, anthropological and geographical approaches to contemporary Chinese society and culture, showing why and how China is important to current theoretical debates in these disciplines.

20 credits

Population and Environment in China

This module examines the interdependent relationship between population and environment in China. These are vitally important questions, in China and globally, that have attracted research by scholars of contemporary China, and in the wider academic disciplines of human geography and development studies. Through your work in lectures and seminars, you will gain a deep understanding of China's population and environment and its relation to social and economic change and to local and national institutions; and you will develop transferable skills of research, writing and critical analysis.

20 credits

In Sickness and in Health: The Sociology of Medicine

Covid conspiracies and care home crises. AIDS activism and autism advocacy. Questions relating to health and illness are amongst the most crucial facing society today. From before people are born until the moment they die, everyone is profoundly shaped by their engagements with medicine. 

In this module, you will examine the ways in which bodies, minds and societies are formed through engagements with and understandings of health, illness and medicine. You will explore topics such as: intersecting inequalities in healthcare provisions, patient experiences of ill health, activism and the fight for recognition, contemporary health crises, and the COVID pandemic. 

By critically examining these examples, you will develop a nuanced understanding of the role of health, illness and medicine within contemporary society.

20 credits

East Asian Cinema

We will examine key film directors, cinematic movements and industry developments since 1945 from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. This module will introduce you to some of the key cinematic theoretical frameworks such as national and global cinemas, gender, spectatorship and will examine the ways in which selected East Asian films and directors interact with the history and culture of their respective nations. This module is designed to encourage students to critically examine both the text (the films themselves) and the context (the national environment, film festival circuit, film finance) that surrounds any film work.

20 credits

Core modules:

Dissertation in Digital Media and Society

This unit enables students to undertake an in-depth study on a topic of their own choice, which relates to digital media and society, and is guided by one-to-one academic supervision. It aims to enable students to develop and demonstrate skills in the planning, definition and management of a substantial piece of enquiry on digital media and society. The dissertation may take the form of a theoretical literature-based analysis, an empirical exploration, either through primary or secondary research, or it may incorporate elements of digital media production. The focus and methods are agreed with the unit leader in advance of the unit, to ensure that students have been trained in the use of relevant methods.

40 credits

Optional modules include:

Digital Health

You will explore the social implications of digital technologies in health, considering what these mean for our experiences of health and illness as patients and as citizens, for the work of health care professionals, and for the provision of health care.

During this module, you will investigate a range of contemporary developments, such as self-tracking and gamifying health, telemedicine and care at a distance, health information on the net, electronic patient records, illness, death and dying on the web, and health activism and online patient groups.

Across the topics of investigation, you will consider questions about the changing representations and cultures of health and illness, whether we can all be medical experts now, who has responsibility for health, how we relate to health care professionals, the commodification of health data and the relative benefits for state and industry. 

20 credits

Digital Identities

This module explores how identities are being reimagined in a digital age. It provides students with an in-depth understanding of internet and social media technologies' roles in people's identity negotiations, the relationship between digital media and social life, and offers theoretical grounding for students to critically assess their own digital identities. It reviews debates about identity formations from the earliest digital media moments while also considering contemporary concerns like: identity concealment on social media platforms; a phenomenon called 'content moderation' (to ask which digital identities are not allowed); and the extent to which digital media users can (and want to) enact 'authentic' identities. But the module also asks why people might disconnect from digital technologies altogether, as these choices - especially in areas with high levels of internet and smartphone uptake - form a key part of who a person is and how they live their lives.

20 credits

Digital Marketing and Consumer Culture

You will examine key sociological perspectives on digital marketing and their broader impacts on consumer culture. The content of this module will situate the emergence of data-driven marketing within a broader social history of marketing practices and discourses.

Example topics covered include, but are not limited to, social media, eCommerce, and on-demand platforms, geo and location based marketing, influencer marketing, and video games. 

You will gain the skills and knowledge needed to critically understand the social implications and power dynamics of digital marketing and their impacts on everyday life.

20 credits

Digital Media Work Placement

This unit provides students with the opportunity to undertake work experience, develop enterprise and employability skills, and apply their understanding of digital media/society in a chosen workplace. The module requires students to undertake the equivalent of four weeks work experience at a company or organisation which engages with digital media. Through this students will experience the practical demands of a working environment, and they will be required to evaluate their experience. Students experiences will vary depending on the projects in which they are involved and the companies/organisations in which they work. On the module, students will enhance their understanding of the inter-connection between Digital Media, the skills they have developed and their application in the wider world.

20 credits

Education@Sheffield

In Education@Sheffield students are invited to explore and evaluate the rich and diverse research taking place within the School of Education. Through a series of seminars presented by active researchers, students are encouraged to critically engage with research - and the researchers themselves - in the fields of educational and childhood studies. The Education@Sheffield module enables students to acquire a critical understanding of various themes, settings and methodologies which shape contemporary educational research.

20 credits

Free Speech and Censorship

Free Speech and Censorship critically explores the historical and contemporary status of freedom of speech and expression and the limits and constraints on this liberty. The module covers topics as varied as the philosophies of free speech; the history and significance of free speech; the legal framework for the protection of free speech in Europe and the US; the limits of free speech and press freedom; debates about harm and offence. Students taking this module should be interested in examining these debates as they apply to contemporary media, legal and political systems. Assessment is via academic coursework on a topic selected by the student and approved by the module leader.

20 credits

Intimacy and Personal Relationships

The module explores approaches to theorising and studying intimacy and personal relationships. Beginning with the Individualisation thesis and its critics, the module will go on to explore recent moves towards conceptualising personal relationships in terms of embeddedness, relationality, intimacy and linked lives. Students will also explore a range of substantive topics within the field including memory, genealogy, material culture and home, marriage and sexuality, responsibility and care, and friendship.

20 credits

Organised Crime and Illicit Markets

This module will introduce you to the growing field of organised crime studies. This rich area of research encompasses many disciplines from criminology and sociology to history, economics and politics. At the heart of organised crime studies are attempts to understand how, why and when illicit marketplaces are created and sustained and the roles of various actors within these markets.

You will have the opportunity to explore how governments and law enforcement agencies have tried to respond to organise crime by investigating a range of case studies specific to illicit marketplaces. You will also analyse the role of the media and the influence of popular culture on the way organised crime is defined and understood.

By exploring the primary literature, which covers the historical and contemporary developments in organised crime, you will be equipped to engage with sociological debates surrounding the development of this type of criminality, particularly its (alleged) increasingly transnational nature over the past two decades.

20 credits

Perspectives on inequalities

You will be asked to think about the everyday experiences of inequality while exploring some of the core theoretical frameworks for interrogating inequality. These everyday experiences will be brought to life through presentations with/by external guest speakers who have lived experience of these inequalities and/or have worked to challenge these inequalities. There is a focus on discussion and debate to understand and critically reflect on the module content.

This module is co-taught with local agencies, community and family members. The involvement of practitioners, community members and families means that the content is interactive and requires full attendance.

This module aims to bring academic knowledge closer to everyday life and to help you gain applied knowledge of inequalities. It also offers an important insight into the nature of and benefits of co-construction in addressing issues relating to inequalities.

20 credits

Queer Identities in the Media

You will be introduced to queer theory in order to discuss the role of different media in how gender and sexuality are constructed, represented and expressed.

The content will trace activist and academic origins of the word 'queer' and explore queer (self-)representations in mainstream and alternative media, such as newspapers, films, zines, blogs, social media and dating apps. You will also investigate how different representations promote or challenge the binaries of male versus female, masculine versus feminine, and heterosexual versus homosexual, as well as how they promote gender and sexuality transnationally.

This module will enable you to think critically across a range of social sciences disciplines. It will introduce you to different methodologies and provide a grounding in interdisciplinary social science research.

20 credits

Whiteness, Power and Privilege

This module explores the importance of studying whiteness in order to understand racism as a system of power relationships. You will learn about why the construction of whiteness has become a key focus in debates about race and ethnicity, and critically examine some of the key themes to emerge in this field of study.

Some topics you will explore include the historical origins of 'white studies' and the representations of whiteness in literary and visual culture. You will also examine the racialised, classed and gendered boundaries of whiteness and explore the relevance of space and place to understanding the operation of racialised power and privilege.

You will gain awareness of racism as a global issue of inequality and injustice and enhance your understanding of barriers to inclusivity. You will apply the knowledge gained from the module to a topic of your choice.

20 credits

Protest, Movements and Social Change

During this module, you will gain deeper insight into how we study protests and movements and their impact on social change. 

The content will take a historical overview, tracing the development of theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of social movements, matched with historical and contemporary case studies of movement from around the world. 

By focusing on what functions movements play in society, as well as how they have been studied, you will become equipped with the tools to both analyse movements, and engage with sociological debates surrounding larger questions of inequality, identity, democracy and social justice.

20 credits

Algorithms, AI and Society

Algorithmic systems, AI, machine learning and other data-driven technologies are transforming society. They are having wide-ranging effects which are far from straightforward. Their use results in harms as well as benefits, and algorithmic systems and AI feed into and are fed into by inequalities.

You will critically interrogate claims that AI, automation and algorithms will simply lead to a better society. You will be asked to explore the negative effects of related change and the ways in which algorithmic and AI systems are not experienced equally by all. Throughout, you will review theoretical literature on AI-in-society and on algorithmic culture, focussing on high profile accounts of their social consequences in areas such as education, welfare, social care, big tech and the media.

By the end of this module, you will have gained a systematic knowledge of contemporary and advanced level debates relating to algorithms and AI.

20 credits

Feminist and Queer Studies in Religion, Global Perspectives

This module applies feminism, queer studies and trans philosophy in analysis of genders and sexualities in religious traditions and cultures around the world. We will examine deities and goddesses, gendered language in religions, cisheteropatriarchy, and LGBTQIA life in e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, as well as in Chinese, and Japanese cultures. We will discuss genders, rituals, spirituality, sexual practices, procreation, abstinence, and asexuality, reading a range of feminist, queer and trans philosophical works, and texts ranging from the Kama Sutra to Confucius and the Vatican documents, Scriptures, and empirical research. Assignments allow students in Philosophy, Humanities, and Social Sciences develop their expertise using their preferred methods and topics, on religions of their choice.

20 credits

Globalising Education

This module considers the extent to which education might be viewed as a global context with a shared meaning. Moving outwards from the dominant concepts, principles and practices which frame 'our own' national, or regional responses to education, the module explores other possible ways of understanding difference. By examining 'other ways of seeing difference', in unfamiliar contexts, students are able to examine the implications of globalisation for education and explore the opportunities and obstacles for the social justice agendas within a range of cultural settings.

20 credits

Sex Work: Rights, Regulation and Resistance

Sex workers across the globe often experience stigmatisation, marginalisation and criminalisation. Drawing on a large and growing body of international scholarship, you will be introduced to the complexities and diverse realities of sex work.

You will engage in content that explores the various sex markets, gendered differences in the buying and selling of sex, violence, exploitation and trafficking, sex worker-led activism and resistance, and the regulatory modules used across the globe to govern sex industries.

By the end of the module, you will be equipped with a critical understanding of a range of theories and concepts that help to make sense of the social, cultural, and legal dimensions of sex work.

20 credits

Journalism in Film and Fiction

The ways in which journalists are portrayed in popular culture can help moderate public feeling about both news gathering and news gatherers. Positive or negative representations of the ways in which news is brought to audiences are central to how (or whether) journalism functions within a democracy.

This module offers students an engaging and insightful exploration of how the worlds of journalism and storytelling intersect in the realms of cinema, TV and literature. The interdisciplinary course delves into the portrayal of fictional journalists and considers the ways in which these portrayals may help build public narratives around issues such as trust.

Through analysis of representations of the media, the module identifies common tropes, stereotypes and the influence of contemporary popular culture to depict journalists and their roles within a social context.

The module provides students with a unique opportunity to explore the dynamic interplay between the reality of being a journalist and fictionalised accounts by helping to enhance critical thinking and media literacy skills while gaining a deeper understanding of the impact of journalism on society and the ways in which these representations help shape our understanding of the world around us.

20 credits

Global Data Industries

Platforms and digital technology corporations now double up as the data industries, especially with their focus on data accumulation, storage, management and governance. Similarly, the emergence of data annotation and labelling firms in countries in the Global South, the rise of data centres across countries, and the emergence of governance frameworks that enable or regulate these industries make them important entities to be studied.

Through this module, you will acquire an understanding of datafication, its infrastructural and commercial dimensions, all of which undergird the development of the data industries. 

You will learn how to critically analyse the experiences of human labour and work, as well as sustainability in the context of the data industries in diverse contexts. You will also gain more experience in comprehending policy, governance and regulatory developments in relation to these industries.

20 credits

Race, technology and digital media

The relationship between technology, digital media and ideas of 'race' is far from straightforward. Unpicking it requires us to interrogate how and why technologies are designed. It also compels us to ask how, and with what effect, race and racial difference are depicted in contemporary representational media. In this broad ranging module, we place an emphasis on literature from sociology, critical media and Science and Technology Studies and situate highly contemporary examples in a longer history of the race/technology interface. Students will be equipped with the critical tools to consider how, why and with what consequence race becomes enfolded into the technologies and media that comprise our everyday lives.

20 credits

Reimagining Care: Families, Services and Policies

An increasing number of people made vulnerable by experiences of disability, old age, or family circumstances, rely on care and support provided by social care services or family and friends. Despite this, we are surrounded by narratives of social care systems in crisis, including bankruptcy of local authority providers, chronic care worker staffing shortages, poor outcomes for service users and for carers, and so on. We are also witnessing changes in the nature of care, with increasing opportunities provided by new technologies. In this module, we ask why care is facing so many challenges and consider evidence-based solutions.

Drawing on the ongoing research of the ESRC Centre for Care (hosted by the University of Sheffield), you will consider a series of issues and contexts explored in our own research, practice and personal experiences. Content will cover a breadth of childrens' and adults' care, including the varied care needs of people with physical disabilities or learning difficulties, vulnerable children, and older people supported at home or in residential care. You will also investigate the roles and experiences of those who provide care and support in the form of family carers and the paid care workforce. 

Through these topics, you will be expected to engage in wider sociological and policy debates, including the meaning of 'care', funding and affordability, the mixed economy and inequality of care provision in order to imagine policy alternatives. 

20 credits

Democracy and Citizenship: Dilemmas and Tensions

This module explores how a geographical approach helps us to analyse issues such as controversial election results, divisive immigration policies, and contentious social activism. The two key concepts of democracy and citizenship are used to engage with contemporary debates and theories to draw out the links between geography, policy and society, and the ways in which these are shaped and responded to by citizens, communities, civil society, and political parties. The module emphasises the critical appraisal and interpretation of a variety of perspectives - including our own. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which these interactions are played out across and through multiple scales, from the global to our everyday lives.

20 credits