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Study undergraduate online with University of New England through Open Universities Australia. Explore all degrees, subjects and short courses now.

Deviance

In this unit you will look at the significance and regulation of alcohol and illicit drugs in society, and their problematic association with crime and deviance. You will be encouraged to take a critical approach to exploring the complex issues surrounding illicit drugs, alcohol and crime. You will analyse policy responses including law enforcement, prevention, treatment and harm reduction. You will explore the regulation of alcohol and illicit drugs, the complex culture that surrounds their consumption, and the contentious relationship between alcohol and illicit drug use and crime and deviance.

Drugs, Alcohol and Crime

As a participant in and a student of society, it is important that you understand the power structures that privilege certain cohorts and limit others, and how they do so.  In this subject you will explore sociological approaches to social inequality and difference in terms of key social variables including class and status, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and age.  Drawing on a range of debates, theories and empirical research around prejudice and discrimination, social justice and citizenship, globalisation and development, health and illness, social movements and social policy, you will consider ways in which inequalities are produced, reproduced and experienced.  In this subject, the focus is on both Australian and global inequalities.

Power and Inequality

The process that leads to the development of a centralised government is known as the state formation. This subject examines the formation and nature of the state and its relation to civil society. When studying this subject you will cover: state-making and war; the welfare state; the legitimation of power; the nature of rule and governance; terrorism; and the role of social groups, movements and parties. You will also explore the major perspectives in political sociology, as well as key perspectives in classical sociology.

The State, Power and Violence

The city has been a central theme in sociology since the inception of the discipline. More recently, &#39;urban studies&#39; has emerged as an area of interdisciplinary investigation across sociology, political science, social geography and political economy.  In this subject you will examine major perspectives in the analysis of urban life from early classics — Weber, Simmel and the Chicago School — to key contemporary debates. Questions discussed include: What is the city and what is its relationship to the rural? How have cities contributed to democracy and to the market economy? How do cities reflect and generate wider social transformations?  You will examine urban social divisions, gentrification, urban crime, urban social movements and urban governance.

The City and Social Change

This subject was previously known as Introduction to Gender Theory.Recent debates about the definition and content of gender identities have become increasingly complex and contested, provoking an urgent need for a critical understanding of these issues. This is an interdisciplinary subject which introduces you to foundational theories of gender including postcolonial feminist debates, philosophies of gender, and gender within critical literary studies. The subject also addresses the latest arguments regarding the expanding categories of gender identity, and the breakdown of the gender binary in many Western cultures. It equips you with analytical tools from a range of sociological, philosophical and critical literary positions, pertinent to the negotiation of contemporary and future changes regarding gender in society.

An Interdisciplinary Introduction to Gender Studies

Understanding what a society is and how a society functions for individuals and groups will help you to make informed decisions about critical social issues that affect people in your community and the communities upon which you have influence. Explore the foundational concepts of society and culture through classical and contemporary sociological accounts that consider changing patterns of society, cultural diversity, globalisation and global cultures, social groups and organisations, the social construction of everyday life, capitalism, work and consumption, political ideologies and systems, religion and belief, social change and the environment. In this subject you will employ a global and comparative sociological perspective that recognises that we live in an interconnected and interdependent world with wide social, economic and cultural effects on the lives of all people, regardless of geographic location.

Thinking Sociologically

Sociology studies the personal, social, cultural and institutional relationships that shape our daily life. This subject introduces you to important ideas which shape our understanding of the ways societies function, and how we as individuals engage with and experience our communities. You will explore a range of topics addressing personal and social identities, differences and inequalities, and social change through a selection of Australian and international case studies.

Introduction to Sociology

Deviance - the breaching of social judgements or norms - is a universal and ubiquitous phenomenon, fundamental to studies in sociology and criminology. We all make social judgements and we are all judged by others but such judgements are relative and constructed. Different societies, subcultures and even individuals have different views on what is right and wrong; and the kinds of behaviours, beliefs and bodies that are labelled as &#39;deviant&#39; depend upon their historical, social and cultural context. In this subject you will explore the social construction of deviance in relation to gender, sexuality, race, bodies, minds, drug use and violence, and you will learn to use the concept of deviance as a means of critically analysing society.

University of New England Undergraduate Sociology Subjects | Open Universities Australia

Course results for University of New England Undergraduate Sociology Subjects

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