Introduction to Sociology  (20614)

Degree course: Degree in Criminology and Public Prevention Policies
Year: 1
Term: 1
Number of ECTS credits: 6
Student hours: 150

Syllabus

The course is divided into two parts:

1. Tools for university work (2 ECTS):

The first part deals with the university structure and organisation, the student participation mechanisms, the curriculum, the library and the basic criteria for putting together and presenting references and quotations from source material.

2. Sociological thought.

The second part aims to introduce students to sociological science and thought, and introduces sociology as a science which seeks to explain the connections between different levels of social reality. The course includes approaches to the classical figures of sociology and also to the main areas or themes of research covered by modern sociology, with the goal of awakening interest in the discipline and its methods.

As the course forms part of the Criminology degree, the overall objective is for students to acquire a clear idea of the sociological perspective and to be aware of its potential for application to criminological investigation. In this context, emphasis will be placed on issues related to the socialisation process, social norms, deviancy theory and social control, as well as on mechanisms of conformity and obedience.

On completing the course students will be able to identify the major sociological currents and to understand the discipline's main concepts, as well as having the ability to analyse different aspects of reality by using a sociological point of view on the basis of these concepts.

-   Contents section 1. Introduction to university studies. University organisation and functioning, resources and work methods.

-   Contents section 2. What is sociology? Object of study and main schools.

-   Contents section 3. Sociological research methods.

-   Contents section 4. The socialisation process. Culture and institutions.

-   Contents section 5. Social norms, control and deviancy.