Anti-social behaviour, homelessness, drugs, metal illness: all problems in today’s society. But what makes a problem social? This unit will help you to discover how these issues are identified, defined, given meaning and acted upon. You will also look at the conflicts within social science in this area. View course on original website...

Discrimination in the labour market exists in many forms: the ‘glass ceiling’ ageism, racism, etc. This unit will help you look at this problem with a new perspective: through economics. You will learn how economists have tried to understand what drives this distortion of the labour market and why women and the ethnic minorities seem to suffer the ... View course on original website...

In a complex and rapidly changing world, social scientific study examines how we produce things, communicate, govern ourselves, understand our environments, and how to solve the problems we face in the organisation of social relations and processes. This unit provides a basic overview of how social science contains deeply embedded cultural assumptions... View course on original website...

This unit introduces some of the main themes and issues in discourse research using Martin Bashir's famous interview with Diana, Princess of Wales as a case study. Through this it examines the role of discourse in shaping social interaction and its psychological implications for the study of minds, selves and sense-making. The unit aims to demonstrate... View course on original website...

‘Tough on the causes of crime.’ A famous phrase, but what is crime? This unit examines how we as a ‘society’ define crime. You will look at the fear that is generated within communities and what evidence is available to support claims that are made about crime rates. View course on original website...

Why is identity important and how are identities formed? This unit looks at the many different ways in which identity can be categorised. By examining the requirements of the state, how a child views gender, and the importance of race or place of birth, you will start to understand how each individual can have more than one identity. View course on original website...

What does a picture or image tell you? This unit is an introduction to analysing and interpreting photographs as social data. Who controls what the image is saying? You will look at how photographs provide visual evidence and how they can illustrate and support our ideas about society. View course on original website...

What role will the ‘regions’ play in the emerging governance structures of the European Union? This unit examines the rise of the regions and regionalism in Western Europe. You will look at the possible development pathways for Europe: will it become a Federal super-state or a decentralised ‘Europe of the Regions’? View course on original website...

What is Europe and what defines a European? This unit looks at the development of identities within Europe and the European Union. You will assess the mechanisms through which a new identity commitment is being formed and the limitations of and oppositions to this process. Can a genuine European identity ever be created in an expanding multi-cultural... View course on original website...

The European Union (EU), formed out of the ashes of the Second World War, continues to expand in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite the EU's growing size and significance the question 'What is Europe?' still resonates through the continent. This unit looks at a range of different views on the question, contrasting different conceptions... View course on original website...