| Unit name | The Sociology of Everyday Life |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SPAIM0033 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Snellgrove |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
Not applicable |
| Co-requisites |
Not applicable |
| School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
The Everyday is the place where all of Sociology’s main concerns, class, gender, power, social inequality, identity, nationalism for example, play out in the ‘episodes of everyday life’ (Sztompka, 2008: 35). It is through everyday practices, rules, rituals and daily encounters that people learn to become social. Through exploring the often mundane and taken for granted aspects of everyday life, this unit critically examines theoretical debates around everyday life, alongside the ways that we continually live and practice our daily identities. The aim of the module is to encourage students to think sociologically about everyday life by ‘making the familiar strange.’ Students will be asked to suspend any taken for-granted assumptions about the rules and routines of social life, and instead questions these patterns of behaviour from the perspective of an external observer. This will be done by looking at how everyday life has come to be theorised and understood within Sociology by certain social thinkers. Alongside this, substantive topics such as domestic routines, eating, shopping, music, nationalism and religion will be explored.
Demonstrate an understanding of some of the main theoretical approaches in the sociology of everyday life. Identify and analyse the social rules, routines and conventions that shape interaction in a particular context. Use interpretivist theories to think sociologically about at least one substantive topic from the module.
The main method of teaching will be weekly face-to-face seminar sessions which will involve a combination of lecturing, group discussion and student presentations.
The assessment should relate to all learning outcomes detailed above and will be by an extended essay of 4000 words (or equivalent) showing an in-depth and critically informed understanding of the key elements of the unit. The essay is worth 100% of the overall unit grade. Formative Assessment will take the form of weekly homework diaries related to one or more of the unit’s substantive topics.
Bennett, T & Watson, D. (2002) Understanding Everyday LifeCambridge: Polity Goffman, E. (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Pelican Books Fox, K (2004) Watching the English Oxford: Blackwell Kalekin-Fishman, D. (2013) Sociology of Everyday Life Current Sociology 0(0): 1-9 Scott, S. (2009) Making Sense of Everyday Life. Cambridge: Polity Press Sztompka, P. (2008) The Focus on the Everyday: A New Turn in Sociology. European Review. 16(1): 23-37
