Sociology

Courses

Sociology is offered as part of:

Why study Sociology?

What are the forces most important in shaping our society and how we live in it? What social factors affect where you will live, what kind of job you will have, whether you are likely to break the law and how you will think about important social issues like unemployment, race, or crime? How do individuals form their identities against the backdrop of the media and culture industries such as Hollywood's consumer culture? How are social problems increasingly medicalised?

Sociology is the study of issues like these - issues of how people live in societies and how people work on their bodies to reflect society. It looks at how societies like ours have come to be as they are, how they work at present, and how they are likely to change.

By studying sociology, you will gain a useful range of skills, some directly relevant to future employment, others essential for understanding and taking charge of your own life. You will learn to critically analyse social issues and to understand the processes which shape contemporary social life. You will also learn how to conduct social research, using such techniques as interviews, observation, surveys and, if desired, computer-based data analysis.

These conceptual and research skills will allow you to respond to the needs of employers in a changing world, to understand your own situation, and to make useful contributions to your society.

The Department of Sociology at Flinders University is the only one in South Australia and has an outstanding record in a wide range of teaching and research fields. Students consistently rate its teaching amongst the best in the country.

Study overview

First Year Sociology assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. It combines well with many other subjects in Social Sciences and other faculties, including Psychology, Geography, Environmental Studies, Politics, History, Business Economics, Development Studies, Asian Studies, Biology, Computing and Law.

First Year Sociology introduces you to the ways in which a sociological perspective can help you understand and learn more about the social world in which you live. Students choose any two of a range of First Year topics offered every year. Each of these topics focuses on a specific topic to introduce the distinctive sociological approach to interpreting social life.

In Second and Third Years topics you consolidate core understandings and skills encountered in First Year and apply them in particular areas of your own choosing. This provides up-to-date knowledge about how the social world is changing, and how to keep abreast of future changes through collecting and synthesising sociologically relevant information.

Career opportunities

A Sociology background provides access to employment in a wide range of occupations. The value of a sociological perspective and sociologically-based research skills is increasingly being recognised by employers. Employment is particularly likely in the policy and service areas of health care, welfare services, law and legal services, housing, community services, and education.

People with sociological training work in management, personnel, administration, research and information collection, policy making, teaching, marketing, public relations, and many other areas.

Further information

Sociology at Flinders

Sociology Secretary, Sociology Office. Tel: (08) 8201 2026. Fax: (08) 8201 3521.
Email: sociology@flinders.edu.au

Admissions/Prospective Students Office, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001
Tel: (08) 8201 3074 or 1300 657 671 (local call cost). Fax: (08) 8201 2580
Email: admissions@flinders.edu.au