Sociology - South Africa

Human behaviours and the context in which they are expressed are interesting to observe but complex to understand. The nature, structure and dynamics of human social interactions are the subject-matter of sociology. The sociological enterprise is to understand the flux and contradictions that characterise human societies and for this reason, sociology is not just a 'living' course, but also a dynamic and reflexive one. The reflexivity of sociology therefore, foists on both practitioners and students a unique opportunity to engage in an intellectual discourse to unveil the embedded matrix that mask the ever evolving complexity of human societies. This enterprise however, goes beyond the mere fulfilment of human curiosity; rather it is a genuine enterprise to contribute to the development of society by proffering perceptive solutions that will guide political leaders and policy makers.

Students of sociology are therefore prepared to understand the nature, constituents, and structure of social institutions and how they interact to produce functional or dysfunctional whole. Specifically, you will explore the broad issues of the family as a traditional institution and other alternatives, intimate relationships, the media and sexuality, power and gender relations, social justice, and the sociology of health and illness behaviour among other topics.

Availability

Sociology is offered in the Bachelor of Social Science at Monash South Africa as a major or minor.

Outcomes

In addition to achieving the broad outcomes of their course, students successfully completing this major will be able to:

1. analyse and compare social processes and phenomena in a range of institutional, political, cultural and policy contexts, informed by core sociological theoretical concepts

2. understand and critically assess the major sociological perspectives and apply them to pressing real-world problems through applied research