MA Applied Social Science

Year 1

Communities and the Economy

• Module: 7SA003
• Credits: 20
• Period: 1
• Type: Core
• Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module will examine the ways in which decisions regarding the allocation of resources impact on communities. Most notably, this includes areas such as social security, housing and health, though it also includes the distribution of resources through employment.

Contemporary Issues in Society

• Module: 7SL008
• Credits: 20
• Period: 1
• Type: Core
• Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module will explore the role of welfare in contemporary Britain through an exploration of policies and challenges in areas including health, education, and housing. You will examine the role of ideology in challenging - and supporting - various policies and decision taken by governments. You will also theorise change through a lens of ideological state apparatus and hegemony. The role of culture will be further explored by researching issues such as body image, social media, crime and various inequalities (e.g. class/race/religion/(dis)ability).

Experience of Community

• Module: 7SA001
• Credits: 20
• Period: 1
• Type: Core
• Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module will cover a variety of issues involved in the experience of community in contemporary Britain. The module will first look at historic and more contemporary uses of the term ‘community’ – and cognate terms: group, citizenship and society. It will then look at how socio-economic processes have impacted on the community (no matter how conceived). These processes include: migration, austerity and poverty, the role of social capital and social exclusion. Finally, it will look at recent forms of community campaigning, including online activism in the early 21st century.

People, Policy and Practice: Decision Making in the 21st Century

• Module: 7SA002
• Credits: 20
• Period: 1
• Type: Core
• Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

In this module you will explore the challenges to policy making in contemporary society, from local to global. You will explore the relationship between the state and its citizens, looking at how “ordinary” people affect the policy environment, through formal processes such as voting, and informal processes, such as volunteering and community activism. This module will engage you in debate about the future of welfare, thinking about issues of sustainability and the impact diminishing resources (environmental, economic, social, political) will have on decision-making.
Research Methods

• Module: 7HS006
• Credits: 20
• Period: 1
• Type: Core
• Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module will provide both a theoretical and as well as a more applied understanding of social and historical research methods. It will fuse sociological and historical methods, thereby providing you with the knowledge you need to adapt to new branches of enquiry that develop, and put you in a position to contribute to their development especially since many of them make considerable use of approaches developed by the field of sociology. On this module you will be asked to consider first major schools and controversies in relation to what constitutes knowledge. This will foreground consideration of specific research techniques which will be applied in the latter part of the module. Taken together, this will equip students to complete the module assignment: a 4000 word research proposal for the respective MA dissertation module that normally follows in Semester 2.

Social Science Dissertation

• Module: 7SA004
• Credits: 60
• Period: 1
• Type: Core
• Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

The Social Science Dissertation module will provide the opportunity to engage in a substantial and in-depth piece of work on a topic of your choice. The module will develop your research, analytical and writing skills.

Work in Context

• Module: 7CJ007
• Credits: 20
• Period: 1
• Type: Core
• Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module will give students the opportunity to gain experience of the day to day working of service providers and to apply their theoretical knowledge in these settings. Students will use a work placement (existing or new, paid or volunteer position) to understand the context in which service providers operate and the challenges that they face. Students will use this module to develop their individual career plans and enhance the skills needed in their preferred area of work. The module will be delivered through workshops and individual tutorials