To introduce students to sociological debates around how the social order is perpetuated and maintained To explore the sociological possibilities of negotiating understanding of how social structures/systems and individual actions and their statuses are of equal significance. To consider the nature of subjectivity, embodiment, rationality and meaning using Bourdieu's theory of practice. To explore the process of 'othering' and the debate around discourse or practice. To use sociological theories and debates to consider the organisation, reproduction and transformation of social life.

This module addresses one of the abiding and core concerns of sociology that is, the nature of social order, and the most appropriate methods to get at this phenomenon. Among the most contentious and demanding aspects of this phenomenon confronted by social theorists are the conceptual demands of capturing and depicting its nature. An exploration of the micro/macro binary offers sociology students the prime possibility of engaging in an intensive logical exploration and elucidation of these categories themselves - ontologically, in the logic of their conceptualisation and in their usage. Weber's comparative historical approach at the macro level and the work of symbolic interactionists and ethnomethodologists at the micro level will be introduced to frame and set out the key underlying tensions as will a phenomelogical exploration around intentionality. Bourdieu' theory of practice will then be addressed offering the potential of understanding how power and privilege are reproduced bringing together the structural and the subjective in a complex interweaving of the field of relations, the forms of capital and the embodied habitus. An exploration of educational practices in the context of classed relations will offer the possibility of engaging the nature of subjectivity, embodiment, rationality and meaning and considering critiques of Bourdieu's work. The process of othering offers a dual possibility of considering the complex nature of power, the reproduction of privilege, daily classification and a consideration of the subtle processes of differentiation and demarcation. This also facilitates an engagement with less prominent aspects of Bourdieu's theory that is embodied history and individual strivings for recognition.

By the end of this module students will have: A critical understanding of key debates and issues around the social order A good knowledge of issues around conceptualisation and ontology related to the macro/micro divide The skills to evaluate the different theoretical positions and to make a case for particular positions A clear understanding of Bourdieu's theory of practice The ability to describe and critique sociological accounts of the nature of social order, how it is established and maintained either at the level of practice or at the macro structural.

Develop critical thinking as well as analytical skills.

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