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Faculties & Departments
Department of Sociolology
Undergraduate Programme
Information on courses for Academic Year 2009 - '10
"Interviewees and focus group meetings indicated that the quality of teaching in the department is high. Teaching is taken very seriously; the department has a reputation on campus for good teaching and a ‘caring attitude’ to students. Both undergraduate and post-graduate students were very positive about the department and made particular reference to: (i) the quality of teaching; (ii) the value of tutorials; (iii) availability of personnel; (iv) the care for students; and (v) the general commitment of staff and tutors." - Department of Sociology Peer Review Report, 2009
Our Undergraduate Courses:
BA Sociology (details below)
BA Politics (details below)
For a brief powerpoint overview of our Sociology and Politics degrees see here.
We also contribute substantially to the following courses:
B. Social Science ( offered by the Department of Applied Social Studies)
BA Public Policy (in conjunction with Departments of Applied Social Studies and Economics)
BA Community Studies ( offered by the Department of Adult Education)
BA European Studies (in conjunction with a number of other departments - please contact the Department of History for further information)
BA Sociology
The Sociology degree is also organised around three major strands, or different kinds of courses:
- Concepts and Theories: Courses introduce you to the most important concepts used by sociologists and to the main sociological theories.
- The Substance of Society: Courses examine major areas of sociological analysis and use sociology to explore the key features of historical and contemporary societies.
- Research Methods and Design: Courses introduce you to the logics of social research and the different methods used by sociologists to analyse the social worlds around them.
Each year of the Sociology degree emphasizes a crucial aspect of learning and doing Sociology:
The theme for 1st year is 'Critical Thinking and the Sociological Imagination'. Our goal for the year is to develop critical thinking by introducing you to key concepts and contributions in Sociology- both in Ireland and internationally.
The theme for 2nd year is 'Fundamentals of Sociology'. Our goal for the Year is to provide students with the crucial elements of the ‘sociological toolbox’.
The theme for 3rd year is 'Doing Contemporary Sociology'. Our goal for the year is to continue developing your sociological imagination and skills and to put them into practice through original social research.
Find out more about the BA Sociology (this can be pursued through Arts or Social Science)
BA Politics
This degree allows students to explore the different ways that politics shapes our lives, the various forms that politics takes, and how politics is organised differently around the world. A key distinguishing feature of Politics at Maynooth is its focus on active citizenship. This includes, but goes beyond, the traditional study of parties and elections to include a much broader variety of aspects of politics (including public opinion, community activism, the media, NGOs, new social movements, trade unions etc.) and exploring the tensions between formal democracy, political power and social inequality. We explore how to theorise and research politics and offer thematic strands which take students deeper into exploring the politics of global change, the relationship between politics and culture, and the formation and effects of state policy. The course is thus framed in terms of three interweaving strands: active citizenship, political sociology and political institutions.
Political sociology: Power, organisation and decision-making are central parts of the informal politics that underpins much of the everyday world, from residents’ associations to national partnership agreements and from the study of the workplace to the study of crime and punishment.
Active citizenship: The degree introduces students to the theory and practice of active citizenship - the ways in which ordinary people take part in politics, often in opposition to the official structures – supporting this with practice placements in voluntary, community and other political organisations as well as with a range of electives exploring the area in more detail.
Formal politics: The study of formal political institutions is a core part of any politics course. The degree introduces the theory and practice of how institutions such as elections, political parties, governments or the European Union work.
Political theory: The attempt to understand how the political world works and the debate over how it should work, raising questions of freedom, justice, how we should live and who should decide.
Research methods: The core tools for researching politics, including survey or fieldwork research methods and a final-year dissertation, organised around an original, independent piece of political research.
Find out more about the BA Politics (this can be pursued through Politics, Public Policy or Law)
Resources
Internationalise your degree - add a year abroad in third year and get a BA International
A Rough Guide to Understanding your Marks
Staff- Student Policies and Communications
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate research has always been important within the department with a strong emphasis on research methods within the degree. The department has had numerous discussions and continues to make a major commitment in the third year of the degree to student research through the supervision by permanent academic staff of special topic seminars through which students write an undergraduate thesis of their own. This is a very significant commitment of staff time and energies both in the classroom but more particularly outside the classroom where the advising of students, marking of drafts and proposals, as well as the final thesis, are significant. We estimate this takes up around one quarter of the total staff teaching time.
In recent years, opportunities for undergraduate research in summer programmes through the university and the department have been increasing. In the summer of 2007, the undergraduate research programme was a very successful experience, with a group of six or seven undergraduate students working on a number of projects. This has proven to be quite significant in terms of attracting a number of students into further study and has given those students a view into the actual workings of academic research and of the department. It has given them insights into postgraduate life and has allowed them to build relationships with academic staff which can lead to research supervision.
External Examiners
The department is honoured to have had a series of very distinguished external examiners. Recent external examiners for our undergraduate degrees are:
Professor Mary Daly, Queen’s University Belfast (1999 - 2003)
Professor Mike Savage, Manchester University (2003 – 2007)
Professor Thomas Boje, University of Roskilde (BA Sociology External Examiner 2007 – 2010)
Professor Colin Hay, University of Sheffield (BA Politics External Examiner 2007 – 2010).
Taking It Further - Postgraduate Programmes
Interested in further study through the department? Find out more about our postgraduate programmes
- MA in Sociology: Understanding Social Change - Societies in Transition
- M.A. Society and Space
- MLitt & Ph.D