Overview of Sociology and Social Policy

At the start of the twenty-first century, the world is changing rapidly. As the impact of the 'war on terror', global recession, the digital revolution and ecological unsustanability are felt on our day-to-day lives , social science is vital to our understanding of the human condition.

The sociological imagination emphasises the need to understand how the daily lives of individuals, and the long-term patterns of social structure and policy, are each intertwined: how private troubles are intrinsically bound with structural forces and public policy.

Sociology

Sociologists study the relationships between individuals and society. In particular sociologists are interested in exploring how individual attitudes, beliefs and life chances are socially patterned and how people's personal experience and private troubles are related to wider structural forces and social processes. They are concerned with understanding how, when individuals join together in groups, whether they be in teenage gangs, multi-national corporations or nation states, they create cultures which give meaning to people's actions and shape how they behave. Sociologists are especially interested in social change, and how the forces of modernity such as globalisation and the information revolution affect people's everyday lives. Sociology is a broad-based discipline which is closely related to other social sciences such as social anthropology, history, economics, politics, geography and criminology, making it an ideal subject for a Dual Degree with these disciplines.

Social policy

Social policy is focused on how individuals' basic needs for wealth, health, shelter, security and education, among others, are provided for in society. It is therefore concerned with analysing how the institutions of the modern state, such as the labour market, health service, the police and prison services, the housing market and education system deliver these basic goods and the extent to which they do so efficiently, effectively and equitably. Social policy is also concerned with examining the underlying philosophies that inform new policies, the barriers to their successful implementation and the extent to which policies achieve their stated aims. It examines theories of social justice, the economics of welfare, and the distribution of resources and opportunities within society. At Sheffield particular emphasis is placed on the global and European dimensions of social policy facilitating a strong comparative dimension to our degree programmes.

What personal qualities and skills should I possess to study Sociology or Social Policy?

There is no simple stereotype as to who comes to study in the Department of Sociological Studies. At Sheffield we celebrate the diversity of our student body. Many people come straight from school and have done traditional 'A' levels, but we attract student of different ages, backgrounds and experience. Some have studied sociology before but many have not. Some left school a number of years ago with few qualifications and now want the chance to study for a degree, some have established careers but are looking for a degree to give them a change of direction, still others are looking for new opportunities having raised a family.

Most of our students come from around the British Isles, some come from Sheffield and others from as far away as Hong Kong or the USA. If you do come to Sheffield, we want your time with us to be challenging but rewarding, stimulating yet studious, and when you leave we want you to have a well developed sociological imagination which will inform your future vocation, whatever that may turn out to be.