Course description
This programme provides students with an advanced grounding in the theories of race and ethnicity, methodological approaches to researching the field, and advanced level discussion and debate of current race and ethnicity debates, and the political and social context in which such debates occur.
Taught by leading experts in the field of race and ethnic studies this leading edge programme offers a contemporary overview of this changing field of scholarship and research. The Department of Sociology has a strong research and teaching focus on the core issues covered by this programme, particularly through the work of the Centre for the Study of Race and Ethnicity (CSRE). The Department also houses the Information Centre on Asylum and Refugees (ICAR)
The programme is well suited to individuals who wish to extend, deepen, update and sharpen their knowledge and understand current debates in race and ethnicity, and to undertake an extended piece of original research. This programme covers the most significant recent developments in theories of race and ethnicity, as well as contemporary debates about global migration, multiculturalism, transnationalsim and refugees. In addition the programme will enable students to specialise in particular areas of interest, developing their critical skills and advancing their knowledge of key contemporary social issues.
Students will develop an understanding of the ways in which theory and debates in this area develop and change, skills in critical social understanding and techniques of social enquiry through varied teaching methods. The skills that students develop in research techniques will enable them to gather, analyse and use a wide range of social data.
The Department also has a number of research students working in this field and we envisage that a number of students on the master's programme may wish to continue their doctoral studies with us.
Modules: MA Race and Ethnicity
Students complete six taught modules from a combination of three compulsory core and three elective modules. Students also take part in a dissertation workshop and produce a dissertation over the summer period.
Core Modules – compulsory
SGM109 Rights, Multiculturalism and Citizenship
SGM229 Theories of Race and Ethnicity
SGM222 Approaches to Social Research
SGM111 Dissertation
Elective Modules – choose three from this list
SGM014 Forced Displacement, Resettlement and Social Transformation
SGM101 Globalisation: Challenges and Transformations
SGM106 The Sociology of Human Rights
SGM108 Comparative Gender Rights
SGM116 An Introduction to Refugee Studies
SGM117 Refugee Rights and Refugee Settlement
SGM118 Crimes Against Humanity
SGM119 Transnational Policing
SGM201 Contemporary Issues in Social Theory
SGM224 Media and Human Rights
SGM226 Political Sociology
SGM228 Current Issues in Sociology
SGM232 Crime and Justice
SGM233 Global Migration
SGM234 International Human Rights Law
SGM235 Media, Crime and Culture
SGM236 Security and Crime
Courses taught by Centre for International Politics
IPM004 Global Conflict and Security
IPM005 International Organisations in Global Politics
IPM006 NGOs, Human Rights and the United Nations System
IPM008 Theories of International Politics
IPM009 Development and International Politics
IPM010 Political Islam in Global Politics
NB. Elective modules choices are subject to availability and timetabling constraints.
Programme Structure: MA Race and Ethnicity
Mode of Study
Students may take the MA programme on a full or part time basis.
Duration
Teaching is delivered in the format of lectures, classes and seminars, taking place in the first and second academic periods (September-April).
Full-time students will normally attend for two or three days a week, and complete their dissertation in the third academic period.
Part-time students will normally attend for one or two days each week for two years. In the first year they will take two core modules in the first academic period and two optional modules in the second academic period. In the second year they will take one core module in the second academic period, one optional module in the second academic period and complete their dissertation.
Dissertation
The dissertation of 15,000 words carries 40% of the total marks towards the MA degree. Full time students should present their dissertations by September of the year following entrance.
The weighting of the marks is as follows:
Continuous assessment (coursework) 60%
Dissertation 40%
