HKU SPACE Community College
Associate Degree Programmes 2024-25
Course Document
Course Title: Principles of Sociology
Course Code: H P C S 4 0 0 3
QF Level: 4
Lecture Contact Hours: 39 Hours
Non-Lecture Contact Hours: 0 Hour
Examination Hours: 2 Hours
Aims and Objective
This course aims to introduce major perspectives, theories and selected topics in sociology. It prepares students for a
wide range of other sociology courses such as Chinese Society, Hong Kong Society, Contemporary Culture, Sex and
Gender, Crime and Deviance and Social Stratification etc. While it enables the students to question and rethink many
unspoken assumptions that influence their ways of thinking and attitudes to others, it seeks to help them apply
sociological reasoning to daily life and the social environment around them.
Intended Learning Outcomes of the Course
On completion of the course, students should be able to
ILO1. describe and explain the major sociological perspectives and theories;
ILO2. apply different sociological perspectives and theories to analyse various social issues;
ILO3. compare and evaluate strengths and weaknesses of different sociological perspectives; and
ILO4. apply sociological reasoning to daily life.
Syllabus
1. What is Sociology?
- The aim of sociology
- Sociological imagination
- Major sociological perspectives
2. Culture and Individual
- Culture and relevant concepts
- Nature-nurture controversy
- Socialisation, and construction of “self”
3. Social Structure and Social Change
- Relevant concepts
- How early sociologists Durkheim, Marx, and Weber describe society and explain the rise of capitalism
4. Mass Media
- Relevant concepts
- Sociological effects of mass media
- Different perspectives: Conflicts, Feminism, Interactive and Interpretive
- Mass media and violence
5. Deviance and Social Control
- What is deviance
- Biological explanations
- Sociological explanations
6. Stratification and Inequality
- Functionalists’ view
- Marx’s class analysis
- Weber’s views
7. Gender and Inequality
- Sex v. Gender – Biology v. culture
- Functionalist v. Feminist explanations of gender inequality
8. Family
- Defining family
- Functions v. Dysfunctional family
- Industrialisation and family
9. Education
- Functions of education
- Explanations for educational inequality
10. Work
- Defining work;
- Taylorism, Fordism, post-Fordism
- Enskilling v. Alienation & deskilling
11. Globalisation
- Defining globalisation
- Different viewpoint on globalisation
- Anti-globalisation
- Sustainable development and Environmentalism
Assessment
Description Weighting
Class Participation 10%
Group Presentation 20%
Mid-term Test 30%
Examination 40%
Pre-requisite(s)
Nil
Required and Recommended Reading
Recommended Readings:
1. Adler, P. and Adler P. (2013). Sociological Odyssey: Contemporary Readings in Introductory Sociology (4th Ed.).
Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
2. Andersen, M.L., K.A. Logio, and H.F. Taylor (Eds.) (2016). Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader (5th
Ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
3. Bauman, Zyqmunt and May, Tim (2019). Thinking Sociologically (3rd Ed.). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers
Ltd.
4. Giddens, Anthony (2017). Sociology (8th Ed.). Cambridge: Polity Press.
5. Haralambos, M., and M. Holborn (2013). Sociology: Themes and Perspectives (8th Ed.). London: HarperCollins
Publishers.
6. Kathleen, O., Korgen and Jonathan, M. White (Eds.) (2015). The Engaged Sociologist: Connecting the Classroom
to the Community (5th Ed.). Beaverton: Ringgold Inc.
7. Ritzer. G. (2019). Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Basic (5th Ed.). Thousand Oaks,
California: SAGE Publications.
8. Schaefer, Richard (2013). Sociology Matters (13th Ed.). N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
30.08.2024
