INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

SOCY 101: 2024

COURSE OUTLINE
COURSE COORDINATORS/ LECTURERS
Prof. J R Rukema
MTB First Floor Room: F121A
Email: Josephr1@ukzn.ac.za
Consultation Times
COURSE COORDINATORS/ LECTURERS
Mrs. R Chetty
MTB First Floor Room: F122
Email: Chettyro@ukzn.ac.za
Consultation Times
Tuesday: 09h00 - 11h00
Thursday: 12h00 - 14h00
COURSE COORDINATORS/ LECTURERS
Ms. E Muzvidziwa
MTB First Floor Room: F124
Email: Muzvidziwae@ukzn.ac.za
Consultation Times
Thursday: 10h00 - 12h00
COURSE COORDINATORS/ LECTURERS
Mr. M M Mbatha
MTB First Floor Room: F121B
Email: Mbathan1@ukzn.ac.za
Consultation Times
Monday: 12h00 - 14h00
Thursday: 12h00 - 14h00
COURSE COORDINATORS/ LECTURERS
Dr. S Khan
MTB First Floor Room:
Email: khanS4@ukzn.ac.za
Consultation Times
Tuesday: 12h00 - 14h00
Thursday: 12h00 - 14h00
COURSE COORDINATORS/ LECTURERS
Mr. K K Zulu
MTB First Floor Room: TBC
Email: ZuluK2@ukzn.ac.za
Consultation Times
Monday: 08h00 -10h00
Thursday: 10h30 -12h00
COURSE COORDINATORS/ LECTURERS
Mr. C S Zihalirwa
MTB First Floor Room: F121B
Email: zihalirwac1@ukzn.ac.za
Consultation Times
Monday: 09h00 - 11h00
Friday: 09h30 - 11h30
ADMINISTRATION OF THE MODULE
COURSE ADMINISTRATOR:
Mrs. A Murugan
MTB Ground Floor: Room ZG133
Tel: 031 260 3391
Email: muruganA@ukzn.ac.za
Please see the administrator for the following
before consulting the course coordinator or
the lecturer as they are responsible for the
following tasks:
 All your registration queries
 Information sent via electronic
mediums
 Submission of Medical Certificates
 DP queries
 Assessment mark queries
 NB: The Administration Office will be your
first point of contact for most of your queries. If
they cannot help you they will refer you to the
Senior Tutor or the Course Coordinator. All of
these people can be contacted via email.

R1 STREAM: Prof J R Rukema and Mr C Monday 15h05 - 16h35 (Double) Venue:

S Zihalirwa L5

Friday 08h40 - 09h15 (Single) Venue:

MTB L2
R2 STREAM: Dr S Khan Monday 07h45 - 08h30 (Single) Venue:
CC1

Tuesday 10h30 - 12h10 (Double) Venue:

L4: TB Davis

R3 STREAM: Mrs R Chetty and Mr M M Thursday 14h10 -16h00 (Triple)

Mbatha Venue: Shepstone 5

R4 STREAM: Mr. K K Zulu Monday 10h30 -12h10 (Double)

Venue: L5: TB Davis

Thurs 13h15 - 14h00 (Single)

Venue: L5: TB Davis
R5 STREAM: Ms E Muzvidziwa Wednesday 10h30 - 12h10 (Double)
Venue: L4: TB Davis

Thursday 12h20 - 13h05 (Single)

Venue: L5: TB Davis

WELCOME TO SOCIOLOGY 101 (S0CY101)

Dear Sociology students: on behalf of your Module Coordinators and Lecturers, Prof
Rukema, Mrs. Chetty, Dr. Khan, Mr. Zulu, Ms. Muzvidziwa, Mr. Zihalirwa, and Mr
Mbatha, we warmly welcome you to Socy101: Introduction to Sociology. We look
forward to working with you over the next few weeks and hope that you will find this
module interesting, intriguing, and stimulating.

The purpose of the course outline is to support you as you progress through the module and
provide you with critical information that is central to your full participation, regarding
teaching and learning, and assessments. The guide also serves as a map for reading material
that is available and informs you where you can access these resources. It also gives you an
overview of the work at the beginning of each learning unit and directs you to the different
activities that will help to improve your understanding of each learning unit.
COURSE INTRODUCTION

Sociology is the study of society in all its complexity. It offers explanations and theoretical
frameworks on how society influences individual behaviour and our beliefs and identity. It
enables us to understand ourselves; the way we think, behave, react, and feel is socially
produced. Sociology explores the broad patterns of society and helps us make sense of our
rapidly changing world. Changes that are better understood through a sociological angle. This
means that as sociologists we study all aspects of human life and society in a structured and
systematic way. We understand that all the knowledge, opinions, and values we have, or what
we refer to as ‘common-sense understandings’ are not always scientifically tested and
verified. The idea is to challenge assumptions, views, and opinions but in a systematic and
structured way. Constructive engagement and critical thinking depend on your willingness to
be open to other modes of reason and evidence.

It is imperative, therefore, to read and understand what others say about social problems and
issues in society. How did they arrive at or test their assumptions/ generalisations? What
shapes and is shaping our views, beliefs, and norms? How does the ‘sociological
imagination’ help us understand and examine such issues? These are some of the exciting
things you will be exploring, examining, and learning about. If you are willing to read,
question, challenge your own biases, and push down the ‘walls’ you create in your thinking
then sociology will definitely be a module you will enjoy. This module then offers a general
introduction to sociology.

Sociology is particularly relevant to a rapidly changing South African society. Through the
use of sociology as an academic discipline we can provide important insights into our society.
We can better understand social change and inequality at various levels within society.
People with a sociology background apply their knowledge in a variety of fields such as;
academia, research, the NGO sector, human resources, and journalism. Sociologists can be
found in a variety of other fields, famous sociologists both local and international include;
Professor Fatima Meer and Dr. Martin Luther King. Furthermore, different sociological
theories are analyzed. These include functionalist, interactionist, and Marxist theories. We
look forward to working with you.

This semester will focus on the sociological imagination, doing social science, thinking
sociologically, deviance, crime, gender, race, culture, society, poverty, and religion. This will
help you gain a sociological understanding of how society functions. Your first year in
Sociology is very important and valuable. The lectures will introduce you to the main fields
in the subject of Sociology around the selected themes below:
  The Sociological Imagination
 Thinking Sociologically, Thinking Globally
 Social Research Methods
 Societies
 Culture
 The Social Construction of Everyday Life

MODULE OBJECTIVES

 Differentiate between common-sense knowledge and knowledge-based on systematic and

critical evidence.

 Understand and apply a sociological perspective and develop a sociological imagination.

 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key sociological concepts, theories, and

ideas among different sociological perspectives, theorists, and schools of thought.

 Display the ability to understand how sociologists systematically study the social world
and validate sociological knowledge.

 Demonstrate and display the ability to gather information from a range of peer-reviewed
and reputable sources and to critically engage with these from a sociological perspective.

 Demonstrate the ability to identify, evaluate and draw on the sociological language, key
concepts, and range of theorists and/ or theoretical perspectives to describe and analyse
societal problems, phenomena, and processes.

PRESCRIBED TEXTBOOK FOR SOCY 101

Macionis, J. J., Plummer, K. and Plummer, K. (2012) Sociology: A Global Introduction.

5th edition. Harlow, England: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

 UKZN Library Link: https://library.ukzn.ac.za/databases-a-z/

 Additional Readings: Under each theme, there is a label for extra resources with articles
and videos. You can further use the library link or https://scholar.google.com/ to do
further research for your self-study during the semester. The above links can also be of
use when you are doing the assessments.

 Books can be purchased from R & L Booksellers and Stationers.

COURSE DELIVERY MODE

The course will be delivered through face-to-face contact lectures. Lectures: Lecture Slides
will be posted on Learn2024@ukzn (https://learn2024ukzn.ac.za/ ), along with a
corresponding audio file. The audio lecture will cover important areas (so please download
the slides and the audio). Lecturers and tutors will be available to engage with your questions
and input. This course requires a considerable amount of individual work, self-study, and
motivation. In the lectures, we provide you with a summary and outline of the key concepts,
ideas arguments and we expect that you will support this with additional reading from the
textbook but more importantly through library research.

a) You are now responsible for managing your time and diarising all-important assessment
deadlines/ times for this and other modules and tutorials. This means that you need to
keep this course outline and keep up to date with notices of changes to the Sociology 101
programme or the UKZN sessional dates.

b) Be sure to activate and remember to check your university email account regularly as this
is the only email address that will be used to communicate with you.

c) Learn2024@ukzn is activated and all the necessary class information can be

downloaded from this site. Please ensure that you download and read the documents

MODULE SCHEDULE
WEEK THEME DATES
ONE Orientation and Introduction to SOCY101 12 Feb – 16 Feb 2024
 Course Outline
 Teaching and Assessments
 Moodle/Learn2024

TWO Theme 1: The Sociological Imagination 19 Feb – 23 Feb 2024

and
THREE  C. Wright Mills 26 Feb – 01 Mar 2024
 Troubles vs. Issues (theory and practical)

FOUR Theme 2: Thinking Sociologically, Thinking

and Globally 04 Mar – 08 Mar 2024
FIVE 11 Mar – 15 Mar 2024
 What is a theory?
16 March: Test 1
  What is a sociological theory?
 Classical theories/theorists

Theme 3: Studying the Social: An 18 Mar – 22 Mar 2024

SIX Introduction to Sociological Method
and 25 Mar – 28 Mar 2024
SEVEN  How can we do sociological research?
 What are the key tools of sociological 21 Mar: Human Rights
research? Day

22 Mar: Student recess

day

Term 1 lectures end on

28 March

EASTER BREAK

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 – Sun, 07 Apr 2024

EIGHT Theme 4: Societies
and
NINE  What are the main different types of 08 Apr – 12 Apr 2024
society throughout history?
 How can we explain the rise of modern 15 Apr – 19 Apr 2024
industrial societies?
15 Apr follows
 What are the broad shapes of
Thursday's timetable
contemporary world societies?
20 April: Test 2

TEN Theme 5: Culture

and 22 Apr – 26 Apr 2024
ELEVEN  What is the meaning of ‘culture’ and its
major components? 29 Apr – 03 May 2024
 How is globalization shaping culture?
01Workers Day

TWELVE Theme 6: The Social Construction of 06 May – 10 May 2024

and Everyday Life
THIRTEEN
 How do we become social and develop 13 May – 17 May 2024
biographies across the life course?
 How is everyday life constructed and
negotiated?
 How are our identities, bodies, and
emotions socially formed?

FOURTEEN Module Evaluation 20 May – 22 May 2024

 Exam Revision

Lectures end Wednesday 22 May 2024

 May- DP Refusals Published

ATTENDING LECTURES
Attending all the lectures in your assigned stream is important for you and your fellow
students, as we appreciate your active participation, insight, and opinions. The information
contained in the textbooks, teaching guide, articles, and class discussions should become your
own knowledge, thereby emphasizing your accountability in the learning process.

PREPARING FOR LECTURES

It is your responsibility to prepare for lectures in advance. Please ensure that you complete all
prescribed readings in advance.

CONSIDER THE TIME FOR SELF-STUDY

The following guidelines were developed to give you as a student an indication of the amount
of time you have to spend on self-study for every lecture you receive (it also includes
preparation for tests and assignments):

First-year level: 1-hour lecture = 3 hours of self-study

ASSESSMENTS FOR SOCY 101

MODULE ASSESSMENTS: TWO FORMATIVE AND ONE SUMMATIVE

ASSESSMENT

The assessment for the module comprises two (2) formative assessments and one summative
assessment (examination).
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Your formative assessments comprise two class tests. This contributes to 50% of the final
mark.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT: 3 HOUR EXAMINATION
The structure/format and content to be tested in the examination will be discussed in class
and will be shared on the Learn site.

CLASS TEST 1 CLASS TEST 2 CLASS EXAM TOTAL

MARK

25% 25% 50% 50% 100%

16 MARCH 2024 20 APRIL 2024

Time and venue to be Time and venue to be confirmed

confirmed
DULY PERFORMED REQUIREMENTS
In order to sit for the examination, students are required to sit for both class tests, and achieve
a mark of 40% and above for the class record/ DP to be able to write the final examination.

EXEMPTIONS AND EXTENSIONS (ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SERIOUS

MATTERS)

If you are unable to write a test, you will need to produce official documentation (medical/
doctor’s or hospital note, death certificate, or police affidavit) explaining your absence or
non-compliance. Students can be excused on medical or compassionate grounds but must
provide official documentation within a week of the date of the test being written or the
submission date of the assignment. Any documentation received after this will be evaluated/
reviewed on merit.

The course coordinator will assess applications for exemption/extension and if necessary,
consult your medical practitioner or family regarding your application. You must apply
within one week of the missed test. If you are too ill, it is your responsibility to organise a
friend or family member to submit the form for you. If your application reaches the
administration office or the coordinator’s desk after one week, it will be turned down.

If you are seeking alternate (cultural, traditional, or religious related issue) therapy then you
need a letter from your guardian/ parent, a letter from the person, and a police affidavit
confirming that you are under the care of the said individual – all the letters/ documents must
have all the relevant persons’ ID numbers, full names and surnames, a traceable residential
address and working cell phone numbers and/ or Telkom line numbers.

In the case of a temporary disability, we can seek assistance from the Disability Unit for you
but you or your parent/ guardian/ care-giver needs to notify us of your circumstances and
provide us with appropriate medical notes. Do this early on and not on the day on which the
DP is released. We cannot help you once all lectures for the semester are concluded and we
are preparing for the exams.

GUIDELINES FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSULTATION AND FEEDBACK

Lecturers and tutors will provide consultation and feedback to students. The procedure in the
programme is as follows; should you require clarity on course content, experience learning
difficulties, or require feedback and information on the course, you are encouraged to
contact your tutor during the dedicated consultation times to discuss your learning
needs. If the above does not meet your learning needs, you can contact the lecturer
concerned who will make the necessary arrangements for an appointment.

NB: Lecturer and tutor consultation times will be posted on the Learn2024 page.

DISABILITY SUPPORT
The university is committed to responding to the needs of students living with disabilities.
The Disability Support Unit, in collaboration with the department and various structures
within the university, is responsible for developing and facilitating a wide range of services
aimed at supporting students with disabilities. This includes academic support,
accommodation, funding, access, etc. Students are encouraged to contact the Disability
Coordinator at the relevant campus for queries related to available support services.

HOWARD COLLEGE EDGEWOOD WESTVILLE PIETERMARITZBURG

CAMPUS CAMPUS CAMPUS

Shepstone Building level New Conference E Block – Next to the Main Campus
5 Building – Below the Campus Health Clinic
Dining Hall 2 Milner Road – Next to
Finance

Neville Balakrishna Roshanthni Subrayen Faaiza Shaikh Mr Mongezi Zondo

031-260 3140 031-260 3665 031-260 7706 033-260 5065

Balakrishna@ukzn.ac.za Subrayen@ukzn.ac.za Shaikf@ukzn.ac.za Zondo.@ukzn.ac.za

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES ADO(s) CONTACT DETAILS

Please note that the ADOs in the College of Humanities are fully operational online. Take
note of the New Generic emails that ADOs will be used for consultations. Be advised that the
old generic email will no longer be valid. On the attached, you will see relevant ADOs per
school, and we encourage you to send your inquiries to the ADO of your school. Do not send
multiple emails to everyone, that will delay our responses. After sending an email, please
wait until you are attended to. Your first major determines which school you belong to and
send your inquiry to the relevant school ADO generic email domains.

If you send your query via email, kindly include the following details: -\

Full Name:
Student Number:
Majors:
Cellphone Number: and
Concise details of your query:

Ngwamba Feruzi, Shandu Sphindile &

CHUM_PMB_ACCESS@ukzn.ac.za Mthembu Sibongiseni
Mtolo Skhumbuzo, Buthelezi Mbali &
CHUM_HC_ACCESS@ukzn.ac.za Mofokeng Nthabiseng
CHUM_ADO_HC_ARTS@ukzn.ac.za Dube Layla
CHUM_ADO_HC_AHS@ukzn.ac.za Shabane Sanele & Mbambo Siyabonga
 CHUM_ADO_BEDS@ukzn.ac.za Mhlongo Siphosenkosi
CHUM_ADO_EDU@ukzn.ac.za Mazibuko Phakamile & Mbhele Andile
CHUM_ADO_HC_RPC@ukzn.ac.za Maphumulo Thandeka
Mbambo Siyabonga & Maphumulo
CHUM_ADO_HC_SSS@ukzn.ac.za Lindani
CHUM_ADO_PMB_ARTS@ukzn.ac.za Ngwamba Feruzi
CHUM_ADO_PMB_AHS@ukzn.ac.za Chebitok Betty
CHUM_ADO_PMB_RPC@ukzn.ac.za Bangirana Albert
Goto Kudzai, Ngwamba Feruzi &
CHUM_ADO_PMB_SSS@ukzn.ac.za Bangirana Albert

Lindani Maphumulo

Academic Development Officer, College of Humanities - Howard College

CONCLUDING REMARKS

We look forward to working with all of our students and hope that you enjoy this module.