SO4D1 One Unit
Economic Sociology
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Dr Rebecca Elliott
Dr David Pinzur
Availability
This course is compulsory on the MSc in Economy and Society. This course is available on the MSc in Political Sociology and MSc in Sociology. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access). Students who have this course as a core course are guaranteed a place. Other than for students for whom the course is a core course, places are allocated based on a written statement, with priority given to students who have this course listed in their programme regulations.
How to apply: For information on how to apply for a place on this course, including deadlines, please see Courses offered and related information.
Course content
Are we really rational utility-maximisers? What is ‘the economy’ and what is its relationship to society? How does economic life reflect and enact moral categories? How can we understand the production of economic ‘winners’ and ‘losers’? This course offers a general introduction to the theoretical foundations of economic sociology, providing an opportunity to engage questions like these through both sociologically grounded accounts of economic phenomena and sociological critiques of the analytical assumptions and research procedures common in mainstream economics.
Topics covered in the course may include: critical approaches to economy and society; economic rationality; the sociology of economics; economy and environment; morals and markets; racialized economic orders; finance; credit and debt; inequality.
Teaching
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.
This course is usually delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars. There will be two hours or more of teaching each week across AT and WT.
Formative assessment
Essay (1000 words)
Short answer questions
Assignment in the AT. Proposal (project plan) in the WT.
Indicative reading
Recommended general texts:
- M Granovetter & R Swedberg (Eds), The Sociology of Economic Life;
- D Slater & F Tonkiss, Market Society: Markets and Modern Social Theory;
- N Smelser & R Swedberg (Eds), The Handbook of Economic Sociology;
- V Nee & R Swedberg (Eds), The Economic Sociology of Capitalism.
A detailed reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course.
Assessment
Oral examination (30%) in January
Essay (70%, 4000 words) in May
Attendance at all seminars and submission of all set coursework is required.
The oral exam will be due to take place during the January exam period.
Key facts
Department: Sociology
Course Study Period: Autumn and Winter Term
Unit value: One unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 33
Average class size 2024/25: 33
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Application of numeracy skills
- Specialist skills