Course description
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This document provides an overview and schedule for the SOCY30292 Connections Matter course. The course is offered on Tuesdays from 10:00-13:00 and includes a 1-hour lecture, 1-hour workshop, and 1-hour tutorial each week. It is worth 20 credits and assesses students through a 50% essay due in week 7 and a 50% exam during the exam period. Topics to be covered include community networks, social capital, health networks, and more. Students must attend all sessions, present in tutorials, and submit an essay plan in week 5 in preparation for the assessed essay.
Course description
- 1. SOCY30292 Connections matter: Sociological applications of social networks Semester 2 Credits 20 Tuesday 10:00 – 13:00, Roscoe 1.001 10:00-11:00 Lecture. 11:15-12:00 Workshop 12:00-13:00 Tutorial (All the activities are compulsory)
- 2. Lecturer: Room: Email: Office Hours: Dr. Elisa Bellotti Arthur Lewis Building, 3rd floor, 3039 elisa.bellotti@manchester.ac.uk Tuesday 2-3; Wednesday 2-3 NB: office hour is suspended in week 4 (Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th February), and replaced by two extra hours 2-4pm on Monday 24th of February (in this date office hours are by email appointment only). Administrator: William Start, UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building (0161) 275 3953 william.start@manchester.ac.uk
- 3. Mode of assessment • An assessed essay worth 50% of the total mark to be handed in in week 7, on topics discussed in the first half of the course (week 1-5). • A two-hour unseen examination to be taken at the end of the course worth 50% of the total mark, on the second half of the course (week 6-10). • There will also be a compulsory non-assessed work in the form of an exam workshop in week 10, an essay plan (max 600 words) in week 5, and group presentations to be given in tutorials. Essay hand in date: Thursday 13 March Examination period: 12 May 2014 – 6 June 2014 Re-sit Examination period: 18 August 2014 – 29 August 2014
- 4. • Course outline available on blackboard under “course information” • Lectures, workshops and tutorials outlines, together with materials, available in blackboard under “course content” • The course have a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/connectionsmatter If you have a FB account, “like” the page and check it regularly. • Get a slideshare account www.slideshare.net and connect it with your FB profile. You will need to upload slides on slide share and post them of the course’s FB page.
- 5. How is the course organised? 1 hour lecture The course introduces to the main substantive research areas in sociology in which social network analysis is applied. Each week is dedicated to a specific topic, where a synthesis of the studies on that topic will be presented. Lectures are based on the required and suggested readings, listed in the course outline and provided in balckboard. Assignments (essay and exam) will require to show the knowledge and understanding of the essential readings, and at least some knowledge and understanding of the suggested readings.
- 6. Lectures’ topics: LECTURE 1. WHAT IS SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS? LECTURE 2. COMMUNITY, URBANIZATION, AND PERSONAL NETWORKS LECTURE 3. SOCIAL CAPITAL, OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE AND STRATIFICATION LECTURE 4. HEALTH NETWORKS LECTURE 5. DIFFUSION NETWORKS LECTURE 6. SCIENTIFIC NETWORKS LECTURE 7. CULTURAL NETWORKS LECTURE 8. COVERT NETWORKS LECTURE 9. INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES LECTURE 10. ONLINE NETWORKS
- 7. 1 hour workshop Workshops are designed to work in groups (6 people) and reflect upon relevant materials/topics/issues related to the lecture. In some cases you will be required to collect some data/information for the following week, and the workshop will be based on these materials. All the hand-outs are compulsory, and the materials have to be uploaded on the course’s FB page (or sent to me) BEFORE the following workshop. The list and description of workshop can be found in the course outline, as well as in blackboard in the “course content” section.
- 8. 1 hour tutorial In tutorials, you will be organised in small groups of 3 people. Each week a group has to read three articles related to the topic discussed in the previous lecture, and present them via a power point presentation. The group will analyse and discuss the articles and engage the rest of the class in a critical reflection upon them. The articles can be selected from the ones suggested in the course outline (in the “suggested readings” section), but you can also decide, within your group, to select different materials providing you previously discuss them with me. Every group will have to upload the slides BEFORE the presentation on slideshare, and post them on the facebook page of the course. Likewise, each student must submit a brief summary of one of the three articles analysed, and send it to me before the presentation.
- 9. Attendance You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, and workshops that are part of your programme. It is also expected that you arrive on time. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THE ATTENDANCE ROSTER EVERY WEEK! And if I don’t circulate it, PLEASE REMIND ME… Absences If you are unable to attend a tutorial because of illness or other good reason you should notify the course lecturer/tutor and your Programme Administrator. If you are a BSocSc Sociology single-honours students this is William Start in the Social Sciences Undergraduate Office (William.Start@manchester.ac.uk or telephone 0161 275 3953) in advance if possible. This is especially important if you are due to make a presentation to the class. Absences of more than a few days should be backed up by medical or other evidence.
- 10. Assessment The assessment for this module will be a 50% essay and 50% exam. Students will also be expected to hand in a compulsory non-assessed essay plan. Exam/ Essay topic crossover Assessed essay and examination questions cover different parts of the course. There is no overlap in topics. Assessed essay covers the topics found in weeks 1-5. Examination questions will offer options covering weeks 6-10. You may choose any available question in both the assessed assignment and the examination. In both the assessment students cannot discuss the topic that they have presented during tutorials. They can refer to it, but they also have to show knowledge of other topics covered in the course
- 11. 1. The Non-Assessed Essay Plan: You must submit a (typewritten) non-assessed essay plan of maximum 2 pages, outlining what your key argument will be and how you intend to structure it, as well as the theorists you intend to discuss, and an indication of the readings you will base this essay on. This essay plan must be submitted by no later than the lecture on 25th February 2014 (week 5).
- 12. 2. The assessed essay: The maximum essay length is 3,000 words +/-10%. You must include a word count on the front of your essay or suffer a 2% penalty to your overall mark. The essays must be typed, doublespaced in a reasonable font (eg. 12 point in Times New Roman or Arial). ESSAY SUBMISSION - IMPORTANT: Your assessed essay must be submitted by 2pm on the deadline day unless given course specific instructions by email. Your essay must be submitted electronically via the Turnitin plagiarism checking system (details of how to do this will be available on Blackboard). AND you must also submit two hard copies of the essay to the SoSS Undergraduate Office in the Arthur Lewis building. The assessed essay must be submitted by: 2pm on Thursday 13 March 2014
- 13. Feedback You will get informal verbal feedback continuously throughout the course especially during the weekly workshops and the presentations in tutorials. Written formative feedback will be given on the non-assessed essays and the assessed essays part way through the course to help students prepare for the final examination. Half a day essay feedback will be offered the 29th of April, from 10am to 1pm. In that occasion students will be able to discuss their feedbacks with the lecturer previous appointment. The final workshop (week 10) will be dedicated to Q&A and to discuss possible exam questions.