Understanding society
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| 2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
Are you interested in people and how they live their lives? Do you wonder about how society is changing, and how your life connects with the lives of other people across the world? This introductory course explores questions like these, starting with family life in the UK and ending with worldwide social movements. You’ll learn about key social science concepts, and develop your knowledge of how social scientists work – while developing learning skills that provide a sound basis for further academic study. You’ll also develop your understanding of social issues and debates that dominate the news, in the UK and elsewhere.
Course content
Whether you’re thinking of further study in the social sciences, or you’re just interested in finding out about some of the profound changes that society is experiencing, this course has much to offer. It introduces concepts and debates within the social sciences, covering topics like families; culture; global markets; migrant labour; community; and social movements. You’ll learn through the use of case studies and activities, and no previous knowledge of the subject is needed. Understanding society is built around six key questions.
- ‘Who does the work in the home?’ You’ll look at how far housework is shared within UK families, and at how the work of women in the home has developed and changed.
- ‘What makes us the same; what makes us different?’ You’ll explore how a sense of belonging that links us to some people but separates us from others is developed, and what happens when there is a meeting of different cultures.
- ‘Why can we buy goods from all over the world?’ Today most of us are surrounded by goods made in other countries. How and why has this happened and what do we mean by globalisation?
- Why do people travel to other countries for work? People have always moved for work but migrant labour has become a particularly important issue in recent years. You’ll explore why people move and the effects of migration.
- ‘Why does where we live matter?’ Our health, jobs and education are all related to our housing and to where we live. You’ll examine the importance of ‘place’ for our life chances and look at how we feel about where we live.
- ‘How do we bring about change?’ People can bring about or resist change. You’ll look at a range of social movements from the Suffragettes to the more recent movements protesting against genetically modified crops.
The course materials have been prepared with the needs of new learners in mind. They assume no special knowledge and no experience of studying. Taking examples from everyday life, they enable you to start from your general knowledge and interests and gradually build up to degree-level study. Learning skills are key to the course, and skills such as time management, note taking, reading for study purposes and reflection on your own learning are explored.
Entry
There are no entry requirements. The course is designed for students who have not studied before or who may have studied a long time ago.
This Openings course would be helpful if you are interested in going on to study Introducing the social sciences (DD101).
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Qualifications
This course can count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
Alternative questions will be provided for any assignments that depend on visual or aural material. The printed course material is available in comb-bound format. Written transcripts are available for any audio components. The course units and supplementary material are available on CD-ROM in ‘ReadOut’ format with navigational facilities. The text is provided and, where available, a real voice recording. You will need your usual interface to access the material, e.g. a screen reader with synthetic speech output, screen enlargement software or Braille facilities. Large print versions of the printed course material can be provided on request. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course books and a DVD.
You will need
Access to a telephone (preferably a landline) for contact with your tutor; and the equipment to play and watch a video DVD e.g. a television and DVD player or a personal computer with DVD-ROM.
A computer is not essential to study an Openings course. However, if you wish to send and receive emails and use our online service, you will need access to both the internet and a computer.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will keep in touch by telephone. There are no face-to-face tutorials; all tutorials are conducted by telephone. Your tutor will help you to plan your work and to think about the ideas explored in the course. Your tutor will also comment on and help you with your written work. At the end of the course you will discuss your progress with your tutor, and you will work together to produce a review of your study plans.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You can choose whether to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) on paper or online through the eTMA system. You may want to use the eTMA system for some of your assignments but submit on paper for others. This is entirely your choice.
You will also be asked to submit an end-of-course assessment (ECA) as well as a learning plan and review. If you submit at least one TMA and achieve the appropriate standard in the ECA you will gain 10 credit points at Level 1 that can count towards a degree.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The course starts four times a year, in September, November, March and June. Each course lasts for a maximum of 20 weeks, although you can take less time if you want to.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Business and Management, Childhood and Youth and Social Sciences.
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Student Reviews
I loved this course. I used it as an introduction to Social Science as I had not studied the subject ...
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I really enjoyed this course. A great deal of the study skills have helped me to do better in other ...
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