The course is split into five topic areas: 1. Families & Households • Couples • Childhood • Theories of the family • Demography • Changing family patterns & family diversity • Families & social policy 2. Education • Differences in educational achievement: class, gender, ethnicity • The role of education • Educational policy & inequality 3. Beliefs in Society • Theories of religion • Religion and social change • Secularisation • Religion, renewal and choice • Religion in a global context • Organisations, movements and members • Ideology and science 4. Crime & Deviance • Theories of crime • Class, gender & ethnic differences in crime • Crime and the media • Globalisation, green crime, human rights and state crime • Control, punishment and victims 5. Theory & Methods • Quantitative & Qualitative research methods • Sociology & Science • Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism • Globalisation, modernity and postmodernity • Sociology & Social Policy