What is DD101 about?

DD101 is an ideal introduction to the social sciences - psychology, social policy and criminology, geography and environment, politics and international studies, economics and sociology - through study of contemporary UK society. Using a blend of text, audio, DVD and online materials, you will explore a wide range of topics, including questions of society's relationship to the environment, questions of people's identities and issues of social order and governance - all considered in their national and international contexts. The course will equip you with a range of skills for independent study and for your personal and working life and it is ideal preparation for Level 2 courses in a range of social sciences and related qualifications.

Read the DD101 course description

Interested?

Audio clip 1: Dr Simon Bromley, talks about the questions and issues that DD101 will engage with.

You will have heard Simon on the audio discussing how the course engages with these issues through three strands.

The first, Material Lives, considers how the making of society involves not only relations between people but also relations between people and things and their environments, how the social shapes and is shaped by the material or more than human world, and some of the consequences of the fact that we live material lives.

Audio clip 2: Dr Steve Hinchliffe talks about some of the ideas in Material Lives.

The second strand, Connected Lives, also considers people's connections to material places but the focus is on the people themselves and how they are connected and disconnected from one another, how they see themselves and others, where they live and the mobility of things and people involved in making and breaking connections.

Audio clip 3: Dr Stephanie Taylor introduces the ideas that will be covered in Connected Lives.

The third strand, Ordered Lives, explores some of the different ways in which social life is ordered and governed through the rules, norms and expectations people have of one another in day to day interaction; and how these arise and are sustained, how does social order and ordering vary in time and place and how is social order contested, challenged, broken and repaired.

Audio clip 4: Prof John Clarke talks about the questions looked at in Ordered Lives.

In each of these strands students are asked to engage with three, key, course wide questions - How is society made and repaired? How are differences and inequalities produced? and How do we know? The course has been carefully designed so that you will be able to develop your study skills and knowledge of the social sciences using integrated text, audio-visual and online resources.