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Sociology


Honours

The primary objective of Honours in Sociology is to provide students with the intellectual and technical skills required to undertake a higher degree by research. More generally, the Honours course provides students with a challenging and stimulating intellectual experience that will add an important edge to your career prospects.

Career

The Honours degree provides prospective employers with evidence of a significantly higher demonstrated competence than found in graduates with a first degree. The study of Sociology at Honours level is an indication that a student, or prospective employee, has the ability to research independently, identify and synthesise complex issues, and mount cogent and persuasive analyses as well as understand survey material.

You will demonstrate that you have the skills necessary to be successful in both the public and private sectors and in non-government organisations (NGOs). Our graduates have secured employment in diverse occupations and professions across a wide range of organizations.

Honours thesis

Your thesis topic will be developed in conjunction with your supervisor. Your supervisor is there to direct your thesis research and the overall theoretical, methodological and conceptual themes that emerge from your own work. Beyond that, the scope of your thesis is entirely up to you (provided of course you fit in with the prescribed ethical guidelines established by Deakin University). This means that ideally, any Coursework requirements should reflect this intention. This will enable you to allow your ideas and conceptions of theoretical, methodological and practical issues to evolve over the course of the year. Research skills are enhanced through the compulsory social research unit.

What is involved?

The Sociology Honours course is made up of 4 credit points of coursework and a 4 credit point thesis. Part-time students complete the four coursework units in their first year, and the thesis in their second year.

Finding a topic

It is important, for your own motivation, that you write on a topic or examine or analyse a problem which interests you. This topic must, however, be viable. This means that the sources it requires must be readily available and not too large to make the task beyond the scope of a dissertation of this length.

You should be able to research and write your thesis in six months if you are a full-time student, or one year, if you are part-time. Your choice of topic must be refined in discussions with the academic staff in your discipline area. The Honours Coordinators will refer you to the member of staff whose interests most closely align with your own.

Further information

Further information including units of study can be found in the Deakin course search.

Contact details

Dr Grazyna Zajdow

Honours Course Adviser

Tel (03) 9244 3978
graz@deakin.edu.au


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Staff in Sociology

Dr Grazyna Zajdow

  • Gender and drug problems
  • Self-help groups
  • Illicit Drugs Policy
  • Feminist sociology

Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9244 3978
graz@deakin.edu.au

Dr Kevin Brown

  • Popular culture
  • Race and racism
  • Qualitative research
  • Theory and practice
  • Community development
  • Access and equity issues in distance educatio

Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9244 3974
kevinb@deakin.edu.au

Petra Bueskens

  • Social theory, feminist theory
  • Motherhood, family
  • Sociology of knowledge
  • Mental Health, psychoanalysis

Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9244 3977
petrab@deakin.edu.au

Dr Neil Burdess

  • Social research issues, especially survey methodology
  • Health sociology, especially class issues

Campus: Warrnambool
Tel (03) 5563 3356
burdess@deakin.edu.au

Assoc/Prof Liz Eckermann

  • Quality of Life
  • Violence
  • Refugees
  • Public health, women's health
  • The use of indicators of health status

Campus: Geelong (Waurn Ponds)
Tel (03) 5227 1026
lizeck@deakin.edu.au

Dr Struan Jacobs

  • Theories of science and social science
  • Analysis of the idea of tradition and its history
  • Scientific and social thought of Michael Polanyi
  • Media coverage of antibiotic resistant bacteria in hospitals

Campus: Geelong (Waurn Ponds)
Tel (03) 5227 2692
swjacobs@deakin.edu.au

Dr Karen Lane

  • Media studies
  • Sociology of knowledge
  • Midwifery, obstetrics
  • Consumer participation

Campus: Geelong (Waurn Ponds)
Tel (03) 5227 2596
kll@deakin.edu.au

Dr Anna Macgarvey

  • Rural women and local government
  • Rural youth issues

Campus: Warrnambool
Tel (03) 5563 3255
annamac@deakin.edu.au

Dr Vince Marotta

  • Social Theory
  • Urban Sociology
  • Multiculturalism and cultural identity
  • Migration and Globalisation

Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9244 3971
vince.marotta@deakin.edu.au

Dr Peter Mewett

  • Sport Sports training
  • Nationalism
  • Identity
  • Historical Sociology

Campus: Geelong (Waurn Ponds)
Tel (03) 5227 2573
mewett@deakin.edu.au

Mr Neville Millen

  • Applied sociology of modern social issues
  • Health and Illness
  • Chronic Illness - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - Stigma
  • Law and Social control

Campus: Geelong (Waurn Ponds)
Tel (03) 5227 1172
sociom@deakin.edu.au

Assoc/Prof Marilyn Poole (Honorary Fellow)

  • Gender
  • Ageing

Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9244 3979
marp@deakin.edu.au

Dr Kim Toffoletti

  • Popular representations of gender
  • Women and Australian Rules football
  • Gender, technology and new media
  • Posthuman studies

Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9244 3986
kim.toffoletti@deakin.edu.au

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Career

Honours thesis

What is involved?

Finding a topic

Further information

Contact details

Staff


'Doing Honours in Sociology was a life changing experience for me. It is a total change of pace from the undergrad experience, and I loved being able to put the years of learning into practice through conducting my own research project.'

Karina Butera