UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

COURSE TITLE: Social Institutions

COURSE CODE: SOC 105

COURSE DURATION: 12 WEEKS

LECTURE TIMES: Mon 9-10 (HLT500), Tue 12-1 (Great Hall),Monday 12-1 (Tutorial,

Lecture Room 2), Friday 9-10 (Great Hall)

CONSULTATION TIME: Monday 2-4, Thursday 10-12

LECTURER: DR W RUPARANGANDA

OFFICE #:122

EXT.:

EMAIL: wruparanganda@yahoo.com

Course Overview and Aim

This course aims at giving students an understanding of the contributions of various

social institutions to shaping human behaviour and to societal development

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate general appreciation of the basic tenets of the sociological

perspectives
 2. Apply the fundamental perspectives in Sociology to the study of social institutions

and development

3. Understand the role of sociology in studying social institutions

Teaching Methods and Learning Material

Methods of learning include lectures, tutorials, group and individual activities. Students

are expected to register for tutorials and attend weekly tutorial seminars which are a

compulsory part of the programme. Lectures will take place thrice a week

Course Assessment

Students will write two essays during the semester.These essays will constitute course

work which contributes 25% towards the final mark. The end of semester examination

will comprise 75% of the final mark.

At the end of the course, each student is assigned a final grade as follows:
Grade Percent Range Interpretation
1st class 75-100 Excellent
2.1 65-74 Good
2.2 60-64 Average
3 50-59 Below average
Fail 49 and below Failure

Course Content
TOPIC 1: WHAT IS SOCIETY: WHAT ARE INSTITUTIONS?
i)Types of Society
ii) Theoretical Underpinnings
-Functionalist theory
-Conflict Theory
-Interactionism Theory
Compulsory Reading: Haralambos and Holborn (1998) Sociological Themes and
Perspectives 8th edition page 3-14 Available in the Library: UZ Main Library, Reserve
Section

TOPIC 2: GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS AND WORK

i) Types of groups
Primary and secondary groups
i) Types of organisations
Formal and informal organisations
ii) Formal organisations and bureaucracy
-Webers Bureaucratic Model
iii) Bureaucracy problems
 Compulsory Reading: Giddens A (2000) Sociology 7 th edition page 823-831,
Available in the Library: UZ Main Library, Reserve Section

TOPIC 3: FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS

i) Defining families and households
ii) Forms and functions of families
-Nuclear Families
-Extended Families
-Child-headed families
iii) Social Theory, families and households
Conflict theory
Functionalist theory
Interactionist theory
Feminist theory
iv) Marriage and divorce

Compulsory Reading: Haralambos and Holborn (1998) Sociological Themes and

Perspectives 8th edition page 509-522 Available in the Library: UZ Main Library,
Reserve Section

TOPIC 4: RELIGION
i) Definition of religion
ii) Forms of religion
-African Traditional Religion
-Christianity
-Islam
iii) The secularisation thesis
iv) Sociological theories on religion
o Durkheim: the Functions of religion
o Weber: The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism
o Marx: religion as an ideology
Compulsory Reading: Giddens A (2000) Sociology 7 th edition page 720-740,
Available in the Library: UZ Main Library, Reserve Section

TOPIC 5: EDUCATION
i) Defining Education
ii) Functions of Education
iii) Theoretical perspectives on Education
Symbolic Interactionism,
Conflict perspectives
Feminist perspectives
iv) Education attainment and achievement
Defining attainment and achievement
Class and gender in education attainment and achievement
v) African and Western Models of Education
Value and relevance
 Comparisons of the two models
Compulsory Reading:Haralambos and Holborn (1998) Sociological Themes and
Perspectives 8th edition page 663-668 Available in the Library: UZ Main Library,
Reserve Section

TOPIC 6: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

i) Politics, power and authority
ii) Webers three types of authority
iii) Political institutions in global perspective
iv) Sociological perspectives on political institutions
Functionalism
Conflict Perspective
Politics and Social Interaction
Compulsory Reading Giddens A (2000) Sociology 7th edition page 970-979,
Available in the Library: UZ Main Library, Reserve Section

TOPIC 7: HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS

Defining health and illness
Social construction and experience of illness
Parsons Sick Role Thesis
Sociological perspectives on health care institutions
Functionalism
Conflict Perspective
Health and Social Interaction
Feminism
Compulsory Reading:Haralambos and Holborn (1998) Sociological Themes and
Perspectives 8th edition page 301-312 Available in the Library: UZ Main Library,
Reserve Section

ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
First Assignment
Due Date:

Second Assignment
Due Date

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Anderseen, M.L & Taylor, H.F 2002 Sociology: Understanding a diverse society
Wadsworth Group, USA
Cuff, E. C., W. W. Sharrock and D. W. Francis, 1992 Perspectives in Sociology, third
edition London, Routledge

Davis, Kingsley and Wilbert E. Moore, 1966, "Some Principles of Stratification," in R.

Bendix and S. M. Lipset, Class, Status and Power, second edition, New York, Free
Press

Ferguson, Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology, Susan J.

Ferguson, 6th Edition (2009)

Giddens, A, Michell, D and Appelbaum, R, 2005 Introduction to Sociology, Fifth

Edition.
Giddens, A 1989 Sociology, London. Polity Press

Grabb, Edward G, 1990, Theories of Social Inequality: Classical and Contemporary

Perspectives, second edition, Toronto, Holt, Rinehart and Winston

Hughes, J.A 2003 Understanding Classical Sociology. Sage Publications

Johnson, Miriam M, 1993, "Functionalism and Feminism: Is Estrangement
Necessary?" in Paul England, editor, Theory on Gender / Feminism on Theory,New
York, Aldine de Gruyter,

Knapp, Peter, 1994, One World Many Worlds: Contemporary Sociological Theory,
New York, Harper-Collins

Marsh, I, 2000, Sociology-Making Sense of Society, London, Prentice Hall

Newman, D.M, 2008, Sociology- Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, Los
Angeles, Pine Forge Press

Ritzer, George, 1992, Sociological Theory, third edition, New York, McGraw-Hill
Schaefer, R.T 2006 Sociology Matters, McGraw Hill

Sharrock, W 2003 Understanding modern Sociology, Sage Publications

Stephens, R.W 1999 Careers in Sociology Allyn & Bacon

N.B This list is not exhaustive; students are encouraged to visit the main library as
well as the internet for other references.