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Programme: BSocSciHons Industrial Sociology and Labour Studies

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Code Faculty
01243022 Faculty of Humanities
Credits Duration
Minimum duration of study: 1 year Total credits: 125

Admission requirements

  • A relevant bachelor’s degree with Sociology Industrial Sociology or a directly related social science major is needed for admission.
  • An average of at least 70% is required in the major/field of specialisation.
  • In certain cases additional modules will be required.
  • Students with an average of between 68% and 70% in the major/field of specialisation could be considered for admission under special conditions. Apply to the programme manager.

Additional requirements

  • In certain cases additional modules will be required.
  • Students with an average of between 68% and 70% in the major/field of specialisation could be considered for admission under special conditions. Apply to the programme manager.

Other programme-specific information

  • Choose one elective module.
  • Not all modules are offered in any given year. Please consult the programme manager in this regard.

Minimum credits: 125

Elective module

Select ONE module.

Core modules

  • Module content:

    This module focuses on and interrogates the nature and theory of labour relations, the South African labour relations dispensation and labour law in South Africa.

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  • Module content:

    The module focuses on debates about, as well as the practice of, research. The idea of science, the role of theoretical conceptualisations, and the epistemological assumptions underpinning research are introduced with reference to competing paradigms, including positivism, interpretivism and realism. With regard to research practice, general principles of planning such as identifying a topic, delineating a problem area, selecting sites, sampling participants and addressing ethical questions are considered. Thereafter the use of methods through which data can be collected and/or constructed are introduced and ways in which evidence can be interpreted and analysed are discussed.

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  • Module content:

    In this module students are expected to produce a research paper under weekly supervision. In the first instance, the paper ought to demonstrate a student’s ability to conduct empirical research. However, with the necessary permission a student may also base the paper on the analysis of secondary data or draw on archival and/or documentary sources. The research paper needs to demonstrate students’ understanding of and competence in all aspects of the research process, including making an argument, writing a report, analysing data, integrating research findings with the literature, and research ethics.  

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  • Module content:

    This module introduces students to key conceptual vocabularies, as well as selected theoretical paradigms and scholarly works in order to facilitate an understanding of some of the current debates, innovations and controversies in the field. A balance is struck between classic and contemporary social theory, and an emphasis is placed on questions of textuality, canonicity and interdisciplinarity in shaping conversations about social theory and its significance for research, thought and politics. 

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Elective modules

  • Module content:

    Gender is an important concept in our everyday encounters as it informs part of our identity. National identity documents, for instance, place a major significance on our gender status. Gender differences define how women and men are treated by different institutions in society. This programme is therefore aimed at exposing students to different theories as well as literature on gender and gender inequalities. In addition, the course explores our everyday experiences of gender to develop a better understanding of gender and the meanings it takes on in society, including they ways in which race, class and geographical location influence these experiences.

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  • Module content:

    This module explores the changing nature of work and the organisational forms that dominated certain historical periods in economic history. Concepts such as Fordism and post-Fordism are examined, as well as debates about the impact of work on the quality of life of humans.

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  • Module content:

    This module examines theoretical explanations of globalisation. In doing so its primary goal is to explore ways in which capital in the era of the end of history is compelling us to rethink sociology as a science of the present. The module begins with theoretical discussions in order to lay the ground for talk about development as a process of incorporating (in this case) Africa into the global world system. The module further studies changes brought about by globalisation to the nation-state system, work and gender relations. It also examines nationalism and ethnicity as specific features of capitalism in the era of the end of history.

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  • Module content:

    This course takes a macro-level perspective and introduces students to scholarly accounts of the changing historical trajectory of gender relations, marriage as an institution, family forms, and household composition and livelihoods and the implications thereof for understanding gender as a social relation. As such, it adopts a historical and comparative perspective, with a specific focus on Southern Africa. In addition, the module explores the role and impact of supra-state organisations, the state and the market in mediating and regulating gender identities and relations, as well as family and household forms, against the backdrop of the nation-state form and in the context of capitalism and neo-liberalism particularly. 

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  • Module content:

    This module takes a sociological approach to understanding and interrogating South African society. It begins by looking at some of the debates and discussions about Sociology in South Africa. It then reviews and debates key issues in order to understand the political economy of Apartheid. Finally it looks at some key debates associated with post-apartheid South Africa. 

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  • Module content:

    This module focuses on the relationship between the personal and social and how these two domains are intricately related, simultaneously implying sameness and difference in the process of identification. It considers how societal structures and institutions shape and construct identities historically, whilst being shaped by individual agency, in turn. Human experience reveals a range of cross-cutting affiliations, based on ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexuality and generation, amongst others, implying a multiplicity in belonging, suggesting a relational process, rather than an essence. The social, contingent and constructed nature of identities is highlighted against experiences of dislocation within a context of globalisation.

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The information published here is subject to change and may be amended after the publication of this information. The General Regulations (G Regulations) apply to all faculties of the University of Pretoria. It is expected of students to familiarise themselves well with these regulations as well as with the information contained in the General Rules section. Ignorance concerning these regulations and rules will not be accepted as an excuse for any transgression.

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