Sociology will develop social awareness and prepare all young adults for participation in their community. In the first year, students will develop a sociological imagination by examining two key issues. The first topic is education, where they will examine a range of debates, for example how educational performance is affected by social class, ethnicity and gender. They will discuss sociological perspectives such as Marxism and feminism. They will examine the evolution of government policies on education and relate these back to the key theories. The second key topic is that of the family where they will examine debates about the roles of men and women, changing patterns of marriage, and political discourses about issues such as single-parent families and gay marriage. In the second year, students will move on to study the sociology or religion and examine what light sociologists have to shine on crime and deviance. Sociology gives you a strong foundation for further study in a range of subjects at degree level. What you learn can be applied to all aspects of society and it provides a variety of academic skills especially critical thinking about the world.