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Equality & Human Rights (MSc)

Core Courses

Core Course 1: Equality and Human Rights

Tutor: Professor Nick Watson
Course Type: Core
Scheduled: Semester 1, Tuesdays 10-12pm

Course description

This course is one of the two core courses for the MSc in Equality and Human Rights.  The course will explore the relationship between equality and human rights, types and causes of inequality, the methodological issues that arise in charting inequality and interconnections, commonalities and differences between different types of inequality.  It will also examine actions taken by various agencies to overcome inequalities. 

Course Reading:
There is no single ‘textbook’, but the following are introductory, core or useful texts:

  • Bagilhole, Barbara (2009) Understanding Equal Opportunities and Diversity (Bristol: The Policy Press).
  • Baker, John; Lynch, Kathleen; Cantillon, Sara and Walsh, Judy (2009) Equality: From Theory to Action, second edition (London: Palgrave Macmillan).
  • Seidman, Steven (2008) Contested Knowledge: Social Theory Today, fourth edition (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell)
  • McGhee, Derek (2008) The End of Multiculturalism? Terrorism, Integration and Human Rights (Maidenhead: Open University Press) 
  • Nickel, James W. (2007) Making Sense of Human Rights, second edition (Oxford: Blackwell)
  • Goodhart, Michael (ed.)(2009) Human Rights: Politics and Practice (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
  • Dorling D (2010) Injustice: Why social inequality still persists London Policy Press
  • National Equality Panel (2010) An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK: Report of the National Equality Panel London, Government Equalities Office. 
    http://www.equalities.gov.uk/national_equality_panel.aspx
  • Wilkinson R and Pickett K (2009) The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better. (London: Allen Lane)
  • Grabham, Emily; Cooper, Davina; Jane Krishnadas and Didi Herman (eds.)(2009) Intersectionality and Beyond (London: Routledge-Cavendish).
  • Hills, John and Stewart, Kitty (2005) A more equal society? : New Labour, poverty, inequality and exclusion (Bristol: Polity Press)
  • Woodward, Kath (ed.)(2004) Questioning identity: gender, class, ethnicity, second edition (London: Routledge). 
  • Tilly, Charles (1999) Durable Inequality (Berkeley: University of California Press)


Core Course 2:  Methods of Social Research

Tutor: Dr Jo Ferrie
Course Type: Core
Schedule: Semester 1, Thursday 3-5pm

Course Description

The aim of the course is to introduce you to a range of research methods commonly used in social research and to provide practical guidance in the use of such methods. The course will provide you with the opportunity to acquire skills in research design, quantitative and qualitative data collection and data analysis. Further the course will enable you to think critically about the uses of sociological research and the social, political and institutional contexts within which it takes place. The course will give you a grounding in research methods which will be useful to you when you begin your dissertation.

Course Readings
We strongly recommend the following book as a key text for this course. It costs around £27.99 to buy but there should be multiple copies in the library. You will also find it a very useful source book for your dissertation research:

  • Bryman, A. (2008, 3rd ed.) Social Research Methods Oxford: Oxford U.P