The course will introduce students to the study of sociology and some basic underpinnings of sociological theory and methodology. The emergence of sociology as a scientific discipline is examined in the context of the development of Industrial society in Western Europe. The course will examine the writings of key classical social thinkers such as Marx, Durkheim and Weber as well as more contemporary theorists such as Michel Foucault, with a view to understanding various sociological approaches to modern industrial society.