UJ Department of Sociology

The UJ Department of Sociology is a team of nine sociologists who, together, 

• Host the long-standing and most regular public seminar in the Johannesburg region,
• Produce regular accredited publications on research in their various areas of expertise,
• Successfully train students at postgraduate level in social research methodology, and in 
  classical and contemporary sociological theory, including scholarship of Africa and the South,
• Teach almost 2000 undergraduate students using contact education complemented by e-learning,
• Play leading roles in the SA Sociological Association and the International Sociological Association, and
• Practice public sociology by actively engaging with constituencies  beyond the academy.

The specialist research and publication areas of these academic staff members are

• Social identity, incl Class, Race, Gender, Age, Religion, Disability, ​and Intersectionality,
• Citizenship, Biopolitics, Social protection, and Migration Studies,
• Gender, Masculinity, Family, Sexuality, and Health,
• Urban sociology, Informality, and the Local state,
• Sociology of work and Labour studies,
• Organisations, Whistleblowing and Emotional labour,
• South African Sociology and Higher education,
• Political sociology and Military sociology,
• Social capital and Group dynamics,
• Development and Nutrition,
• Research methodology,
• and various of these in combination.

Students of the UJ Department of Sociology hail from all parts of the continent and the world. Since the coherent UJ Sociology coursework programme responds to the range of research and supervision areas listed above, a synergy exists between the teaching and research interests of staff members of the Department of Sociology. The department's programme encourages critical thinking and an analytical approach to social and organisational problems - skills that are highly sought after in the labour market. 

The weekly seminar run by the department for over a decade, is now hosted in conjunction with the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies. The seminar has hosted numerous acclaimed international and local social scientists. The details of the most recent seminar as well as an archive of previous programmes can be found on the seminar pages. For pictures of other memorable events, please visit our events page. More details on academic staff members may be accessed by clicking on their names on the staff page.

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The UJ Department of Sociology website is maintained by L Groenewald.