There are several aims of the course:

1. To challenge the imagination by looking upon familiar environments through different lenses;

2. To relate key sociological concepts (such as social inequality, class, gender, ethnicity) to the study of Australian society;

3. To provide an understanding of institutional and structural change within contemporary Australian society, and to appreciate the relationship between dimensions of inequality and Australian institutions.

4. To appreciate the spatial dimensions of inequality and 'read' the social significance of urban and rural spaces;

5. To understand various approaches to Australian popular culture and everyday life;

6. To encourage students to write clearly, i.e. to produce an argument and marshal evidence for it;

7. To use tutorials to ensure students have an opportunity to articulate their informed views on the sociological issues discussed, and to appreciate different viewpoints.