Preface

Sociology has long had the potential to have a transformative impact on the way we learn about the world around us. As a Lecturer in Sociology, I have had the pleasure in seeing many social science students 'grow' intellectually as they become more actively engaged with studying, understanding and motivated to change the society in which they live. Undergraduate students here at Leeds Metropolitan University have the potential to be more than simply the 'consumers' of a higher educational product. Indeed, what the academic staff in the Social Science group are committed to, is providing genuine, exciting opportunities for students to be the 'producers' of new knowledge. We want the students we work with to be active, motivated individuals who are able to employ their own 'sociological' imagination in examining the social problems and challenges that surround them.