SOCIOL 206

Sociology for Auckland

Description

Auckland is located in Aotearoa New Zealand but is not always of Aotearoa New Zealand. By virtue of geography, history and size, Auckland is a unique social setting, with an uneasy relationship to the rest of Aotearoa New Zealand (and beyond).

This course examines the differences in class, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and other social factors that make Auckland "special".

With forty per cent of the city’s population foreign-born, some consider Auckland as one of the most "super-diverse" cosmopolitan areas in the world. Further, the city regularly appears in lists of the ten most "liveable" cities in the world. Simultaneously, however, there are rising levels of homelessness, poverty and growing racial and ethnic disparities, located in an urban sprawl confronted by poor infrastructure.

Through a sociological lens, this course considers the contradictions of a city which is understood both as a paragon of neoliberal capitalism and a proto-agrarian economy.

Subjects will include: indigenous and colonial subjects at the foreshore, public transportation, sexualities and the city, shopping in the New World, institutional racism and education in Auckland and the contemporary housing crisis.   

Availability 2025

Not taught in 2025

Lecturer(s)

Lecturer(s)  Sereana Naepi

Points

SOCIOL 206: 15 points

Prerequisites

30 points at Stage I in Sociology or 15 points at Stage I in Sociology with a minimum B+ pass

Restrictions

SOCIOL 106