Sociology explores the social worlds in which humans live; it examines how these worlds have come about, their striking features and their possible futures, and encourages us to look beneath the surface of what we most take for granted about life and gives us new ways of making sense of human existence; students also look at the histories of Britain, Europe and the Americas from the 1600s to the modern day; students have the opportunity to take broad survey courses that cover historical change in different countries but can also look at subjects in depth as well.