Sociology

WELCOME ADDRESS FROM THE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
As pioneer Head of Department and for one intimately connected to the development of the Department since inception, I consider it a singular honour and it gives me great please to give a welcome address to this Website.The Department of Sociology was one of the twenty 20) Bachelor degree programmes that the Federal University, Birnin Kebbi took- off at the start of the 2014 /2015 Academic Session. Initially the Department was sited at the Take-Off Site of the University but in December, 2016, it was moved to the University’s permanent Site on the outskirts of Kalgo town, on the Kalgo – Bunza highway. The first intake of a total of 41 students matriculated in March 2015, backed by a staff of 5.

Intake of students rose steadily with, a second intake of 59 students (2015/2016), 60 each for 2015/2016 and 2016/2017). Similarly, the academic staff strength grew from a total of 5 (2014/15), 11 (2015/2016) 12 (2017/2018) 15 2018/2019).The Department runs the conventional four-year degree programme designed to equip the students with all the theoretical and methodological essentials in concepts, knowledge and skill expected of sociology graduates the world over. The programme primarily aims to meet and even exceed the minimum academic standards stipulated by the national Universities Commission. However the programme is also unique as it incorporates courses that address issues of social, historical, political, economic and developmental significance and concerns relevant to the immediate environment, the national political economy and an increasingly globalised world at large. Such a focus is evident in the incorporation of such courses as the principles of social organization, sociology of disaster, economy and society in the Sokoto Caliphate, sociology of pastoral societies, sociology of Islamic societies, etc. preparations are also afoot for additional coursessuch as sociology of sports and entertainment, ICT and society, etc., in the very near futureOther significant milestones in the rather short history of the young Department include, first, the evaluation and grant of a 5-year full accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2018 for the B.Sc. degree, a significant achievement for a programme that was started from the scratch only four years earlier, with the barest of facilities, in a virgin institution. Second, at the end of the 2017/2018 Session, the Department successfully produced xx, yy of whom with the Second Class Upper status (Summa Cum Laude), B.Sc. graduates from among its pioneer intake. As will be seen, the cardinal philosophy of the Department’s programme is to expose the student to an awesome experience of looking at humanity in ways he/she never previously imagined or contemplated, based on the conviction the human race is social, in every facet of the manifestations and ramifications. The student is promised a fascinating scholarly and analytic dissection of societal structures and processes and to demonstrate that even the most mundane actions, behaviors and thoughts of the individual members of society shape and are shaped by or within the context of culture in a totalizing sense, with definite implications that hold profoundly valid, at all times. Our widely held motto, even if unofficial, is “without sociology, you’re on your own”, suggesting that the the subject matter of the discipline is “(wo)man in society and society in (wo)man”. Our task is thus to guide and mentor students as to how each and every phenomenon in society reflects a reality socially constructed and subject to re-construction or rediscovery in a never ending trajectory. We thus endeavour to ensure that the experience at Federal University Birnin Kebbi will be, for the student, an immensely exhilarating one of sociological imagination, a new, phenomenal and fascinating consciousness of the reality called society, and of social structures and processes. This website handbook gives a fairly comprehensive picture of requirements for entry and graduation. Details of the academic component of the Programme, in line with the NUC’s Basic Minimum Academic Standards (or BMAS) are given. The Department’s staff will also always be available to guide and offer advice and tips. Students in particular are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with details contained herein, especially about academic expectations. Each student remains fully responsible for meeting the requirements for the award of the degree. Information as well as rules and regulations regarding student conduct, as given by other relevant units of the University should also be thoroughly studied for guidance and compliance. Where confused, unclear or uncertain, the student should not hesitate to consult with any officials who will be delighted to assist. Welcome to a liberating scholarship association with the Department of Sociology, FUBK and please remember to enjoy every bit of the learning experience at this young and vibrant institution.

Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba
Birnin Kebbi
October, 2019