SOC-20049 - Module Specification
School of Social, Political and Global Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2020/21

If Marx, Weber, and Durkheim were central figures in the 19th century project to think through the problem of the identification of self and society, then the key thinkers of the 20th century built upon their achievements. The object of this course is to run off the achievements of Marx, Weber, Durkheim into a consideration of the 20th century social theories of Freud, whose invention, psychoanalysis, made the psychological effects of the self / society problem explicit, Simmel, who thought about the problem of social relations in the city, the French structuralists, who came face to face with the symbolic edifice that structures our lives, and the various exponents of post-modernity, who have thought / fought to save us from either the loneliness that the existentialists considered the essential characteristic of the human condition or the horror of the monolithic other, society, that threatens to erase our identity. In-between our consideration of Freud, Simmel, Foucault, and Baudrillard, we will explore the works of the symbolic interactionists, critical theorists, feminists, and post-colonial theorists. Finally, we will update our discussion of social theory, by thinking about much more recent developments, exemplified in the writings of thinkers such as Slavoj Zizek. But before we can begin our survey of contemporary social theory, we must consider the figure of theory of itself. What is theory? What is the purpose of theory? Why is it necessary to use theory to think through the self / society problem?
The lectures will focus on:
What is Theory?
Freud and Paranoia
Simmel and the City
Mead, Goffman, Symbolic Interactionism
Adorno and Horkheimer
Structuralism
Post-Colonialism
Post-Feminism
Post-Modernism
Risk and Globalisation

- To introduce students to contemporary theoretical approaches in social theory and to locate them within their intellectual context.
- To develop students' ability to evaluate sociological ideas in the context of real-life ethical, social, political issues.
- To develop students' understandings of the sociological dimensions of theories of society.
- To provide opportunities through discussion and written work in which students may develop their skills of scholarly discussion and exposition of complex ideas.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Summarise contemporary theoretical approaches in social theory and to locate them within their 19th century intellectual contexts: 1
Discuss contemporary social theory and make independent judgements about the strengths and weaknesses of twentieth century theories of society: 1
Review the sociological dimensions of social theory and formulate theoretically informed questions about the social world: 1
Explain understandings of the sociological dimensions of theories of society in a range of teaching and learning contexts: 1
Explain key concepts in social science, such as structure, agency, truth, and interpretation, and the ways these ideas can be applied to different contexts: 1
Critically analyse key concepts in contemporary social theory and distinguish between the major theoretical approaches: 1

Study hours

20 Hours Contact (10 Lectures / 10 Tutorials)
60 Lecture / Tutorial Preparation
70 Assessment Preparation
TOTAL 150

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment