Postgraduate Course: Contemporary Social Theory (PGSP11276)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course is aimed both at students looking to support their empirical work with a clear understanding of relevant theoretical debates and those with a specialist interest in social theory. The course explores recent attempts at theorising the social world, introducing students to contemporary social theory through an examination of topics central to social inquiry. It is made up of a number of units, each of which looks at a key theoretical debate or dispute. The unit topics are chosen because they relate to dilemmas relevant to a wide range of social scientific inquiries. Units vary somewhat from year to year, but may include: gender: humanist vs. anti-humanist approaches; theorizing the body; and the analysis of power. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
12/01/2015 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
1. To develop students' knowledge of conceptual and theoretical debates current in the social sciences
2. To develop students' ability to critically explore the limitations of existing theoretical positions
3. To develop students' capabilities to think critically about the application of theoretical ideas to social scientific research
4. To improve students' abilities to debate issues using concepts discussed in the course
5. To develop students' abilities to write accurately and critically about contemporary theoretical debates |
Assessment Information
| One essay between 3,000 and 4,000 words based on topics and readings from the course |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Indicative topics include:
- Power and interests in the work of Lukes
- Actor-network theory and power
- Bourdieu: habitus and social change
- Archer: theorising structure and agency
- Butler and the performance of gender
- The absence/presence of the body in social theory
- Bodies in everyday life: symbolic interactionism
The body as project: consumption and technology
|
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Lukes, S. (2005), Power: A Radical View, Second edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Butler, J. (2004), Undoing Gender, London: Routledge
Archer, M. (2003) Structure, Agency and the Internal Conversation, Cambridge: Cambridge UP
S. Williams and G. Bendelow (1998) The Lived Body London: Routledge
C. Shilling (2012) The Body and Social Theory London: Sage
B. S. Turner (2008) The Body and Society: Explorations in Social Theory London: Sage |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Stephen Kemp
Tel: (0131 6)50 3978
Email: S.Kemp@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Andrew Macaulay
Tel: (0131 6)51 5067
Email: Andrew.Macaulay@ed.ac.uk |
|
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