Postgraduate Course: Contemporary Social Theory (PGSP11276)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores key issues in social theory that are relevant to contemporary social scientific analysis. It will help equip students to address theoretical issues in their research whether this is empirically based or theoretical in character. |
| Course description |
The aim of this course is to help students engage with and reflect on theoretical issues that are relevant to contemporary forms of social inquiry. The content of the course varies year on year, but typical concerns will include: debates about the character of social reality and the role of knowledge within it, such as social constructionism vs. realism; theories of inequality and domination, including debates about intersectionality and decoloniality; and considerations of the challenges contemporary social issues, such as the ecological crisis and AI, pose for social theory. Students will be helped to understand existing theories and take a critical perspective on them.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Short essay, 40%, 1900-2100 word essay
Long essay, 60%, 2500-3000 word essay |
| Feedback |
We aim to return Short and Long Essays with feedback within 15 working days of submission. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical knowledge of key concerns in theoretical debates relevant to the contemporary social sciences
- Evaluate a range of key concepts and theoretical approaches within Sociology
- Apply theories in an insightful way to recent events and social issues
- Make scholarly arguments connected to contemporary social theory, including presenting ideas accurately and making coherent arguments
- Identify and appraise the types of arguments that are being made in theoretical debates
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Reading List
Readings may change year on year, but indicative readings include:
Mol, Annemarie (2002) 'Different Atheroscleroses' in The Body Multiple: Ontology in Medical Practice, Durham: Duke University Press (pp.29-51)
Hill Collins, Patricia, and Sirma Bilge (2016) Intersectionality, Cambridge: Polity
Lugones, María (2020) 'Gender and Universality in Colonial Methodology', Critical Philosophy of Race 8(1-2): 25-47
Latour, B., (2014) 'Agency at the Time of the Anthropocene', New literary history, 45(1), pp.1-18.
Matusov, E., GPT, C., Smith, M.P. and Shugurova, O. (2023) 'Does ChatGPT4 have a dialogical self?: A Bakhtinian perspective.' Culture & Psychology |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Stephen Kemp
Tel: (0131 6)50 3978
Email: S.Kemp@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Celia Atherton
Tel:
Email: cathert2@ed.ac.uk |
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