Social Theory for Contemporary Life

This course will engage with a range of classical and contemporary social theories dealing with the complexity of the social and everyday life. Even though social theories aim to provide a general interpretation of the social forces that have shaped the modern, contemporary world; we use them every day in informal ways. This course focuses on how social theorists have set out to make sense of the world. Course themes pose questions about: What is action? How is society possible? What determines social change, the relationship between the individual and society, the nature of power, the place of subjectivity and the body and how does knowledge and language operate? Students will be introduced to a selection of theoretical perspectives in an approachable manner that includes Marx and Durkheim, interpretative and poststructuralist, feminist and actor-network theories of the contemporary social world.