50142 Social Theory

This subject tackles the work of some key 'classical' and contemporary social theorists. Through lectures, close readings, discussion, and reflection, the subject deals with key theoretical concepts and their potential use in helping to open the structure and experience of social life to further questioning.

Throughout the subject, a conceptual toolkit is developed to help students think through three, broadly applicable questions about the nature of social life:

• How are social selves structured, enacted, and reproduced?
• Where does the body fit into the reproduction of social life?
• What are the possibilities of community and difference?

A key component of the subject is the discussion of the work of theorists whose thinking has had an enduring impact on how these questions about social life (about embodiment, about human agency, about the habitual and the strange) have been framed. Though this subject focuses on the work of theorists appearing throughout the last century, it is not a 'survey' of the recent history of social theory. The selection of key theoretical concepts offers a starting point for critically engaging with a range of key issues from different historical and philosophical standpoints. Further, the juxtaposition of theorists deliberately encourages debate about resonances between different approaches and underlines the need to read widely, and to not be afraid to draw on theoretical work of all kinds in engaging with social issues.

Centrally, the subject involves students in collective and individual engagement with the process of reading, understanding, debating, evaluating, and using theory. Students draw on their own experiences and on key contemporary social issues as part of this process.

Typical availability

Autumn semester, City campus