Year

This module builds upon the knowledge that students have gained from SOC1001, and focuses on key issues and developments within classical and contemporary sociological theory. We will examine differences between forms of sociological explanation, in relation to such topics as the nature of social organisation, the workings of power, and modes of everyday behaviour. We will consider recurrent points of argument, such as the relation between agency and structure, and recent challenges to the project of sociological description. We will also look at the ways in which knowledge, including sociological knowledge, may be influenced by its social and historical context.
 

Having completed this module the student should:
 
1.       Have an understanding of key theoretical traditions within sociology
2.       Know some of the key points of contention and argument within sociological theory
3.       Appreciate the different ways in which sociological thought can illuminate everyday life
4.       Be able to use sociological concepts to question widely held cultural assumptions
5.       Appreciate the ways in which knowledge can be shaped by its social and historical

21 Lectures and 10 Seminars

Callinicos, A (2007) Social Theory: a historical introduction (2nd edn), Polity
Elliott, A (2009) Contemporary Social Theory, Routledge
Harding, S (ed) (2003) The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader, Routledge
Jacobsen, M (ed) (2009) Encountering the Everyday, Palgrave
Jenks, C (ed) (1998) Core Sociological Dichotomies, Sage
Rabinow, P (ed) (1986) The Foucault Reader, Penguin
Ritzer, G (2007) Sociological Theory (7th edn), McGraw Hill
Swingewood, A (2000) A Short History of Sociological Thought, McGraw-Hill

September 2010