Post-classical sociology is usually considered to follow chronologically from the ‘classical’ body of sociology (Weber, Durkheim, and Marx). But this is to undervalue how post-classical theorists such as Erving Goffman, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Jürgen Habermas, Judith Butler and others open up the radical possibilities of social theory from the second half of the twentieth century onwards. The work they produced and inspired pose provocative questions about such issues as: the nature of representation; the role of culture as a ground for collective action; how power circulates, coagulates, and controls; the transformation of the public sphere through mass media; how societies respond to difference and otherness; and how social forces shape the bodies and minds of individuals. The course involves close readings of books and articles by a selection of post-classical scholars, with in-depth class discussion based on detailed notes and weekly preparation tasks. Assignments consist of a series of stepping stones towards a substantial final paper
Number of Credits
3
Mark Paterson