Unit name | What is a Society? |
---|---|
Unit code | SOCI20075 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. Thomas Osborne |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Social scientists study society. But what is a society? This unit takes a critical, historical and conceptual look at the question of the differentiated semantic field of the notion of society. The unit will address key topics amongst the following: non-human societies; biology, psychology and society; conceptions of society in so-classical sociology and the history of ideas; ideas of society as ‘high society’; societies as anthropological objects; cities, nations and societies; conceptions of society in the history of empirical sociology; the relations between conceptions of society and conceptions of culture and ‘civilization’; relations between political structures and society; ‘civil society’; communitas; liberalism and the concept of society; social interaction and society; issues of societal change, ‘progress’ and decline; historical constructs and conceptions of society; systems conceptions, and postmodern conceptions of society.
Aims:
- to address historical, conceptual and other models of society - to convey the diverse semantic reach of the concept of society - to convey the range of techniques, styles and methodologies for approaching the question of societyOn completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1 two hour lecture per week plus 1 one hour seminar.
Formative: 1500 word essay (0%)
Summative: 3000 word essay (100%)
Both assessments test all learning outcomes listed above
Crone, P. Pre-Industrial Societies
Elias, N. The Court Society
Foucault, M. Society Must be Defended
Frisby, D. & D. Sayer, Society
Gellner, E. Conditions of Liberty
Heilbron, J. The Rise of Social Theory
Mauss, M. Sociology and Psychology