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for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Key Social Thinkers |
| Unit code |
SOCI10006 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
C/4
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Dan Whillis |
| Open unit status |
Open |
| Pre-requisites |
None
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit discusses the contribution and continuing relevance of major sociological theorists of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries, such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, W.E.B. Du Bois and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Aims:
- To introduce the central ideas of some key founding thinkers in sociological theory.
- To consider and debate what it means to be a sociological ‘classic’.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to
- Demonstrate good understanding of a range of classic sociological authors (1)
- Utilise concepts of modernity, social structure, culture & ideology, and sociological ‘self-images’ in expositing the work of key social thinkers (2)
- Develop their own considered views about the merits of the featured classics, and on the nature and significance of the sociological traditions more generally (3)
Teaching Information
1 x 2hr lecture and 1 hour seminar.
Assessment Information
- 1500 word essay covering topics in the first half of the unit (25%)
- Two hour examination (75%)
Both elements assess ILOs 1, 2, and 3
Reading and References
- Calhoun, C., Classical Sociological Theory
- Craib, I., Classical Social Theory
- Fevre, R., and Bancroft, A., Dead White Men and Other Important People: sociology’s big ideas
- Giddens, A., Capitalism And Modern Social Theory
- McIntosh, I., Classical Sociological Theory: a reader
- McLennan., G. Story of Sociology
- Ritzer, G., Classical 'Sociological Theory
