| Unit name | Understanding Culture |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SOCIM0014 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Morgan |
| 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 |
This unit aims to introduce students to the various historical and contemporary ways in which ‘culture’ has been defined, and in which sociologists have gone about analysing it. As well as reviewing some of the most influential social theories of culture, we will question whether, in attempting to ‘understand culture’, we are trying to comprehend a discrete sphere of society or something which, to a greater or lesser extent, underlies and penetrates all aspects of social life. We will explore both elitist and democratised understandings, examine it both from the side of production as well as from the side of consumption, and demonstrate the ways in which it might be thought of as both expressing and reproducing symbolic and material structures. We will ask how autonomous culture is from other social spheres and forces, whether it is a hierarchical or horizontal system, and whether it is best conceived as a context within which actors act, or a resource that agents actively produce and deploy. On completion of this unit, students should have a good understanding of some of the main debates over how culture ought to be understood, and be well-equipped to critique and selectively synthesise the various approaches covered in order to perform their own cultural analyses.
By the end of the unit, students should be able to:
1 x 2 hour seminar per week.
There will be a) an optional 1500 formative assessment in the form of an essay or equivalent assignment, plus b) summative assessment in the form of a 4000 word essay. These assess all learning outcomes.
