SC1158 Reading social science (half course)
Syllabus
The course is structured round a series of short extracts from texts that are important within, or have shaped, the social scientific tradition. Key themes that the course addresses through these texts are: subjectivity, selfhood and society, the 'problem' of order and social cohesion, social stratification and division, social change.
Students will be expected to familiarise themselves in depth with the extracts indicated and discussed in the subject guide. They will be encouraged to read, analyse, compare and make links between the readings indicated. They will be required to identify the arguments, problems and formulate their own ideas and arguments about what they read. Students will also be expected to familiarise themselves with some related secondary literature (indicated in the guide) in order to locate the arguments and ideas that they encounter in their historical and intellectual context.
Students will have a selection of at least five short texts which will be chosen for their importance in the development of social scientific thought.
