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    Overview

    Using material from New Zealand and worldwide, key ideas in sociology are explored and applied to everyday life. These include theoretical approaches to modernity, social power, inequality, capitalism and social control.

    This course will introduce students to the foundations of social and critical theory and enable them to develop an understanding of how these theories can be used to examine the multiple contradictions of society today. Topics covered include: capitalism, modernity and postmodernity, feminism, race, settler colonialism, social reproduction, the Anthropocene, and ideology.

    Over the course, students will be introduced to the ideas of key historical social and critical theorists (e.g., Karl Marx, Max Weber, W. E. B DuBois, Frantz Fanon, Michel Foucault) and will see how their foundational ideas have been developed by contemporary theorists in the 21st century (e.g., Judith Butler, Frederic Jameson, Angela Davis, Mark Fisher, Nancy Fraser). Students will also study theory from outside the European tradition, particularly Māori and Pacific theories.

    Each week, students will read a mixture of classic and contemporary texts, and in tutorial discussions and assignments, students will get the opportunity to use these theories to develop an understanding of contemporary social issues in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific, and beyond. The paper will provide students with the foundational knowledge in social and critical theory that can be used throughout the rest of their studies.

    About this paper

    Paper title Big Ideas in Sociology
    Subject Sociology
    EFTS 0.15
    Points 18 points
    Teaching period Semester 1 (On campus)
    Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) $1,040.70
    International Tuition Fees Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website.
    Prerequisite
    (SOCI 101 or SOCI 102 or SOCI 103) or 54 points
    Schedule C
    Arts and Music
    Eligibility

    Suitable for all students; strongly recommended for Sociology majors.

    Contact

    sgsc@otago.ac.nz

    Teaching staff

    Dr Peyton Bond

    Dr Neil Vallelly

    Teaching Arrangements

    This paper is taught through lectures and tutorials.

    Textbooks

    No textbooks required. Readings will be made available on Blackboard and eReserve.

    Graduate Attributes Emphasised

    Lifelong learning, Critical thinking, Self-motivation, Global perspective.
    View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

    Learning Outcomes

    Students who successfully complete the paper will:

    • Gain a foundational knowledge of the key ideas in social/critical theory
    • Have a developed understanding of the history of theoretical ideas in sociology
    • Think theoretically and critically about contemporary social problems
    • Have developed skills for clear and effective intellectual argumentation

    Timetable

    Semester 1

    Location
    Dunedin
    Teaching method
    This paper is taught On Campus
    Learning management system
    Blackboard

    Lecture

    Stream Days Times Weeks
    Attend
    A1 Tuesday 09:00-09:50 9-16, 18-22
    Friday 09:00-09:50 9-15, 18-22

    Tutorial

    Stream Days Times Weeks
    Attend one stream from
    A1 Thursday 15:00-15:50 10-16, 18-21
    A2 Tuesday 16:00-16:50 10-16, 18-21
    A3 Wednesday 10:00-10:50 10-16, 18-21
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