Contemporary Social and Political Theory

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 6
• Convenor and tutor: Jason Edwards
• Assessment: a 3000-word essay (90%) and two multiple-choice quizzes (10%)

This module provides you with an understanding of the work of key thinkers and themes in contemporary social and political theory. It begins by considering the central themes of political and social theory that have developed out of the work of the classical social theorists, Marx, Durkheim and Weber. It then turns to themes such as the character of mass societies and mass culture (the Frankfurt School), reflections on violence in relation to postcolonialism (Fanon) and the multiplicy of practices of power in the modern world (Foucault).

You are asked to adopt a critical approach to contemporary texts in social and political theory, asking to what extent they adequately describe and intervene in the character of social and political life in the present.

Indicative module syllabus

• Themes in Contemporary Social and Political Theory
• Marx on Class and Capitalism
• Durkheim on Social Solidarity
• Weber on Modernity
• The Frankfurt School on Mass Culture
• Fanon on Violence, Colonization, and De-Colonization
• Rawls on Justice
• Foucault on Power
• Habermas on Communicative Action
• The Post-Human

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand the central themes of contemporary social and political theory
• demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of some key texts and be able to critically evaluate debates about them
• analyse contemporary problems of social and political life by critically applying the concepts and theories taken from the key texts studied.