When people think about media these days, the internet and social media immediately spring to mind. But of course, these are only the latest developments in a long history of humans communicating to ever larger numbers, about a wider variety things, over greater expanses of space and time. This module surveys that history from a sociological perspective, looking at how people respond to the form and the content of media representations through the lens of sociological theory and empirical research. The module starts with the early theories of mass media and their impact on people’s lives. Step by step, the module introduces key developments in the history of media research. Ultimately, we arrive at the role of social media in society. We consider how the highly distributed and democratised nature of the internet and social media is transforming society and people’s lives on an evolving basis. The module asks you to consider your own experience of media and to critical interrogate its role in society from a sociological perspective.
Access the module handbook here
This second year core sociology module covers core traditions in social theory, their relation to each other, and to political history. The module covers the history of 'our' ideas, oritentating students withing the discipline of sociology and social and political thought more broadly. The module aims to bring social theory to life, connecting the theories to the political contexts and struggles from which they arose and also to bring the world to life through social theory - cultivating capacities for critique, imagination and connection. Whilst introducing a wide range of theories, the module focuses on three key thinkers in order to enable an indept, enriched understanding. It compares different theoretical traditions – developing students' powers of discernment and creative thought. The module is crucial preparation for sociology disertations and a very useful training for independent study. Students are encouraged to think of themselves not only as 'students of' social theory, but also as themselves being practioners of social theory - engaging in critical, creative thought for our times.
PART 1 Capitalism ¦ Historical Materialism (Key Thinker Karl Marx)
week 1 Ø Satanic Mills and Spectres of Communism ¦ Introducing Dialectics
week 2 Ø The Economics of Division from Class Solidarity to Racial Capitalism
week 3 Ø Commodity Fetishism, Fascism and Mass Deception
PART 2 Knowledge ¦ Post-structuralism (Key Thinker Michel Foucault)
week 4 Ø Insurrection 1968 ¦ Power/Knowledge
week 5 Ø Biopower & Governmentality
(reading week)
week 7 Ø Science as Colonial Power/Knowledge & Genealogical Critique in Practice
PART 3 Ecology ¦ Compost/Post-humanism (Key Thinker Donna Haraway)
week 8 Ø Climate Catastrophe | Theorising Beyond Nature vs Society/Culture/Human
week 9 Ø Indigenous Thought & Radical Resurgence
week 10 Ø The Cyborg and the Goddess in Search of Life After Man : Affirmative Biopolitics and Speculative Theory Beyond Critique
Lecture slides will be posted here at least one hour before the lecture