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The central theme of this course is modernity as a social and intellectual project with historical and global impact. We will read a number of critical social theory texts which deal with modernity as their central theoretical subject. The goal of the class is to introduce various theoretical perspectives about modernity and to examine different aspects of the current debate on modernity and its fate in our time. We will read two modernist texts (Habermas' Transformation of Public Sphere and Berman's All that Is Solid Melts Into Air), texts critical of the modernity project (Foucault's Knowledge/Power and essays by various postcolonial critics), and texts about modernity's colonial/ global impact.
This is relatively advanced social theory course. In the first two weeks of the class we will study earlier social theorists of modernity (Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber), however, student participation in this course requires some knowledge of classical social theory.
For some links relevant to social theory and ongoing theoretical debates, go to the Academic Links page on this website.
Course Requirements
Students' evaluations will be based on the following assignments:
1) Five short essays (each two pages long) that reflect your engagement with the class. Most class discussions will focus on these written reviews.
2) A term paper, based on one of the theoretical issues that we cover in class. The topic can be a text, a theorist, or a subject relevant to the main themes of the class.
3) A class presentation based on your term paper.
Assigned material must be read by the scheduled date. You are expected to participate in discussions and debates, and should be prepared to comment on the readings. In order to receive an evaluation, all assignments and presentations have to be completed. Assignments are due in class; we would be glad to look over earlier drafts of the assignments in the scheduled office hours. Assignments should be typed double-spaced, papers should have 1-1.25 inch margins, and the font size should be 12. If you choose to miss a class or submit a late paper, please inform either of us in advance.
The course syllabus is broadly divided into five thematic units. You are required to write a 2-page paper for each unit. During the semester, you should focus on engaged reading and writing, substantive revising, and analytical and critical thinking. You will receive substantial feedback on your papers during the semester from your peers and myself. The focus of our comments will be on your conceptual clarity, expression, and knowledge of the subject. At the end of the semester, please present us with a portfolio that contains all your writings.
Readings
The following texts are available at the Hampshire College Bookstore. There will also be periodic handouts.
1) Contested knowledge : social theory in the postmodern era /Steven Seidman.
Oxford [England] ; Cambridge, Mass. : Blackwell, (Second Edition) 1998
2) All that is solid melts into air : the experience of modernity /Marshall Berman.
New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Viking Penguin, 1988
3) The structural transformation of the public sphere : an inquiry into a category of Bourgeois society / Jurgen Habermas; translated by Thomas Burger with the assistance of Frederick Lawrence.
Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press , c1989
4) Power/knowledge : selected interviews and other writings, 1972-1977 / Michel Foucault; edited by Colin Gordon ; translated by Colin Gordon ... [et al.]
5) Colonial discourse and post-colonial theory: a reader / edited and introduced by Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman.
New York : Columbia University Press, c1994.
6) Globalization and culture / John Tomlinson.
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1999.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1
Jan. 26
Introduction: Why modernity matters.
Week 2
Jan. 31 Reading: Handout
Feb. 2
Marx
Reading: Seidman ch. 1
Week 3
Feb. 7
Weber and Durkheim
Reading: Seidman ch. 2
Feb. 9
The Sociological Canon
Reading: Seidman, cs. 3 and 4
FIRST PAPER DUE TODAY
Week 4
Habermas: The Discourse of Modernity
Feb. 14 Reading: Habermas, chs. 1 to 4
Feb. 16 Reading: Habermas, chs. 5 to 7
Week 5
Critiquing Habermas
Feb. 21 Reading: Seidman, ch. 5
SECOND PAPER DUE TODAY
Feb. 23 Berman
Reading: Berman, Introduction, chs. 1 to 3
Week 6
Feb. 28 Reading: Berman, chs. 4 and 5
THIRD PAPER DUE TODAY
Mar. 1 Advising Day: No class
Week 7
The Poststructuralist Turn
Mar. 6 Reading: Seidman ch. 6
Mar. 8 Reading: Foucault chs. 1 and 2
Week 8
Mar. 20 Reading: Foucault chs. 3, 5 and 6
Mar. 22 Reading: Foucault chs. 8 and 10
FOURTH PAPER DUE TODAY
Week 9
The Postcolonial Turn
Mar. 27 Reading: Williams and Chrisman chs. 2, 3, 6
Mar. 29 Reading: Williams and Chrisman chs. 8, 9, 10
Week 10
Gender/Postcolonial Critiques
Apr. 3 Reading: Seidman ch. 7
Apr. 5 Reading: Williams and Chrisman chs. 11, 13, 14
Week 11
Discursive Critiques
Apr. 10 Reading: Williams and Chrisman chs. 21, 22, 23
Apr. 12 Reading: Williams and Chrisman chs. 24, 25
Week 12
Theorizing Institutions
Apr. 17 Reading: Williams and Chrisman chs. 15, 16, 18, 20
FIFTH PAPER DUE TODAY
Apr. 19 Reading: Seidman ch. 8
Student presentations
Week 13
Globalization and Beyond
Apr. 24 Reading: Tomlinson, chs. 1-2
Student presentations
Apr. 26 Reading: Tomlinson chs. 3-4
Student presentations
Week 14
May 1 Reading: Tomlinson chs. 5-6
Student presentations
May 3
Modernity and Beyond…
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