COURSE DESCRIPTION AND APPLICATION INFORMATION
| Course Name | Code | Semester | T+A+L (hour/week) | Type (C / O) | Local Credit | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Theory | CS 506 | Fall | 03+00+00 | Elective | 3 | 7.5 |
| Academic Unit: | Graduate School of Social Sciences / MA in Communication Studies |
| Mode of Delivery: | Face to face |
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Course Unit: | Graduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Levent SOYSAL |
| Course Objectives: | The objectives of the course are • To introduce social theory • To discuss the object of social theory, that is, “the social” • To investigate the methodological issues related to social theorization • To reflect upon the relationship between social theory and modernity. |
| Course Contents: | The course is about social theory with emphasis on: an investigation of the nature of the object of social theory, that is, “the social”; the methodological issues related to this investigation; and the relationship between social theory and modernity. Focusing on a different theory each week, the lectures critically examine the ways in which different theoretical perspectives approach their objects and consider the consequences of these differences. The focus will be on the newer social theories. Each week there will be a lecture which is followed by a seminar/workshop. |
| Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit (LO): |
|
| Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods: | Lectures (supported by audio/visual material), Seminars (interactive student engagement via in-class discussions with Q&As) Workshops (practising methods of analysis, case presentations etc.) |
WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATIONS
| Week | Subjects | Related Preperation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General introduction - Regions, Networks, Flows and Fire | None |
| 2 | Modernity as differentiation: Bourdieu and Luhmann | P. Bourdieu & L. Wacquant, An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, Cambridge: Polity, 1992, or N. Luhmann, Social Systems, Stanford U P |
| 3 | Ambivalence, modernity and social theory: Bauman | Bauman, Z (1999) In Search of Politics, Cambridge: Polity. Bauman, Z (2000) Liquid Modernity, Cambridge: Polity. Bauman, Z (1991) Modernity and Ambivalence, Cambridge: Polity. |
| 4 | Sociality with objects: Latour’s actor-network theory | Latour, B (2005) Re-assembling the Social. Oxford University Press. Latour, B (1993) We Have Never Been Modern, Hertfordshire: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Cetina, K. K. (1997) “Sociality with objects. Social relations in postsocial knowledge societies”, Theory, Culture & Society Vol 14(4), pp. 1-30. |
| 5 | Empire: from Deleuze to Negri | Deleuze and Guattari, 'Introduction: Rhizome', in idem, A Thousand Plateaus, London: University of Minnesota Press, 1987. Hardt & Negri, Empire, chapters 2.6 & 3.6. Deleuze, 'Postscript on Control Societies', in G. Deleuze, Negotiations, New York: Columbia University Press, 1995, pp 177-182. |
| 6 | Zones of indistinction: Agamben’s “camp” | Agamben, G (1998) Homo Sacer. Sovereign Power and Bare Life, Standford: Standford University Press. Agamben, G (2011) The Kingdom and the Glory. For a Theological Genealogy of Economy and Government. Stanford: Stanford University Press. |
| 7 | Social fantasy: from Lacan to Žižek | Zizek, S (1989) The Sublime Object of Ideology, Verso. Zizek, S (1999) The Ticklish Subject; The Absent Centre of Political Ontology. London: Verso. |
| 8 | Critical theory and the theory of critique: Boltanski and Thevenot | Boltanski, L & Thévenot, L (1999) “The Sociology of Critical Capacity”. European Journal of Social Theory Vol 2(3), pp. 359-377. Guilhot, N (2000) “Review of Luc Boltanski & Eve Chiapello’s Le Nouvel Esprit du Capitalisme”. European Journal of Social Theory 3(3), pp. 355-364. |
| 9 | Mobility and social theory: Urry and Virilio | J. Urry (2000) Sociology Beyond Societies, London: Routledge Or: Virilio, P (1997) Pure War, New York: Senmiotext(e), pp. 9-36, 49-56, 71-78 |
| 10 | Reading Week (Discussion of the minor essay) | None |
| 11 | Religion and truth: from Spinoza to Badiou | Spinoza, B (1951) A Theologico-Political Treatise.London: Dover. (Chs XIV-XV) And Badiou, A (2012) In Praise of Love. London: Serpent’s Tale. Or Badiou, A (2003) Saint Paul. The Foundation of Universalism. Stanford: Stanford University Press. (Two chapters) Or Badiou, A (2009) Logics of Worlds.. New York: Continuum. (Introduction) |
| 12 | Nihilism and social theory: Nietzsche | Nietzsche, F (1972) Beyond Good and Evil. London: Penguin. Or Nietzsche, F (1969) Twilight of Idols. The Anti-Christ. London: Penguin |
| 13 | Social theory and (post-) democracy: Rancière | Rancière , J (2010) Dissensus. New York: Continuum. (Chapter 1) |
| 14 | Seduction and fatality: Baudrillard | Baudrillard, J (1999) Fatal Strategies. London: Pluto (pp. 7-70) |
At Kadir Has University, a Semester is 14 weeks; The weeks 15 and 16 are reserved for final exams.
REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED READING
| Agamben, G (1998) Homo Sacer. Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Agamben, G (1999) Potentialities. Collected Essays in Philosophy. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Agamben, G (2007) Profanations. New York: Zone Books. Bauman, Z (1993) Postmodern Ethics, Oxford: Blackwell. Bauman, Z (1995) Life in Fragments. Essays in Postmodern Morality, Oxford & Cambridge: Blackwell. Bauman, Z (2000) Liquid Modernity, Cambridge: Polity, 1999. Boltanski, L & Chiapello, E (2007) The New Spirit of Capitalism. London: Verso. Boltanski, L & Thévenot (2006) On Justification. Economies of Worth. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Boltanski, L & Thévenot, L (2000) ‘The Sociology of Critical Capacity’. European Journal of Social Theory 2(3), pp. 359-377. Boltanski, L (1999) Distant Suffering. Morality, Media and Politics. London: Cambridge University Press. Bourdieu, P (1989) Distinction. London: Routledge. Bourdieu, P et al. (1999) The Weight of the World. London: Polity. Bourdieu, P. & Wacquant, L (1992) An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Callinicos, A (1999) Social Theory. A Historical Introduction, London: Polity Press. Deleuze, G & Guattari, F (1987) A Thousand Plateaus, London: University of Minnesota Press. Deleuze, G & Guattari, F (1994) What is Philosophy? London: Verso. Foucault, M (1980) Power and Knowledge, New York: Pantheon. Grosrichard, A (1998) The Sultan’s Court, London: Verso. Habermas, J (1970) Science as Ideology, London: Heinemann. Latour, B (1993) We Have Never Been Modern, Hertfordshire: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Luhmann, N (1989) Ecological Communication. Cambridge: Polity Press. Marcuse, H (1964) One Dimensional Man. London: Routledge. Marx, K (2007) Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. New York: Dover. Nietzsche, F (1967) The Will to Power. New York: Vintage. Nietzsche, F (1996) On the Genealogy of Morals. London: Oxford University Press. Urry, J (2000) Sociology Beyond Societies. Mobilities for the twenty-first century. London: Routledge. Zizek, S (1997) The Plague of Fantasies. London: Verso. Zizek, S (1989) The Sublime Object of Ideology, London: Verso Zizek, S (1999) The Ticklish Subject; The Absent Centre of Political Ontology. London: Verso. |
OTHER COURSE RESOURCES
| None |
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
| Semester Requirements | Number | Percentage of Grade (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance / Participation | 14 | 20 |
| Homework Assignments | 1 | 20 |
| Final Exam | 1 | 60 |
| Total: | 16 | 100 |
WORKLOAD
| Events | Count | Duration (Hours) | Total Workload (hour) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Hours | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Homework Assigments | 1 | 21 | 21 |
| Extra-Class Activities (reading,individiual work, etc.) | 13 | 5 | 65 |
| Final Exam | 1 | 60 | 60 |
| Total Workload (hour): | 188 | ||
1 ECTS = 25 Hours Workload
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO) AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS (PQ)
| # | PQ1 | PQ2 | PQ3 | PQ4 | PQ5 | PQ6 | PQ7 | PQ8 | PQ9 |
| LO1 | |||||||||
| LO2 | |||||||||
| LO3 | |||||||||
| LO4 | |||||||||
| LO5 |
Contribution: 1 Low, 2 Average, 3 High