Not available in 2018/19
SO427 Half Unit
Modern Social Thought
This information is for the 2018/19 session.
Teacher responsible
Prof Nigel Dodd STC S106
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Political Sociology and MSc in Sociology. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.
Course content
Contemporary social theory. An introduction to the historical background, context and output of Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Michel Foucault, and Jean Baudrillard, and a close reading and study of some of their most significant texts.
Teaching
20 hours of seminars in the LT.
Reading week: week 6 (LT)
Formative coursework
One formative essay in LT
Indicative reading
The following is merely a sample list of some of the texts to be covered: Benjamin, W: 'Theses on the philosophy of history' & The Arcades Project (Section N); Adorno, T: 'Theses against Occultism' & Negative Dialectics (various sections); Foucault, M: The History of Madness & The Order of Things (various sections); Baudrillard, J: Symbolic Exchange and Death (mainly chapter 5) & The Spirit of Terrorism. A number of secondary readings will be recommended, but students will be strongly discouraged from relying on these.
Assessment
Essay (100%, 5000 words) in the ST.
Two hard copies of the assessed essay, with submission sheets attached to each, to be handed in to the Administration Office S116, no later than 16:30 on the first Tuesday of Summer Term. An additional copy to be uploaded to Moodle no later than 18:00 on the same day.
Student performance results
(2014/15 - 2016/17 combined)
Classification | % of students |
---|---|
Distinction | 24.5 |
Merit | 42.2 |
Pass | 29.4 |
Fail | 3.9 |
Teachers' comment
Key facts
Department: Sociology
Total students 2017/18: 29
Average class size 2017/18: 30
Controlled access 2017/18: Yes
Value: Half Unit
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Communication
- Specialist skills
I really enjoy teaching this course and have been very fortunate over the years to have had some fantastic students from several LSE departments taking it. The seminars are quite open ended and informal, but they work only because students get through a lot of reading. Please bear this in mind before signing up - it's hard work!