Course Title: Contemporary Social Theory

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Contemporary Social Theory

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
HUSO1208	City Campus	Undergraduate	365H Global Studies, Soc Sci & Plng	Internet	Summer2007, Summer2008, Summer2009, Summer2010, Summer2011

Course Coordinator: Joshua Mullan

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2328

Course Coordinator Email:joshua.mullan@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 37.2

Course Coordinator Availability: Mondays and Thursdays 1-4pm

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None required.

Course Description

Contemporary Social Theory is a foundational and introductory course designed to introduce you to some of the central ideas at work in the twentieth century as well as some of the experiences they informed that continue to matter into the twenty first century.

The course will help to analyse and interpret some of the key intellectual and theoretical innovations which have transformed the way we understand the nature of the world, of human beings and knowledge itself through the twentieth century in ways which continue to impact on the twenty first century.

It will also help analyse and interpret some of the ways in which clusters of ideas informed processes of social change and state policies and explore the implications for our time. Finally, it will assist you in the development of your conceptual and analytical skills, enabling reflection on the ways we know about change as well as intervene to bring it about through an examination of a key social movement.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the completion of this course you will: be able to demonstrate a beginning-level understanding of some of the significant intellectual innovations which transformed the way people understood the nature of the world, the self and knowledge itself, which occurred in the twentieth century and be able to demonstrate an increased awareness of fundamental concepts drawn from the human sciences which continue to make an impact in our own time; be able to demonstrate a beginning-level capacity to think critically about some of the ways in which ideas about science and history shaped historical processes of change and state policy (like the Nazi ‘racial state’ the attempt to build ‘socialism in one country’ and the revival of economic liberalism) and explore their implications for our time, and be able to demonstrate a beginning-level understanding of the diversity of ways we can know about change, as well as intervene to bring it about through an examination of the environmental movement.

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be able to engage with online lectures as well as online discussions with other students on the DLS.

Overview of Learning Resources

Refer to Part B of course guide.

Overview of Assessment

You will prepare assessment tasks with a total word length or equivalent of 4,000 words.