Theorising the Social (949M1)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Autumn teaching

This module will examine current research relating to the social world, often undertaken by faculty members from different disciplines and traditions.

You will be able to explore your own research interests in relation to the diverse current perspectives offered by faculty. And you will write your research paper in the area that interests you most.

Specific topics will vary according to the research of the faculty members teaching the module. Possible topics may be drawn from classical and contemporary debates in social thought broadly construed. Topics may include:

• the proper methodology for social theory
• individualism and self-interest
• the possibility of rational group choice
• social ontology and conceptual engineering
• intersectionality
• polarisation
• secularisation
• power
• hierarchy.

We’ll support you to develop your own research.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 278 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.