Program Overview

Course Information

Course Description

The course is designed to provide students with a general knowledge of Contemporary Social Theory in an effort to help students understand how contemporary society functions, and to critically examine how sociological theory relates to real world situations and events, particularly in the Caribbean. Students will be exposed to the major contributors to Contemporary Sociological Theory: Robert K. Merton; C.Wright Mills; Pierre Bourdieu; Jurgen Habermas; Anthony Giddens; Niklas Luhmann among others. Emphasis will be placed on some of the major themes such as Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Phenomenology, Modernity and Postmodernity.

Course Objectives

1. To understand the various theoretical developments in contemporary social theory.
2. To understand the link between contemporary social theory and the founding fathers of sociology.
3. To identify and explain major sociological concepts such as race, gender, race sexuality and power.
4. To use contemporary social theory to critically analyse Caribbean social issues.

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Understand the complexities of contemporary social systems.
2. Understand how Contemporary Social Theory helps students understand empirical social reality.
3. Critically assess the theories of the major contributors to Contemporary Social Theory.

Program Outcomes Met By This Course

PO-1: Apply classical and contemporary sociological perspectives to explain complex social issues and problems, particularly Caribbean social reality. PO-2: Apply their critical thinking skills to sociological analysis.

Course Materials

• No special text
• Supplementary Readings/Resources: to be provided as per module and topic during the course of the semester

Course Grading Requirement

Course Requirements

Students will be required to submit two papers, 5-7 pages and 7-9 pages respectively. Class participation is required and is determined by presentations, the quality of questions and comments on readings for the class.

Course Schedule/Lecture Outline

• Introduction. Methods and Theory: What is Contemporary Social theory? What is the relationship between theory and research?
• Micro Sociological Analysis: The Phenomenology of the Social World by Alfred Schutz, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Ervin Goffman
• Power and Inequality: The Power Elite by C.Wright Mills, On Hegemony by Antonio Gramsci, Power: A Radical View by Steven Lukas
• Power and Inequality, Cont'd: State, Society and Modern History by Anthony Giddens, Dahrendorf, "Social Structure, Group Interests, and Conflict Groups" from Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society
• Race, Gender Differences: The Conceptual Practices of Power by Dorothy E. Smith, Black Feminist Epistemology by Patricia Hill Collins
• Race, Gender Differences, Cont'd: Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon, The Paradox of Integration by Orlando Patterson
• The Sociological Theory of Michel Foucault: The History of Sexuality, Truth and Power, The Birth of the Prison
• Class, status, and Power -The Sociological Theory of Pierre Bourdieu: Social Space and Symbolic Space, Structures, Habitus and Practices, The Field of Cultural Production
• The Sociological Theory of Jurgen Habermas: Modernity, The Rationalisation of the Lifeworld, Civil Society and the Political Public Sphere
• Modernity, Crisis and Change: The Consequences of Modernity by Anthony Giddens, We Have Never been Modern by Bruno Latour
• Modernity, Crisis and Change, c'td: Systemic and Antisystemic Crises by Giovanni Arrighi, The Modern World-System in Crisis by Immanuel Wallerstein

Academic Policies

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism is regarded as a cardinal offense in academia because it constitutes theft of the work of someone else, which is then purported as the original work of the plagiarist. Plagiarism draws into disrepute the credibility of the Institution, its faculty, and students; therefore, it is not tolerated.

Attendance Requirement

Students are expected to attend all classes and or clinical rotations for which they have registered. Although attendance may not be recorded at every academic activity, attendance may be taken randomly. Students' absence may adversely affect their academic status as specified in the grading policy.

Examination Attendance

All matriculated students are expected to attend all assigned academic activities for each course currently registered. Medical excuses will be based on self-reporting by students. Students who feel they are too sick to take an examination or other required activity on a specific day must submit the online SAS medical excuse.

Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services Policy

A student with a disability or disabling condition that affects one or more major life activities, who would like to request an accommodation, must submit a completed application form and supporting documentation to the Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services (SAAS) located in the Dean of Students Office.