Theories of Culture and Society
Undergraduate Lecture Class Last Taught: Fall 2017
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a set of core ideas and propositions in social theory broadly and theories of culture and society specifically. The course aims to do this by teaching strategies for thinking with and against, writing about, using, and engaging theoretical texts. The course works forward from the mid-19th century, engaging a highly selective set of thinkers who provide core foundations in contemporary social and anthropological thought. It then moves into a series of explorations of the ways that anthropological theories of culture and society written in the early and mid-twentieth century continue to fuel debates in anthropology today. It closes with a brief introduction to a series of transformations in social and cultural theory from the 1970s forward, particularly postcolonial theory and post-structuralism. The course makes no claim to be comprehensive. Rather, it aims to teach students how to work with and through social theory and to prepare them for further encounters with social theory in academic work and in the “world beyond.”
The course is conceived primarily for majors but above all for students who are committed to working with difficult, influential, and fascinating texts. The course combines lecture and seminar discussion. The course integrates an intense and demanding regime of reading and discussion with an equally intense and demanding program of writing. The aim is to encourage students to develop the habit of writing clear and concise prose, especially when engaging with difficult and complex ideas.
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a set of core ideas and propositions in social theory broadly and theories of culture and society specifically. The course aims to do this by teaching strategies for thinking with and against, writing about, using, and engaging theoretical texts. The course works forward from the mid-19th century, engaging a highly selective set of thinkers who provide core foundations in contemporary social and anthropological thought. It then moves into a series of explorations of the ways that anthropological theories of culture and society written in the early and mid-twentieth century continue to fuel debates in anthropology today. It closes with a brief introduction to a series of transformations in social and cultural theory from the 1970s forward, particularly postcolonial theory and post-structuralism. The course makes no claim to be comprehensive. Rather, it aims to teach students how to work with and through social theory and to prepare them for further encounters with social theory in academic work and in the “world beyond.”
The course is conceived primarily for majors but above all for students who are committed to working with difficult, influential, and fascinating texts. The course combines lecture and seminar discussion. The course integrates an intense and demanding regime of reading and discussion with an equally intense and demanding program of writing. The aim is to encourage students to develop the habit of writing clear and concise prose, especially when engaging with difficult and complex ideas.
