SOCIAL THEORY

POLI331

Course Code: POLI331
Semester: -
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 5

Course Type

Elective Course

Course Level

Bachelor's Degree

Year of Study

Semester

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Assistant Professor Erdem Damar

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

comprehend the significance of the role of the social theories in our daily lives.
internalize ideas and theories of the various theorists.
acquire the ability theorizing of social facts.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

No recommended optional programme components.

Course Description

This course is designed for students of Political Science and International Relations to introduce contemporary approaches to critical social and political theory. Following an introductory session on meaning of social theory as a distinct from classical political theory, the course is structured around six parts. The first part covers the critical theory of the so-called Frankfurt School as well as this school's impact on diversifying social and political theory. The second part scrutinizes on gender study with a special emphasis on feminist and post-feminist approaches to social theory. The third part covers the role of (urban) public and everyday life on the structuring of political relations with a special emphasis on the political theories of Jurgen Habermas, Anthony Giddens and Zygmund Bauman. Central to this part is to explain how social and everyday practices have central impact on the (re)structuring of politics. The next two parts focus on identity politics and centrality of identification on the constitution of political structures and discourses. Drawing on the relational character of identities and the significant role of `the Other' on the identity construction, part four emphasises on Orientalism, and part five focuses on post-colonialism. Overall, these two parts also give visibility to the emergence of multiple modernities in the 20th century global context. The final part emphasises on postmodern approaches to social and political theory. Special emphasis is given to the role of power, subjectivity and political action on the emergence of constructivist approaches to the formations of social and political systems.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	Introduction:What is Social Theory?
2^nd Week	Critical Understanding of Society and the Critical Theory: Marcuse, Horkheimer, Adorno
3^rd Week	Critical Understanding of Society and the Critical Theory: Marcuse, Horkheimer, Adorno
4^th Week	Gender and Patriarchy: (Post)-Feminisms
5^th Week	Legitimation, Politics and the Lifeworld: Habermas, Giddens and Bauman
6^th Week	Legitimation, Politics and the Lifeworld: Habermas, Giddens and Bauman
7^th Week	Midterm Exam
8^th Week	Defining the 'Other': Orientalism
9^th Week	Defining the 'Other': Orientalism
10^th Week	Subjecting the 'Other': Postcolonialism
11^th Week	Subjecting the 'Other': Postcolonialism
12^th Week	Power, Subject and Action: Postmodernism
13^th Week	Power, Subject and Action: Postmodernism
14^th Week	Power, Subject and Action: Postmodernism

Recommended or Required Reading

Bauman, Zygmunt (2000) Modernlik ve Hoşnutsuzlukları, İstanbul: Ayrıntı.
Bauman, Zygmunt (2003) Modernlik ve Müphemlik, İstanbul: Ayrıntı.
How, Alan (2003) Critical Theory, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lemert, Charles (ed) (2000) Social Theory, Boulder, Colorado: Westview.
Ritzer, George (2001) Handbook of Social Theory, Thousands Oaks, California: Sage.
Seidman, S. & Alexander, J. (2001) The New Social Theory Reader: Contemporary Debates, London: Routledge.
Turner, Bryan (2000) The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory, Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.
Wittig, Monique (1997) "One is Not Born a Woman" pp. 265-271. In The Second Wave: A Reader in Feminist Theory, Linda Nicholson (ed), New York and London: Routledge.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Project
Presentation

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Assignment	1	20
Project	1	30
Presentation of Book	1	10
Presentation of Article	1	10
Total(%)		70
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)		70
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)		30
Total(%)		100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	3	42
Preparation for Final exam	1	35	35
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam	1	1	1
Homework	1	6	6
Presentation (including preperation)	2	6	12
Project	1	12	12
Total Work Load			150
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			5
ECTS Credit of the Course			5

Language of Instruction

English

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

	LO1	LO2	LO3
K1	X	X	X
K2
K3			X
K4
K5	X		X
K6	X
K7		X
K8
K9
K10	X	X	X
K11		X
K12
K13