SCLG2612 - Self and Society

Semester 2, 2011  |  Credit Points: 6

Coordinator: Craig Browne
Phone: +61 2 9351 2665
Email: craig.browne@sydney.edu.au

Description

The nature of human subjectivity has fascinated and drawn the attention of thinkers from many different fields. While the questions, who are we? how do we become individual? are often asked, the ways of answering these questions constantly change. In this unit, the discursive construction of the self will be examined in the light of the political, technological and social changes which constantly influence the meanings and histories of self, subjectivity and identity. The unit will explore questions such as whether there is a human 'nature' which precedes or exists beyond society; whether historical circumstances determine human emotional response; whether new forms of technology and modes of communication influence self-knowledge; whether consumerism and materialism commodify identity; whether the roles played in everyday life and the management of social interactions produce or conceal who we are. The unit begins with commonsensical views on identity and proceeds to deconstruct them.

Assessments

tutorial participation (10%), 1x1500wd take-home exam (30%) and 1x3000wd research essay (60%)

Textbooks

unit reader will be available through the Copy Centre

Classes

1x2hr lecture/week and 1x1hr tutorial/week commencing week 2

Prerequisites

SCLG1001 and SCLG1002

Prohibitions

SCLG2510

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