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Cultural Sociology

Module description

This module will provide you with an advanced introduction to the different schools of thought utilised in cultural sociology. You will be familiarised with the central theoretical, conceptual, methodological and empirical dimensions of the field. You will critically evaluate major paradigms of cultural-sociological analysis used across the world, including Marxism, neo-Marxism, mass culture theory, production of culture, the sociology of art and new sociologies of art, Bourdieu and Bourdieusianism, structuralism and post-structuralism, the Yale School, Actor Network Theory, and globalization models, among various others. You will consider themes such as the nature of culture, relations between culture and power, and how culture informs human agency and subjectivity. The course lays the necessary conceptual, methodological and substantive foundations for you to carry out your own independent research in the cultural sociological field.

Module aims - intentions of the module

To provide a thorough and rigorous discussion of the main paradigms in cultural sociology.

To illustrate cultural-sociological theories through the use of empirical research involving data collected in different ways and according to various methodologies.
To foster your capacity to engage with techniques of analytical and critical inquiry in cultural sociology.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of diverse paradigms in cultural sociology.
• 2. Engage critically with the conceptual and methodological bases of cultural sociological schools of thought.
• 3. Interpret socio-cultural worlds through the prism of concepts and theories developed within cultural sociology

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate detailed awareness of the concepts, theories and methodologies used by cultural sociologists of different types.
• 5. Demonstrate a capacity to conceive of matters in systematic cultural-sociological ways, informed by theories and empirical evidence.
• 6. To think independently and critically within and about cultural-sociological frameworks

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Construct and evaluate concepts and ideas.
• 8. Formulate and express ideas at different levels of abstraction, in writing and oral communication.
• 9. Develop effective time management skills.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Differing views of what “culture” and “society” are
• Culture and social structure
• Culture and social agency
• Culture and social power
• Culture as social resistance
• The politics of culture
• The nature of representation
• Aesthetics
• Differing ways of understanding what “art” is
• The globalization of culture

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Key words search

Cultural sociology, sociology, sociological, culture, cultural, aesthetics, power