482-319 Current Theoretical Perspectives

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Objectives:

On completion of this subject students should be able to:

• identify the changes that have taken place in sociological theory in the late twentieth century;

• grasp the central ideas and modes of analysis of key social theorists of this period; and

• understand the challenge presented to established social theory by feminist and post-modern perspectives.

Content:

Major perspectives that have influenced developments of social theory in the late twentieth century - what those theories were and why they have been influential. This involves an overview of the major strands, particularly the key ideas of symbolic interactionism, aspects of feminist thought and post-modernisms. This also entails an understanding of why these new perspectives have been developed and the challenge they present to established social theory.

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