136-454 Theories of Modernity

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year combined honours in social theory or sociology.

In this subject images of the 'city', 'progress', 'the public' and 'the nation' will be used to establish some of the features of modernity. The way modernity is understood will also be explored through various critical theories of modernity. Students completing this subject should have developed an understanding of the major conceptual debates concerning the meaning of modernity; gained an awareness of the selected philosophical and theoretical traditions through which this debate have been generated; and demonstrated this understanding through a critical engagement with the historical and theoretical literature.