Faculty of Arts Social theory

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Faculty of Arts

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Requirements for a major
    2.1. Social theory major
    2.2. Philosophy and social theory major
3. Combined honours entry
4. Combined honours requirements
5. For more information
Subject Lists
    Second/third-year subjects
    Fourth-year subjects

Convener: Dr John Rundell

The Ashworth Program in Social Theory is housed in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and draws on high-level expertise and a wide range of related disciplines across the Faculty of Arts. The program provides a context where the theoretical and substantive issues raised in other disciplines may be critically examined and further explored. This makes social theory an appropriate choice for students with an interest in any of the social or human sciences.

The Ashworth Program is home to a vibrant research community, publishes a journal of social and critical theory and hosts conferences, colloquia and seminar programs on a regular basis. It attracts eminent scholars to the University of Melbourne as visiting research fellows and boasts a distinguished list of international associates. A variety of career pathways is available to students of social theory, drawing on analytical and research knowledge gained in this area of study. Students interested in expanding their interests and knowledge in social theory are provided with an articulated structure of higher degree options at the University of Melbourne.

Social theory is an interdepartmental program that investigates the everyday assumptions that shape our lives and reflects in a systematic and critical manner on the ways in which social life is organised and, sometimes, transformed. Principal themes addressed in the program include contemporary theories of social and political relations, psychoanalytic theory and the nature of identity and themes that critique modernity and postmodernity, forms of agency and rationality.

1. Prerequisites

The social theory program commences at second year. The general prerequisite for entry is the completion of 50 points of first year in any area of study within the Faculty of Arts.

2. Requirements for a major

2.1. Social theory major

A major in social theory consists of nine 12.5-point subjects, totalling 112.5 points. It comprises:

• two first-year subjects in any area of study (25 points); and

• seven second/third-year subjects in social theory (totalling 87.5 points), which must include three of the following four core subjects, and a minimum of three subjects from the list of elective subjects below.

For details on completing a major in philosophy and social theory see Requirements for a major.

2.2. Philosophy and social theory major

The major in philosophy and social theory combines subjects taught by the Department of Philosophy and the Ashworth Program in Social Theory. This major offers students the opportunity to specialise in the study of those traditions of social analysis and critique that draw together both philosophical and social-theoretical expertise. Exemplary figures would include Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, Weber, de Beauvoir, Habermas, Foucault, Haraway, Latour, Derrida, Lacan, Kristeva, Butler and Spivak. Students who undertake a major in philosophy and social theory will pursue a course of study, beginning in first year, that introduces them to a variety of philosophical and social-theoretical perspectives and approaches that converge around a focus on critical social analysis. Students who complete a major in philosophy and social theory at a satisfactory level (a minimum of an H2A average within the major) may undertake combined honours in philosophy and social theory. They may also be considered for admission to pure honours in philosophy. However, students wishing to undertake pure honours in the Philosophy Department should consult with the honours coordinator for advice on how to design their course to meet departmental entry requirements for pure honours. For full details of the list of subjects which may be taken as part of this major, see Philosophy and social theory major.

3. Combined honours entry

There is no pure honours program in social theory. This means that students must combine fourth-year honours in social theory with another area of study, such as English, history or political science.

The prerequisites for entry to combined honours in social theory are:

• completion of all the requirements for the BA; and

• completion of a major in social theory; and

• an average grade of H2A or higher over second/third-year subjects within the major; and

• admission to honours in another area of study within the Faculty of Arts.

Entry to honours must be approved by the convenor of social theory and the Faculty of Arts honours course adviser.

4. Combined honours requirements

Students undertaking combined honours in social theory and another area of study must complete:

• 136-503 Social Theory Thesis or 136-508 Social Theory Thesis (MYE) (37.5 points); and

• 136-532 Reading Texts in Social Theory, the program's compulsory honours subject (12.5 points); and

• one additional honours subject in social theory from the list of core honours subjects below (12.5 points); and

• three honours subjects in the combined area of study (totalling 37.5 points).

or

• honours thesis in the combined area of study (37.5 points); and

• two honours subjects in the combined area of study (totalling 25 points); and

• 136-532 Reading Texts in Social Theory, the program's compulsory honours subject (12.5 points); and

• two honours subjects from the lists of core or optional honours subjects below (totalling 25 points).

5. For more information

Ashworth Program in Social Theory
Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Ground Floor, Rooms 147 and 146B
Old Arts Building
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Tel. +61 3 8344 6556
Fax. +61 3 8344 7959
Email: johnfr@unimelb.edu.au
Web: http://www.hps.unimelb.edu.au

Second/third-year subjects

166-034 An/Other China:Theorising Everyday Life
136-073 Critical Theories
136-074 Society: Revolutions to Social Movements
136-075 Identities in Conflict
136-076 Social Theory and Political Analysis
136-077 Psychoanalysis and Social Theory
136-078 The Critical Imagination

Fourth-year subjects

136-503 Social Theory Thesis
136-508 Social Theory Thesis (MYE)
136-532 Reading Texts in Social Theory
136-533 Theories of Modernity
136-534 Imagined Societies

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