166-413 Network Society

Formerly available as 166-481 & 166-066. Students who have completed 166-481/166-066 are not eligible to enrol in this subject.

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth-year honours in political science, public policy and management or sociology or postgraduate coursework programs in political science.

This subject critically examines claims that network is the emergent form of contemporary social organization and co-ordination, paying particular attention to how the spheres of politics, economics, and culture are reconfigured. The various claims will be questioned in two ways. Firstly, we will explore how they deal with issues of knowledge production, social interaction and identity formation in the wake of shifting social patterns and technological innovation. Secondly, we will investigate how they tally with recent theorisation on planetary society. The types of issues and themes considered include small worlds, complexity, governance, economic action, sociality and emergency.

• be able to apply research skills and critical methods to a field of inquiry;

• be able to develop persuasive arguments on a given topic;

• be able to communicate oral and written arguments and ideas effectively and articulately.

A research essay proposal of 500 words, due one week after the presentation, worth 10%; and a research essay of 4500 words, due in the examination period, worth 90%.