Classical Social Theory

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

Total 85 hours

Admission into 101AA - Ph.D.- Arts OR Admission into MR-ARTSTHS - Master of Arts (Thesis only)

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This elective offers students the opportunity to read and discuss the primary texts of key social theorists. In addition to developing an understanding of the work of foundational scholars, such as Marx, Freud, and Foucault, we will also examine questions of interpretation. Through analysing contemporary readings of these influential thinkers we will explore how genealogies of ideas are enlivened, critiqued, misread, and transformed in social theory.

Students who complete this subject should have:

• enhanced knowledge of the topic or area of scholarship taught in the module,
• an ability to reflect upon their own research work in relation to the content of the module, and
• enhanced engagement with leading-edge research in Arts today.

One 500-word essay proposal due in Week 7 of the semester (20%);

One 2,000-word essay due in the examination period (80%).

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

The subjects will contribute, through teaching and discussion with academic staff and peers, to developing the skills and capacities identified in the University-defined Graduate Attributes for the PhD, in particular:

• the capacity to contextualise research within an international corpus of specialist knowledge,
• an advanced ability to evaluate and synthesise research-based and scholarly literature,
• an advanced understanding of key disciplinary and multi-disciplinary norms and perspectives relevant to the field.