Admission Requirements
This course is open to the following categories of students:
Bachelor’s students CADS
Minor students CADS
Premaster's students CADS (admitted for this specific course during their application procedure)
Language of Instruction
Lectures and seminars are given in English.
First year bachelor’s students CADS have chosen their preferred language of instruction for tutorials during their application. This language will be used in the course assignments.
Course Description
This course offers an introduction to key social theories in the humanities and social sciences. What are social theories? Where and how did they come about? Why do they differ from one another? And how can they help us to make sense of the world of today and yesterday?
The course consists of three thematic blocks, focusing on 1) capitalism and consciousness, 2) modernity and the body, and 3) globalisation and the home. Each block starts by tracing the historical and socio-political origins of a social theory. We then analyse its most relevant concepts, partly by looking at examples drawn from popular culture and the arts. Subsequently, we compare and contrast this theory with contemporary views on societal issues.
Throughout the course, we’ll also read Stuart Hall’s Familiar Stranger (2017). This memoir touches upon the social theories we discuss in each of the three thematic blocks, either explicitly or in passing. Familiar Stranger shows how individual experiences cut across (or contrast with) multiple social theories.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
Identify, define, and explain basic concepts and debates in social theory;
Analyse constraints in the application of social theory to concrete (and contemporary) examples;
Recognise and analyse canonical texts in the humanities and social sciences, as well as develop an understanding of processes of canonisation;
Compare and contrast primary/secondary academic sources.
In addition, after completion of the course, students will have further developed their:
Societal awareness, by researching the insights social theories may give us about the world today;
Communication and critical storytelling skills, through hands-on exercises and assignments;
Capacity to work on self-initiated projects, by planning and organising the assignments.
Schedule
Dates and room numbers can be found on the website.
Mode of Instruction
This is a 10 ECTS course, which means 280 hours of study (1 ECTS is equivalent to 28 study hours or sbu's). These 280 study hours are composed from the following components:
Lectures: 9 x 2 hours = 18 hours x 1,5 = 27 sbu
Seminars: 6 x 2 hours = 12 hours x 2 = 24 sbu
Literature: circa 1,000 pages (or equivalent in another medium) = 175 sbu
Assignments: circa 4,000 words (or equivalent in another medium) = 54 sbu
Assessment Method
In Social Theories, you build an academic portfolio. This portfolio consists of three graded assignments: one per thematic block. In these assignments you reflect on your take-aways from the course.
Assignment 1
Assignment 2
Assignment 3 – Final exam
Only the final mark is registered in uSis. The final pass mark is 6,0 or higher; a final mark of 5,0 or lower is deemed inadequate. Final marks between 5,0 and 6,0 are never awarded. Only if the final mark is inadequate may the final exam be re-taken, during the re-sit in January.
The lectures form an integral part of the course, which means that exam questions will be based on both the assigned literature and the lectures.
Registration in My Studymap
All students will be registered for the lectures by the Student Services Centre (SSC). This will be done approximately mid August, after which all components of the courses will automatically appear in your MyTimetable schedule.
Division and enrolment in the mandatory tutorials will also be done by the SSC and announced via uSis in the first week of lectures.
Brightspace
Brightspace is the digital learning environment of Leiden University. Brightspace gives access to course announcements and electronic study material. Assignments will also be submitted in Brightspace. Announcements about and changes to courses are given in Brightspace. Students are advised to check Brightspace daily to remain informed about rooms, schedules, deadlines, and details of assignments. Lecturers assume that all students read information posted on Brightspace.
How to login:
The homepage for Brightspace is: Brightspace
Please log in with your ULCN-account and personal password. On the left you will see an overview of My Courses.
You need to be enrolled for the respective courses to access them on Brightspace.
Course Literature
Book:
Hall, S. (2017). Familiar Stranger: A Life Between Two Islands. Durham NC: Duke University Press. Online access through Leiden University Library.
Chapters from: Elliott, A. and C. Lemert (2022). Introduction to contemporary social theory. Routledge. Online access through Leiden University Library.
Articles from electronic journals and encyclopaedias are available through Leiden University’s digital library.