ASOK05237U Critique of society: The Frankfurt School, Foucault and Boltanski

Volume 2013/2014
Education
MA Theory courses
Content

Sociology has seldom been restricted to the task of only describing and explaining what goes on in a society. Critique of society has also played a significant role and was already a crucial part of the writings of the “founding fathers” of the discipline; e.g. Marx (alienation), Simmel (anonymization), Weber (the iron cage of instrumental rationality), Durkheim (anomie). Sociology was in this sense institutionalized as a scientific analysis of the paradoxes (or pathologies) inherent in the epochal transition from “tradition to modernity”. The course will take such an understanding of sociology as its point of departure and apply it to contemporary society.

 

A general aim of the course is to investigate how critique within a scientific context should be understood. The material of this investigation will be three of the most important versions of critique of society after the founding fathers: The Frankfurt School, Foucault (and some of his followers) and French pragmatism (Boltanski and his co-authors). Further, these three versions of critical theory will be related to the structural transformation of modern society. An important thesis that will be developed in the course is that also some of the most fundamental theoretical conditions of critique are affected by social change. By relating critique of society to the ongoing transformation of modernity, the course will provide theoretical tools for an analysis of the possibility of critique in and of contemporary society.
Learning Outcome
This course has three aims: 1. To clarify the meaning of critique of society in a scientific sense. 2. To explicate three influential versions of critique of society in social theory: The Frankfurt School, Foucault (and some of his followers) and French pragmatism (Boltanski and his co-authors). 3. To provide theoretical tools for an analysis of the possibility of critique in and of contemporary society.
The main book will be Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello The New Spirit of Capitalism. Writings by Habermas, Honneth, Foucault and Butler among others will also be included. Further information about literature will be provided later.
The main book will be Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello The New Spirit of Capitalism. Writings by Habermas, Honneth, Foucault and Butler among others will also be included. Further information about literature will be provided later.
There will be a mixture of ordinary teaching, discussions and student presentations.
Kurset fungerer også som liniefag for specialiseringsretningen: Kultursociologi

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  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 123,5
  • Lectures
  • 28
  • Preparation
  • 123,5
  • Total
  • 275,0
Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Size: A Free written take-home essay of maximum 15 pages of 2400 characters each page (incl. spaces). If written by a group, the essay may be 50 % of 2400 characters each page longer per additional student. Attention: When handing in as a group, the contribution of each student must be pointed out
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period
Handing in of papers: 12.00 o’clock in the secretariat (16.1.34) Submission dates will be available on Absalon.
Criteria for exam assesment
Please see course aims.