ASOK05237U Critique of society: The Frankfurt School, Foucault and Boltanski - Please note that this course is closed for further registrations
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.
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.
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- Category
- Hours
- Exam
- 123,5
- Lectures
- 28
- Preparation
- 123,5
- Total
- 275,0
The deadline for signing up for courses is December 1st for the spring semester and June 1st for the autumn semester. When signing up you are automatically signed up for exam.
International students must sign up by filling in an application form which you find here: course registration
Meritstuderende: klik her
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmentindividual/group
Assesment: 7-point grading scale
see details concerning form of examination exam in the curriculum - Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
- Exam period
- Submission dates and time will be available on the homepage of Sociology / education Site / Exam.
Criteria for exam assesment
Please see course aims.
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- ASOK05237U
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Spring
- Schedule
- See schedule
- Course capacity
- maksimalt 30.
- Continuing and further education
- Price
- Study board
- Department of Sociology, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Sociology
Course responsibles
- Signe Pedersen (4-84727f755184727e773f7c863f757c)
Lecturers
Mikael Carleheden
Telefon: +45 353-23286
E-mail: MC@soc.ku.dk