Subject Area: Sociology and Anthropology

This course addresses classic theories of the self, investigating the ideas of key theorists in diverse traditions, including, for example, symbolic interactionism, psychoanalysis, poststructuralism and phenomenology. The course is organized around a reading of texts by key thinkers in these traditions. Through an exploration of these theorists’ understandings of the self, we will consider issues around: the relation between self and the world; identity and difference; authenticity; subjectivity and objectification; the unconscious; embodiment; discipline and practices of everyday life. The course will provide a grounding in theories of the self relevant both for further studies in Sociology and Anthropology and for other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.