Subject Area: Sociology and Anthropology

This course is an introduction to sociological and anthropological perspectives on the nature of the social. It raises central questions such as What is the social? What is the relation between the individual and society? How is the social lived and experienced? How do we understand the everyday? Through themes such as biography and selfhood, love and care,identity and difference, sanity and insanity, seeing and knowing, power and freedom, nature and culture, memory and time, and state and nation we examine the limits and possibilities of the social. On completion of the course, students will have a general understanding of the key concepts underpinning sociological and anthropological perspectives to the study of social life. The course will provide opportunities to reflect on the relevance of these themes and topics to other disciplines of study. It is a Gateway course.