ANY4300

Theorising culture

Don Miller

12 points 2 hours per week First semester Clayton - Prohibition: COS4300

Objectives Upon completion of this subject students should be able to demonstrate substantial familiarity with recent debates in cultural and social theory; articulate the analytical skills, theoretical vocabularies and conceptual apparatuses studied in the subject; demonstrate a sense of their own personal and cultural reflexivity; write clear, grammatically syntactically appropriate, independent essays on the topics chosen for assessment.

Synopsis This subject aims to establish the theoretical foundations for the analysis of culture, society and of specific social and cultural forms. These will be examined from a range of, often competing, theoretical perspectives. Discussion will centre on theories associated with French structuralism and post-structuralism; German sociology and critical theory; and British social theory and cultural studies. Each of these will be examined for its respective treatment of the relationship between individual creativity, culture and society.

Assessment One seminar paper (3000 words): 40% Long essay (6000 words): 60%

Preliminary reading

Milner A Contemporary cultural theory: An introduction Allen and Unwin, 1991
Nugent S and Shore C (eds) Anthropology and cultural studies Pluto Press, 1997

Prescribed texts

Beilharz P (ed.) Social theory: A guide to central thinkers Allen and Unwin, 1992
Bourdieu P and Wacquant L J D An invitation to reflexive sociology Chicago U P, 1992
Weedon C Feminist practice and poststructuralist theory Blackwell, 1987

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