Contemporary Social Theory

AY2016/2017 Semester 1

This course builds upon the foundations laid by classical social theory and maps out the field of contemporary social theory. In particular, the legacy of classical theory is critically reviewed in light of the advent of the "postindustrial", "postmodern" and "post-Cold War" era in the late twentieth-century and the early twenty-first century. Beyond surveying the ideas and perspectives that major social theorists have developed in response to the transformation of contemporary society, the subject focuses on key contributions that have influenced the development of sociology in recent decades.