The Body, The Self and Others
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| SOCI2010 | Sociology and Social Policy | 2 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- SOCI2010
- School
- Sociology and Social Policy
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
This module explores the ways in which social identities and subjectivities can be created, maintained and expressed through the body and with reference to 'Others'. It particularly considers the following:
- Existing sociological theories of identity and 'Otherness'.
- The sociologies of various 'geographies' of the body, including the sociology of food and diet; body modification and adornment; extreme sport.
- Presentations of 'self' through work, especially 'body work'.
- The corporeal 'mapping' of class, gender, ethnicity and sexuality.
- Surveillance discourses and embodied resistance.
Target Students
Available to all level 2 and 3 students including subsidiary students from outside the school and exchange students.
Classes
This module is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars.
Assessment
- 100% Coursework: 4,000 words.
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
To become equipped with an advanced and critical understanding of the key concepts of identity and ‘Otherness’To have developed an understanding of the theoretical approaches used to understand the significance and complexities of the body in contemporary society.To acquire knowledge of empirical studies used to understand the relations between the self and Others, and social actors and wider society, especially in terms of classed, gendered, racialized and sexualised difference.Learning Outcomes
To develop in terms of knowledge and understanding: A critical and reflexive understanding of identity politics in relation to theories of ‘selves’ and ‘Others’.
An in-depth knowledge of the theoretical perspectives used to understand identity reproduction and the discourses of the body.
An awareness of how subjectivity can be underpinned by questions of social order, hierarchy and inequality.
An appreciation of the complex relations between social actors and wider society and how these relations can be structured through institutions such as work and leisure.