KEY ISSUES IN SOCIAL THEORY AND RESEARCH: MARGINALITY, NEOLIBERALISM AND THE STATE

SOC4COR

2019

Credit points: 30

Subject outline

In this subject you will closely read an ethnography: Bourgois & Schonbergs' Righteous Dopefiend (2009); a gritty urban monograph dealing with a community of marginalized and disenfranchised homeless addicts in San Francisco. Bourgois & Schonberg take the particular insights of their ethnographic field and use them to illuminate the larger issues of race, class, gender, femininity, masculinity, violence, humour, sadness, criminality and morality. Their work is also an example of a critically applied social science, in that the authors sought to influence policy in relation to health service delivery for homeless addicts. In exploring such themes Bourgois & Schonberg's work dissolves the putative divide between anthropology, sociology and development studies, and gives us concrete examples of some of the big-ticket concepts that you will be tackling throughout your Honours year.

School: School of Humanities & Social Sciences

Credit points: 30

Subject Co-ordinator: Anthony Moran

Available to Study Abroad Students: No

Subject year level: Year Level 4 - UG/Hons/1st Yr PG

Exchange Students: No

Subject particulars

Subject rules

Prerequisites: Acceptance by Honours convenors of application to enrol in the Sociology and Anthropology honours program

Co-requisites: N/A

Incompatible subjects: N/A

Equivalent subjects: N/A

Special conditions: Core subject for Sociology students and students undertaking joint Honours degrees that include Sociology

Graduate capabilities & intended learning outcomes

01. Demonstrate advanced writing and critical thinking skills

Activities:: Seminar activities including small group discussions, annotated bibliography, small group presentations and essay
Related graduate capabilities and elements:: Literacies and Communication Skills(Writing,Speaking,Cultural Literacy); Literacies and Communication Skills(Writing,Speaking,Cultural Literacy); Literacies and Communication Skills(Writing,Speaking,Cultural Literacy); Inquiry and Analytical Skills(Critical Thinking,Creative Problem-solving,Inquiry/Research); Inquiry and Analytical Skills(Critical Thinking,Creative Problem-solving,Inquiry/Research); Inquiry and Analytical Skills(Critical Thinking,Creative Problem-solving,Inquiry/Research); Personal and Professional Skills(Teamwork including leadership and working in groups,Autonomy and independence,Ethical behaviour,Study and Learning Skills); Personal and Professional Skills(Teamwork including leadership and working in groups,Autonomy and independence,Ethical behaviour,Study and Learning Skills); Personal and Professional Skills(Teamwork including leadership and working in groups,Autonomy and independence,Ethical behaviour,Study and Learning Skills); Personal and Professional Skills(Teamwork including leadership and working in groups,Autonomy and independence,Ethical behaviour,Study and Learning Skills); Discipline -Specific Knowledge and Skills(Discipline-Specific Knowledge and Skills)

02. Demonstrate high level engagement with social theory for the social sciences

Activities:: Readings, seminar discussions, annotated bibliography, small group presentations and essay
Related graduate capabilities and elements:: Literacies and Communication Skills(Writing,Speaking,Cultural Literacy); Literacies and Communication Skills(Writing,Speaking,Cultural Literacy); Literacies and Communication Skills(Writing,Speaking,Cultural Literacy); Inquiry and Analytical Skills(Critical Thinking,Creative Problem-solving,Inquiry/Research); Inquiry and Analytical Skills(Critical Thinking,Creative Problem-solving,Inquiry/Research); Inquiry and Analytical Skills(Critical Thinking,Creative Problem-solving,Inquiry/Research); Personal and Professional Skills(Teamwork including leadership and working in groups,Autonomy and independence,Ethical behaviour,Study and Learning Skills); Personal and Professional Skills(Teamwork including leadership and working in groups,Autonomy and independence,Ethical behaviour,Study and Learning Skills); Personal and Professional Skills(Teamwork including leadership and working in groups,Autonomy and independence,Ethical behaviour,Study and Learning Skills); Personal and Professional Skills(Teamwork including leadership and working in groups,Autonomy and independence,Ethical behaviour,Study and Learning Skills); Discipline -Specific Knowledge and Skills(Discipline-Specific Knowledge and Skills)

Melbourne, 2019, Semester 1, Day

Overview

Online enrolment: Yes

Maximum enrolment size: N/A

Enrolment information:

Subject Instance Co-ordinator: Nicholas Smith

Class requirements

SeminarWeek: 10 - 22
One 3.0 hours seminar per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via blended.
"We require a room at Bundoora campus with video-conferencing, to accommodate regional students."

Assessments

Assessment element	%	ILO*
Oral presentation (1500 word equivalent)	25	02, 01
one 1,000-word annotated bibliography	15	01, 02
one 5,000-word essay	60	01, 02