Theory and Modern Society

Elaborate examination of the efforts to address, evaluate, and extend questions posed by founding fathers of social theory (Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Nietzsche) with particular attention to current positions in social and political theory within the dynamic axis of modernity vs. post-modernity. This seminar-type course develops upon these debates with a special emphasis on social and intellectual contexts, conceptual frameworks and methods, and contributions to modern society and its theorizing. Works: Darwin, Spencer, Parsons, Dahrendorf, Saussure, Habermas, and Foucault.