Theories of Modernity

• • Sociology and Modernity
  • Capitalism and Industrialisation
  • Democracy and Equality
  • Political Power and Bureaucracy
  • Religions and Belief Systems
  • Science and Technology
  • Identity

• Study resources

  • Instructional methods

    • Discussion forum/Discussion Board
    • E-Portfolios
    • Embedded Multimedia
    • Online Quizzes/Tests
    • Online assignment submission
    • Podcasting/Lecture capture
    • Standard Media
    • Web links

  • Online materials

    • Resources and Links

Equivalent subjects

You cannot enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:

• MAQ-SGYX222
• MAQ-SOCX222-Theories of Modernity

You are recommended to have completed the following subjects(s) or have equivalent knowledge before starting this subject:

• MAQ-SOCX175-Australian Society
• MAQ-SGY110
• MAQ-SOCX1000-Australian and Global Societies
• MAQ-SOCX180-Sociology of Everyday Life
• MAQ-SGYX120
• MAQ-SOCX1010-Sociology of Everyday Life

Special requirements

• OtherDetails -

  Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.

This subject was previously known as SGYX222, SOCX222 Sociological Theories of Modernity.

Modernity ushered in major social and political changes. In this unit, we will be examining how major social thinkers attempted to understand and explain the changes, ruptures and crises they saw unfold. Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Simmel – key figures in the development of Sociology – but also later theorists developed distinctive perspectives and conceptual apparatuses in their diagnoses of modernity and the experience of uncertainty that characterises modern life. Their work remains a vital source of illumination into tendencies and potentials of the contemporary world. But there are also tensions with the present, which we will explore in order to better understand the contexts of our own ‘modern’ lives.  

• Essay 1 (30%)
• Essay 2 (40%)
• Participation (30%)