Power and Control
UndergraduateMUR-SOC1222026
Course information for 2026 intake
Enrol today with instant approval and no entry requirements
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 15 Feb 2026
- Entry requirements
- No ATAR needed, No prior study
- Duration
- 15 weeks
- Start dates
- 23 Feb 2026
- Price from
- $2,176
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Power and Control
About this subject
On successful completion of this subject you will be able to:
- Describe the major theoretical perspectives on power and control, including the work of thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Karl Marx, Judith Butler, Shoshana Zuboff, and bell hooks.
- Identify how power operates across different areas of social life, including in politics, education, media, healthcare, the workplace, and digital environments.
- Explain how systems of control shape both human behaviour and social inequality, including through laws, surveillance, and social norms.
- Apply sociological concepts pertaining to power to real-world examples, demonstrating an understanding of how power is exercised, resisted, and maintained in everyday life.
- Intro (Marx & Weber)
- Social Structures (Foucault & Bourdieu)
- Class and Capitalism (Marx)
- Resistance & Activism
- Gender and Power (hooks & Butler)
- Power and the state (Foucault)
Who has power—and who doesn’t? How is control maintained in society, and how do people resist it? This unit introduces students to key sociological ideas about power and control, examining how power operates in everyday life and across major institutions such as the media, politics, education, the healthcare system, and the workplace. Students will explore the work of influential thinkers like Marx, DuBois, Zuboff, Butler, and Foucault, while considering contemporary forms of power, from social media algorithms and surveillance technologies to global inequality, medicalisation in the healthcare setting, and protest movements. Designed for students from all disciplines, this unit offers tools to think critically about the visible and invisible forces that shape our world, our thinking, and the way we live. Through real-world case studies and interactive discussions, students will develop the skills to analyse power in action and reflect on their own place within systems of influence and control.
Please Note: All students studying at Murdoch University will need to complete the compulsory unit, Murdoch Academic Passport (MAP100), which only takes 2-3 hours to complete online. Find out more: http://goto.murdoch.edu.au/MurdochAcademicPassport.
- Power Map: Who has control? (30%)
- Power Thinker (30%)
- Power at Work (40%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
No entry requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
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What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateMUR-BAR-DEG
UndergraduateMUR-BGS-DEG
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