This module is the core module for the MA Social and Political Thought degree. We will read and discuss extracts from the ‘classics’ of enlightenment political thought, juxtaposed alongside poststructuralist, (post) colonial/decolonial and Indigenous texts. Through these juxtaposed readings, we will examine the lively debates and ‘politics’ of social theory. This endeavour will demonstrate the ways in which an Enlightenment legacy underpins social theory, and its relation to contemporary normative political rationalities and practices of sovereignty, law, democracy, religion, race, gender, and sexuality. Contestations of this legacy from the perspectives of decolonial, postcolonial, poststructural, and queer thought reveals the significance of grappling with social theory towards the praxis of social justice.

Method of Assessment : One 4,000 word essay.