Social and Cultural Theory

This programme provides an introduction to a range of debates within the so-called 'cultural turn' in sociological studies. Increasingly, sociologists are looking to the concept of culture as a source of explanation - and questioning - in their studies of contemporary social formations.

The MSc in Social and Cultural Theory addresses both theoretical and substantive elements of this cultural turn. The works of key thinkers in social and cultural theory are explored, while the role of cultural explanations within theories of race and ethnicity, class, gender relations, sexuality and the sociology of religion (among others) is also given both theoretical and empirical consideration.

These issues are situated within the framework of analyses and critiques of wider debates and discourses in social and cultural theory. They cover questions such as postmodernism, postfeminism and postcolonialism.