Course Co-ordinator: Dr C Kollmeyer

Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in Programme Year 4 only. Students should normally have 135 credits in Sociology courses. Students lacking these credits may be allowed to take the course with the Head of Department's permission.

Note(s): This course will be available in the second half-session of 2012/13 as SO 4537.

This course aims to give students an understanding of the social basis of politics. It begins by examining the classic paradigms of political sociology, paying particular attentions to those developed by Marx, Weber, and Tocqueville. It then examines several substantive issues and debates on the nature of contemporary political life, such as those surrounding the changing nature of civil society, the power of large corporations, the relative decline of class politics and rise of cultural politics, the media's influence on public opinion, and globalization's effect on democracy.

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

1st Attempt: Examination (60%) and continuous assessment (40%).