Week-by-week Syllabus and Readings

• Week 1 (Sep 3): Course Reflection
  
  
  
  
  • Instructor attending the 4S Conference
  
  
  
  


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• Week 2 (Sep 10): Course Orientation
  
  
  
  • Course Introduction
  
  
  
  


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• Week 3 (Sep 17): Sociotechnical Imagination
  
  
  
  • A brief introduction followed by a viewing of the film: Railways: The Making of a Nation – Time by BBC Liz McIvor.
  
  
  • Before the railways, Britan was divided and local time was proudly treasured. Clocks in the west of the country were several minutes behind those set in the east. The railways wanted the country to step to a new beat in a world of precise schedules and timetables that recognised Greenwich Mean Time.
  
  
  
  


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• Week 4 (Sep 24): Technoscience and Systematic Failure
  
  
  
  • A brief introduction followed by a viewing of the film: Brakeless, directed by Kyoko Miyake, and then a group discussion.
  
  
  • “Brakeless” directed by Kyoko Miyake, and then grouping and discussion. What led a Japanese commuter train to speed dangerously, causing a deadly crash? Was the society’s pursuit of efficiency to blame?
  
  
  
  


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• Week 5 (Oct 1): Culture and Management
  
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Edensor, Tim (2002) ‘Popular rituals: sport and carnival’.
    
    
    • Ray, C. A. (1986). Corporate Culture: The Last Frontier of Control.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 6 (Oct 8): Identity, Groups and Organizations (Max Weber)
  
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Weber Rationalization and Modern Society (2015).
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 7 (Oct 15): Social Control, Management and Surveillance (Émile Durkheim)
  
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Orlikowski. (2007). Socio-material Practices: Exploring Technology at Work. Organization Studies, 28(9), 1435–1448.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 8 (Oct 22): Modern Institution and Disciplinary Power (Michel Foucault)
  
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Taylor, C. (2011) ‘Biopower’ in Michel Foucault: Key Concepts.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 9 (Oct 29): Midterm-catch up week
  
  
  
  • Mid-semester review and catch-up.
  
  
  
  


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• Week 10 (Nov 5): Cultural Capital and Stratification (Karl Marx)
  
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Lawler, Steph (2014) The Hidden Privileges of Identity: On Being Middle Class.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 11 (Nov 12): Social Interaction and Cognitive Psychology
  
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Miller, D. (2012) Consumption and its consequences.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 12 (Nov 19): Race, Ethnicity and Performativity
  
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Rattansi, Ali (2007) ‘New racisms’, in Racism. A Very Short Introduction.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 13 (Nov 26): Technological Determinism
  
  
  
  • An introduction followed by a viewing of the documentary: The Making of a Nation: Railway Mania by BBC Liz McIvor.
  
  
  • The 1840s Railway Mania - a speculative bubble that peaked in 1846 with 263 new railway companies approved by Parliament Railway Mania. While many middle-class investors lost everything when the bubble collapsed Railway Mania, it ultimately created Britain's modern railway infrastructure and modern stock market.
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Wajcman, J. (2002). Addressing Technological Change: The Challenge to Social Theory.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 14 (Dec 3): Technology and Politics
  
  
  
  • An introduction followed by a viewing of the documentary: Who Killed the Electric Car? and a discussion session.
  
  
  • Required Reading:
    
    
    
    • Winner, Langdon. (1980). “Do Artifacts Have Politics?”.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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• Week 15 (Dec 10): Final-term Catching up Week
  
  
  
  • Preparation week.
  
  
  
  


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• Week 16 (Dec 17): Final Exam Week
  
  
  
  • Final examination.
  
  
  
  

TBA

Assessment Arrangements

• (30%) Group presentation, critical reading, and summarizing
  
  
  
  
  • Summarize readings in PowerPoint slides for the class. Each presentation should be 25 minutes, including a detailed summary of the main arguments, post-reading questions, and initial responses.
  
  
  
  


• (20%) 8 Weekly Reviews
  
  
  
  • Notes and reflections on the lecture contents.
  
  
  
  


• (50%) Final Exam
  
  
  
  • Covers all core concepts of the semester. Question types include multiple-choice and short-answer questions.