Introductory description

This module seeks to examine sociological conceptualisations of the self and subjectivity, discuss the historical and cultural specificity of current Western conceptualisations of the individual’s relation to society, and empirically examine how in contemporary Western societies identity and a sense of self are produced for example through media interpellation, through (apparently free) choice and consumption, through the neoliberal emphasis on individual responsibility, competitiveness, flexibility, and entrepreneurialism, through public and expert discourses about the ‘normal’, through intense and constant work, and through identification and disidentification with ‘others’.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

SECTION 1: Theorising the Self in Neoliberal Societies
Week 1: Who are you? Studying the Self and Subjectivity Sociologically
Week 2: Theorising our Selves: some Key Approaches
Week 3: The Century of the Self: Subjectivity in Neoliberal Times
SECTION 2: To Be or Not To Be: Everyday Interpellations in Contemporary Western Societies
Week 4: Be Normal! ...
Week 5: …but be Unique and Express Yourself!
(Week 6: Reading Week)
Week 7: Think and Choose for Yourself! (but do what you are supposed to)
Week 8: Don’t be like them!
Week 9: Be outstanding! Improve yourself! Do not fail! Work hard! Party hard! Live life to the full!
Week 10: Take care of yourself! Sort yourself out!

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• identify and distinguish the basic principles of key sociological approaches to the study of the self, and explain how these sociological approaches have changed over time;
• identify links between the formation of individual identity and broader processes of social, political, cultural and economic change;
• offer a basic characterisation of conceptualisations of the self in contemporary Western societies;
• provide examples of how conceptualisations and constructions of the self intersect with key axes of social difference and inequality such as gender, class, 'race', sexuality, or (dis)ability;
• identify and analyse examples of 'interpellation' and construction of the self in their own lives (through the production of a reflexive journal) and in popular cultural, educational or policy texts (through the production of a research essay), drawing on key module concepts and relevant scholarly literature.
• - understand the relationship between neoliberalism and subjectivity, and explain the key characteristics of neoliberal ideals of subjectivity
• define, explain and provide examples of key concepts such as 'self', 'identity', 'interpellation', 'discourse' or 'normal';

Indicative reading list

Althusser, L. (1970). Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. [online]. Available at
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1970/ideology.htm
Arendt, H. (1963), Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, London: Penguin
Books.
Asch, S. (1955) "Opinions and Social Pressure", Scientific American, Vol. 193, No. 5, pp. 31 - 35.
Burkitt, I. (1991). Social Selves: Theories of the Social Formation of Personality. London: Sage.
Butler, J. (1988) 'Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and
Feminist Theory', Theatre Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 519 - 531.
Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, New York: Routledge.
Butler, J. (1991) "Imitation and Gender Insubordination" in Diana Fuss (ed.) Inside/ Out: Lesbian
Theories, Gay Theories, New York: Routledge.
Davis, M. (2008). Freedom and Consumerism: A Critique of Zygmunt Bauman's Sociology.
Hampshire: Ashgate.
Elias, N (2000) The Civilizing Process: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Elias, N. (2001). The Society of Individuals. New York: Continuum.
Elliot, A. (2008) Concepts of the Self, Cambridge: Polity.
Ewald, F. (1990). Norms, Discipline and the Law. Representations 30 (Spring), pp. 138-161.
Foucault, M. (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, London: Penguin.
Foucault, M. (1998) History of Sexuality Vol1: The Will to Knowledge. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Foucault, M. (2003) Abnormal: Lectures at the College de France, 1974-75. London: Verso.
Gill, R. (2008). 'Culture and Subjectivity in Neoliberal and Post Feminist Times.' Subjectivity. 25.
432---445.
Gould, S.J. (1996) The Mismeasure of Man. London: Norton.
Hanson, F.A. (1993) Testing Testing: Social Consequences of the Examined Life. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
Harvey, D. (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lyle, S. (2008), "(Mis)recognition and the middle-class/bourgeois gaze: A case study of Wife
Swap", Critical Discourse Studies, Vol. 5, issue 4, pp. 319 — 330.
Mansfield, N. (2000) Subjectivity: Theories of the Self from Freud to Haraway, New York: New York University Press.
McRobbie, Angela (2009) The Aftermath of Feminism: Gender, Culture and Social Change.
London: Sage.
Mead, G.H. (1934) Mind, Self and Society. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Meyers, D. (2010) "Feminist Perspectives on the Self" in Edward N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, available online at
http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2010/entries/feminism-self
Milgram, S. (1992) The Individual in a Social World: Essays and Experiments, New York; London: McGraw-Hill.
Miller, P. (2008) Governing the Present: Administering Economic, Social and Personal Life. Cambridge: Polity.
Morris, B. (1991) Western Conceptions of the Individual. New York: Berg.
O'Flynn, G. and Peterson, E. (2007). "The 'good life' and the 'rich portfolio': young women, schooling and neoliberal subjectification.' British Journal of Sociology of Education. 28 (4). 459-472.
Rose N (1992) 'Governing the Enterprising Self.' In: Morris, P., and Heelas, P. (eds). The Values of the Enterprise Culture: The Moral Debate. London: Routledge.
Rose, N. (1996). Inventing Our Selves: Psychology, Power and Personhood. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Rose, N. (1999) Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self. London: Free Association Books.
Saeed, A. (2007) "Media, Racism and Islamophobia: The Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media", Sociology Compass, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 443 — 462.
Scharff, C. (2011). `Disarticulating feminism: Individualization, neoliberalism and the othering of 'Muslim women''. European Journal of Women's Studies 18(2):119-134.
West, C. and Zimmerman, D. (1987) "Doing Gender", Gender & Society, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 125 ¬151.

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

knowledge and critical understanding of the well-established principles and concepts involved in the study of gender and subjectivity

an understanding of the limits of their knowledge, and how this influences analyses and interpretations based on that knowledge.

use a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake critical analysis of information, and to propose solutions to problems arising from that analysis
effectively communicate information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms
to specialist and non-specialist audiences and deploy key techniques of the discipline effectively
undertake further training, develop existing skills and acquire new competences that will enable them to assume significant responsibility within organisations.

Transferable skills

the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decision-making to include communication skills, self-reflection and empathy