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• Undergraduate study:
• Courses
• Order a prospectus
• How to apply
• Information for applicants
• Why choose Kingston University
• Disability and mental health support
• Accommodation
• Undergraduate fees
• Fees, funding and payments
• Access, participation and inclusion

Social Selves

• Module code: SO4003
• Year: 2018/9
• Level: 4
• Credits: 30
• Pre-requisites: None
• Co-requisites: None

Summary

 This module introduces students to some of the most influential ways of thinking about self and identity, drawing on both sociology and psychology.  It deals with key dimensions of identity in contemporary life such as gender; work; sexuality; race; ethnicity; understandings of mental health; connections with places such as nations, cities and the globalised world; spirituality and religion.  It explores the inseparable interweaving of society and the psyche; the psychological and the socio-political; collective forces and universal human drives.  It places the ongoing process of constructing the self in the foreground in attempts to understand people's behaviour and development more generally.  The very notion of the ‘self' is treated as an interactive, social phenomenon.  The first part of the module considers the questions such as ‘what is the self?' and ‘how does the self arise?'  The second part goes on to focus on a number of social dimensions which pattern selfhood.  Students' employability is enhanced through the development of presentation skills as well as the ongoing development of analytical and critical skills through discussion and written work. 

Aims

• To  enable students to appreciate, explore and articulate the relationship between sociological and psychological approaches and how they can complement each other in treating the ongoing construction of the self as a fundamental feature of people's conduct and development
• To enable students to critically examine accounts of the self and how it arises, drawing from a range of established perspectives
• To develop students' ability to critically discuss a number of key dimensions of contemporary identities, taking into account both sociological and psychological approaches 

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

• Compare and contrast sociological and psychological perspectives on human behaviour
• Demonstrate a critical awareness of how sociological and psychological perspectives can complement each other
• Make use of the resulting approach in analysing a range of dimensions of contemporary identity
• Present the outcomes of these analyses effectively both orally, in front of an audience; and in writing; 

Curriculum content

• Symbolic Interactionism and the Self
• The ‘Social Identity Approach': Social Identity and Self-Categorisation Theory
• Identity Threat and Identity Change: Introducing Identity Process Theory
• Am I What I Own?  Possessions, Identity and Impression Management
• Psychoanalysis and the Self
• Self, Society and Power
• The Enlightened Self
• Individualisation and the Corrosion of Character
• Embodied Selves
• Who Are We at Work?  Occupational Identity
• Religious Identity: Conversion, Commitment and Contestation
• Stigmatised Identities: Do Mental Health Problems Affect a Person's Identity?
• City, Society and Self
• Global Society and the Self
• Racialised Selves: The Construction of Race and Ethnicity
• Post-Colonial Selves: Multiculturalism, Transculturalism and Diaspora
• The Gendered Self
• Sexual Selves 

Teaching and learning strategy

The Module is taught by means of a weekly Lecture, Seminar and Reading Workshop, each one hour long.  The Lectures present key concepts and thematic approaches; and contextulise them in relation to the aims of the Module.  The Seminars are focused on application and discussion of these concepts in relation to additional topical stimuli such as newspaper articles, videos or research findings: these Seminars develop students' analytical abilities while also consolidating their understanding of the concepts.  The Reading Workshops provide an opportunity for students to discuss Required Readings each Week, developing their ability to engage critically with relevant literature.  These Workshops further develop students' understanding of the topics.

Breakdown of Teaching and Learning Hours

Assessment strategy

 The main elements of assessment are a summative two-hour unseen Exam at the end of the Module; a summative 20-minute unseen Class Test during Teaching Block 1; and a summative mark for Student Engagement in Reading Workshops over Teaching Block 2 focused on preparation for the formative Presentation.  As well as receiving formative feedback on their Presentations, students receive formative feedback on a Mock Exam over Teaching Block 2.  The first assessment, the summative Class Test, takes place before the end of Teaching Block 1: this tests students' knowledge and understanding of the topics; and provides an early means of monitoring their progress.  The students begin to contribute to their summative Student Engagement mark in Teaching Block 2, working in groups towards formative Presentations which assess analytical ability as well as knowledge and understanding; these accordingly develop transferable skills which contribute to students' employability.  The formative Mock Exam also takes place in Teaching Block 2, assessing students' critical and discursive capabilities in preparation for the final summative Exam.

Mapping of Learning Outcomes to Assessment Strategy (Indicative)

Elements of Assessment

Achieving a pass

It IS a requirement that the major category of assessment is passed in order to achieve an overall pass for the module

Bibliography core texts

• Burkitt, I. (2008) Social Selves: Theories of Self and Society (2^ndedition)
• Elliott, A. (2013) Concepts of the Self (3^rd edition) 

Bibliography recommended reading

• Ashmore, Richard D. and Jussim, L. (eds.) (1997) Self and Identity: Fundamental Issues
• Brewer, Marilynn B. and Hewstone, M. (eds.) (2004) Self and Social Identity
• Du Gay, P., Evans, J. and Redman, P. (eds.) (2000) Identity: A Reader
• Gergen, K. J. (1991) The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Everyday Life
• Holstein, J. A. and Gubrium, J. F. (eds.) (2002) Inner Lives and Social Worlds: Readings in Social Psychology
  • Rose, N. (1998) Inventing Our Selves: Psychology, Power and Personhood
  • Stevens, R. (ed.) (1996) Understanding the Self