• identify, analyse and assess at an advanced level the key points and central assumptions of the theories covered in the curriculum,
• identify, analyse and assess the core similarities and differences in how social processes and network creation are thematised in the theories covered in the curriculum
• demonstrate how the theories covered in the course curriculum can be applied to analyse selected empirical phenomena

Aim of the course
The aim of this course is that the student acquires knowledge of some of the most important ways to conceptualise and examine the interactions between individuals, organisations and society, which are currently developing in social theory. Particular attention is devoted to diagnoses, which emphasise the linguistic and discursive construction of social reality.

On successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• identify, analyse and assess at an advanced level the key points and central assumptions of the theories covered in the curriculum,
• identify, analyse and assess the core similarities and differences between the theories covered in the curriculum.

Course description
It is widely acknowledged that modern society has undergone a series of profound transformations since World War II. The media landscape has changed, so have production patterns, modes of organization, networks of communication, etc., etc. While most sociologists would agree that much has changed during the past 50–60 years, there is little agreement as to how to theorize these transformations and their implications. The aim of this course is to make students acquainted with a range of influential positions that analyze how modern society has changed since the mid-twentieth century.
While the course builds on TCS I, the theoretical perspectives it presents tend to aim more at a diagnosis of the present than at formulating grand theories of modern society and all its spheres, systems or institutions. Although the theoretical ambitions of the perspectives under scrutiny here may thus be lower than was the case in TCS I, their analytical capacities may well be higher. The more targeted observations of specific societal trends and dynamics allow for more thorough discussions of key societal processes and their social, political and economic implications.
The diagnostic emphasis entails that the course is preoccupied with a processual view, i.e. with the changes that have taken place in the structure of modern society since World War II. These societal processes will be discussed with respect to their social, political and economic implications. The course is organized thematically.


Please note that in order to keep the costs of this compendium down, a number of articles which are accessible online have not been included in the compendium. Links to these texts will be made available on the course’s Learn site.