Self, Society, and Politics | Harvard University

This course examines the main ways in which the relationship between self, society, and politics has been conceptualized in major sociological and philosophical texts. What are the political implications of different ways of understanding the self? What are its effects on the economy, politics, or the environment? Is it fair to talk about a western individualistic tradition? And how do recent technological changes affect our understanding of who we are and how we interact? The course relies on readings of classical texts from sociology, anthropology, sociology, and history, as well as recent sociological scholarship.