2009 Course Handbook
SOC365: The Intimate Sphere: Love, Friendship, Family
Our relations with intimate others are governed by a quite distinctive set of norms. We don't normally think it is appropriate to adopt the strategic attitude of the actor in commercial settings, nor do we adopt the impartial disinterest of the actor in the public life. How did the intimate sphere become carved out as a specific domain in modern social life and what has been said about the distinctiveness of its governing expectations? This unit looks at a range of accounts of the specialness of love, friendship and familial relations. And what of the present realities that confront these relations? In particular, how do the conservative agendas of neo-liberal states attempt to exploit the special character of intimate relations while at the same time reshaping this domain into terms consistent with their own imperatives?
| Credit Points: | 4 |
| Contact Hours: | 3 |
| When Offered: | 2010 - offered in 2010 |
| Staff Contact: | Dr Harry Blatterer |
| Prerequisites: | 40cp |
| Corequisites: | |
| NCCWs: | |
| Unit Designations: | Social Science |
| Assessed As: | Graded |
| Offered By: |
Department of Sociology |