RERE6022 Social Thoughts on Ethnic Studies

RERE6022 Pemikiran Sosial Tentang Kajian Etnik

Course Coordinator: Dr. Chan Suet Kay

Course Synopsis

This course explores theories and concepts for analysing the nature of ethnic formation, ethnic identities, and the creative production of ethno-racial communities in Malaysia and other countries. Attention will be focused on the social organisation of differences in society, especially regarding the ways human beings create social categories and the significance of these categories in the daily life of the people. The course begins with an international overview of sociological perspectives to provide a foundation for theoretical analysis. It is then followed by a focus on Malaysian social thought perspectives, particularly on ethnic studies. The discussion will give particular attention to ethnicity or ethnic grouping as one of the principal social categories constructed to outline differences among human beings, apart from class, religion, gender, education, political affiliation, place of residence, and more. The discussion will also focus on the interactions between ethnicity and the social categories mentioned above, as well as the impact of these interactions on human life, particularly in a diverse society like Malaysia. The recent phenomenon of intersectionality will also be discussed. The contribution of ethnic studies in theory construction will also be highlighted, and substantiated with empirical examples.

Course Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students in Masters programme should be able to:

Demonstrate in-depth and frontier knowledge regarding social theories in ethnic studies; and
Apply knowledge on social theories in ethnic studies in review of academic and literary publications or creative media content.

At the end of the course, students in PhD programme should be able to:

Demonstrate a critical and in-depth understanding of frontier knowledge regarding social theories in ethnic studies; and
Synthesise existing and new knowledge on social theories in ethnic studies in analyzing academic and literary publications or creative media content.

References

Giddens, A. & Sutton, P. W. 2021. Sociology. 9th ed. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Robertson, R. 2013. Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture. London: SAGE.
The Editors of Salem Press. 2016. Sociology Reference Guide: Theories and Theoretical Approaches. California: Salem Press.
Woodward, K. 2021. Social Sciences: The Big Issues. 4th Edition. Oxon: Routledge.
van Tubengen, F. 2020. Introduction to Sociology. London: Routledge.

^{Source: Excerpts from RERE6022 Proforma for 2021/2022 Academic Session.}
^{Last updated: June 22, 2023}