This seminar will be held in English.

Aloneness and the Spectre of Isolation

Seminar Description 

Is aloneness restricted to a burden to be taken care of, or can it also be regarded as a constructive and beneficial kind of social relationship and personal experience? Current attention in science, politics, and media pushes forward an individualistic interpretation of aloneness that ignores its historical specificity and skims over wider societal dynamics. Yet, to sociology, aloneness is socially structured, which also sharpens the problem of human agency in ways that advance our conception of knowledge, choice, and action.

This year’s seminar considers the work of sociologists and critical intellectuals in understanding ‘the spectre of isolation’ to articulate how people can respond to it in a neoliberal age of environmental crises, viral pandemics, and growing inequality. We consider a varied selection of core texts grounded in central theoretical issues – the disruption of selfhood, exclusionary discourses and practices, enforced confinement and escapism, as well as eccentricity from social life and the possibility of choice – alongside a diversity of lesser known thinkers whose contributions complement each other and continue to illuminate the phenomenon of aloneness today.

This seminar introduces students to an interdisciplinary, conceptually innovative, and comprehensive analysis of society. Its primary goal is to promote critical and independent thinking on a problem of historical and contemporary relevance that crosses over race, ethnic, and gender inequalities, sexual disorientations, social psychology, and communication and media studies. In this regard, this seminar also aims at developing students’ knowledge of various methodological and theoretical approaches to sociology.

Seminar Evaluation

1) 50%: Final essay, 3000-3600 words, or 10-12 double-spaced pages, on a topic of your choice. Each essay must refer to a selection of readings from at least two course sections. More details on requirements, suggestions, and options will be provided in class.

2) 35%: In-class oral presentation on a topic of your choice. The presentation must draw on the readings from at least one course section.

3) 15%: Regular active participation is understood broadly, and may include: contributing to in-class discussions, asking questions and offering comments during lectures, other students’ oral presentations, and/or over email, submitting reflections papers, essay outlines or ideas for advice and feedback on ISIS at least one week in advance of the date of oral presentation and the due date for the final essay.