This module introduces students to the fundamentals of modern social and political thought by means of in-depth study of key texts by leading thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth century. An emphasis is placed on classical social theory and liberal political theory as well as more recent departures from those traditions. Students will have an opportunity to read and discuss major works of social theory by Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu as well as works of political theory by J S Mill, John Rawls, Robert Nozick, and Iris Marion Young. During the module students will also have the chance to reflect on fundamental questions about the methodologies employed by social and political theorists and on problems associated with claims to knowledge and objective truth in these fields.