How do theories of culture inform our understanding of either nations, class, ci
How do theories of culture inform our understanding of either nations, class, cities, or bodies?
How do theories of culture inform our understanding of either nations, class, cities, or bodies?
This question asks you to assess the contribution made by a cultural perspective to one of the issues discussed in the block: nations, class, cities, or bodies. Each of the weeks provides a lot of material for you to draw upon, both in the chapter and in the online content, so you will have to be selective in the material that you use.
In each of the weeks, different theories of culture are drawn upon to consider the issue you have chosen. Given that it would be difficult to cover all the theoretical approaches within the word limit, you might want to focus on one or two of the theorists discussed in more detail. (For example, in Week 10 you were introduced to the theories of Simmel, Benjamin, Jacobs and de Certeau; each of these theorists provides a different lens for understanding cities, so you would need to explain how the theories you’ve chosen inform our understanding of cities.) Some chapters discuss how a cultural approach differs from earlier approaches, and outlining these shifts in relevant social theory in your essay would also be useful.
Also, in each chapter you explored how the theoretical approaches can be applied to understanding different issues. In some weeks there are quite a number of issues discussed, so once again, you might want to limit your discussion to one or two of these, teasing out what a cultural perspective brings to our understanding and, where relevant, how these might differ from earlier approaches.
The better essays will not only show an excellent understanding of the relevant concepts, they will be well structured, will provide strong arguments that are supported by evidence, and they will be well referenced.
Excellent comprehension of what a cultural perspective contributes to an understanding of the selected issue: nations, class, cities, or bodies
Excellent explanation and analysis, with a wide range of evidence to support the arguments
Excellent structure and clarity of expression
Full and appropriate referencing of sources