What Tears Societies Apart

Undergraduate | 2026

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Area/Catalogue
POLI 3006
Course ID icon
Course ID
201047
Level of study
Level of study
Undergraduate
Unit value icon
Unit value
6
Course level icon
Course level
3
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Inbound study abroad and exchange
Inbound study abroad and exchange
The fee you pay will depend on the number and type of courses you study.
Yes
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University-wide elective course
Yes
Single course enrollment
Single course enrolment
Yes
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Note:
Course data is interim and subject to change

Course overview

Contemporary social life can feel riven with conflict young against old, men against women, rich against poor. Culture wars rage in which people are mobilised to support one side and view those who disagree with their position as stupid or evil. Violent conflicts in distant lands can stoke conflict and unrest near and far. Political divisions cut across generational lines and can cause family disputes. This course will analyse various forms of social conflict and polarisation. We will investigate whether polarisation is indeed increasing, and if so, what are the driving forces that lay behind such social conflict. Students will develop skills in analysing contemporary forms of polarisation and conflict and how these might be addressed or remedied.

Course learning outcomes

  • Recognise and apply key concepts through which sociologists investigate social conflict and social polarisation
  • Analyse lay depictions of social conflict or polarisation using sociological concepts and evidentiary standards of the discipline
  • Empirically analyse a contemporary form of social conflict and polarised socio-political debate using sociological perspectives

Prerequisite(s)

N/A

Corequisite(s)

N/A

Antirequisite(s)

N/A