This course offers an exploration into how we understand the self, how identity is shaped and how our agency – our capacity to act – is activated in different contexts. We consider the complexity of systems, practices, forces and agendas that influence our individual, social, and collective lives. You will be introduced to a range of contemporary and enduring social theories from philosophy, sociology and human development that explore and seek to explain subjectivity in contexts ranging from families to online, social institutions and everyday settings. You will inquire into the perceptions of knowledge and the contests of legitimacy between scholarly and professional knowledge systems and broader systems of meaning including lived-experience, embodied knowledge and more-than-human knowledge. Through reflection, observation, collaborative workshopping, discussion and analysis, you will apply these theories to yourself and others and you will engage theories to inform your analysis of specific social settings. Through these course explorations, you will develop introductory skills in reflexive practice and introductory social research skills. You will also develop academic literacy in applying theory to more deeply understand people, communities, relationships and settings.