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Soc. 401
Professor Roberts
Classical Social Theory
Course description
This class is designed to provide students with a close reading of selected texts in
classical social theory. Classical social theory seeks to make sense of the enormous
transformation in everyday life that marks the birth of modernity. Such epoch shifting
events as the Enlightenment, the Protestant Reformation, the French Revolution and
the transition to capitalism constitute the objects of modern social thought. These
major changes taken together comprise the development of what sociologists call “the
modern world system.” Selections of key texts will be drawn from the works of Comte,
Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Mead and Freud. We will also discuss how many of the
themes in classical social theory have their origins in the philosophers of antiquity,
including Plato and Aristotle. This course is the first in the sequence of two social theory
courses, classical and contemporary social theory. In this class, we investigate how
sociologists explain the emergence of modernity. Contemporary social theory considers
a series of issues having to do with the transition from modernity to post-modernity.
In addition to examining social change at the macro-level, social theory also
seeks an understanding of the “nature” or possibility of the self in society. One of the
main themes we will discuss in this class is the conflict between the individual and
society and the possible transcendence of that conflict. The question of “happiness”
will frame how we approach an understanding of the conflicts between individuals and
the institutions in society that constrain them. Each of the theorists we read asks some
version of the following question: to what extent can individuals obtain freedom and
happiness in modern society? Whether it’s Weber’s concept of the “iron cage,” Marx’s
distinction between the realm of necessity and the realm of freedom, Durkheim’s claim
that Sociology must not remain neutral regarding the “degradation of the individual,” or
Freud’s ruminations on the barriers we find while traveling upon our “road to
happiness,” each of the classical theorists of modernity seeks to expand our
understanding of this problem; namely the lack of freedom and happiness in modernity.
To ask about freedom and happiness means that social theory seeks to bridge
the gap between the social sciences and the humanities. In a social scientific manner,
social theory seeks to explain both the possibility of, and the inner-workings of the
institutions that constitute modern society. But, following the humanities, social theory
also asks other kinds of questions like: what kind of society would we want to live in?
And: what are the conditions that constitute a “good” society?
Goals:
1. It is our goal to achieve an adequate understanding of the terms of the debate
regarding the emergence of modernity and the modern world system, through
close readings of primary texts and comparison of a variety of different
paradigms in classical social theory. In short, a main goal for this course is to
develop the ability to present, interpret and synthesize divergent viewpoints in
social theory.
2. Another goal in this class is to demonstrate critical thinking by applying the
sociological imagination to the analysis of historical and contemporary social
issues. This includes the ability to distinguish social patterns from individual
biography.
Course Requirements and Grading Policy:
Attendance is required and class participation in class discussion combined with
written comments on assigned readings counts as roughly 20% of your grade. These
papers are twice-a-month assignments and are evaluated in terms of reading
comprehension. Your comments will consist of a summary of the main points discussed
by the author of the assigned reading as well as you evaluation/interpretation of the
texts. The written comments should be at least 2 pages, typed and double-spaced.
Hand written comments will not be accepted. Comments papers are due at the end of
class after completion of group discussion based upon the content of your papers.
Usually there are 5 or 6 key points to cover in the short papers. You are also required to
bring your books to class. Bringing your book is part of the participation requirement.
Two quizzes make up the next 20% of your grade. Quizzes are fill-in the blank and T/F
format. The remaining 60% of your grade consists of three, six-page (minimum) papers,
typed. Again, hand written papers will not be accepted. The longer papers are takehome assignments that will consist of essay-form answers to questions prepared by me
in advance. The take-home essay exams ask you to compare and contrast two theorists
on a few general topics that we will discuss at length in class. The long essay
assignments are syntheses of the short papers that you write throughout the semester.
You have one week to finish each long paper assignment. These papers will be assigned
letter grades. I will accept one late short paper and one late long essay. Beyond that,
no late papers will be accepted. I also allow a re-write on one short paper.
Required books:
There are five required books and a small packet of articles, but don’t worry!
They wont’ cost more than a big, heavy, expensive and boring textbook. Plus, some of
them are short, and we won’t read every page of every book. I don’t believe in
secondary source textbooks, because you can’t learn as much form a textbook as you
can by going straight to the source. Most importantly, these books are “classics,” and
any college educated person out to have most of these particular books in their own
personal library. For Sociology majors, they are essential texts. The books are:
Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
Emile Durkheim, Selected Writings
Karl Marx, The Marx/Engels Reader (edited by Robert Tucker)
Max Weber, Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism
George Herbert Mead, Mind Self and Society
If you need to contact me, my email is [email protected], and my office phone is
594-4245. My office room number is NH 213. My office hours are M 3-4:00pm and or
by appointment.
Semester Outline of Readings and Topics: This reading schedule is subject to change, but
this is the order of readnigs and a good estimate of how many class sessions we will
devote to each theorist.
Week1: Topics: Introductory Discussion Lecture on Sociological Perspective in Theory
Reading: Plato and Aristotle (hand out)
Week 2: Topics: Psychoanalysis and Social Theory
Reading: Freud TBA
Week 3: Topic: Psychoanalysis and Functionalism
Reading: Freud and Durkheim TBA
Week 4: Topic: Functionalism/Consensus Theory
Reading: Durkheim TBA
Week 5: Topic: Functionalism/Consensus Theory
Reading: Durkheim TBA
*First Paper Due
Week 6: Topic: Conflict Theory Part 1: Marxist Theory/Historical Materialism
Reading: Marx TBA
Week 7: Topic: Conflict Theory Part 1: Marxist Theory/Historical Materialism Continued
Reading: Marx TBA
Week 8: Topic: Conflict Theory 1: Marxist theory and historical materialism Continued
Reading: Marx TBA
Week 9: Topic: Conflict Theory Part 2: Weberian Social Theory
Reading: Weber TBA
*Second Paper Due
Week 10: Topic: Conflict Theory Part 2: Weberian Social Theory
Reading: Weber TBA
Week 11: Topic: Weberian theory continued
Reading: Weber TBA
Week 12: Topic: Frankfurt School/Critical Theory
Reading: Lukacs (PDF uploaded on blackboard) TBA
Week 13: Topic: Symbolic Interactionism
Reading: Mead TBA
Week 14: Topic: Symbolic Interactionsim
Reading: Mead TBA
*Third paper due
Week 15: Topic: Review
Week 16: FINALS EXAM: Quiz, Final paper due