Sociology G93.2111
Fall 2003
Craig Calhoun & Robert Max Jackson
Description
This course introduces some of the “classical” theoretical traditions that have guided sociological work. We will read and discuss selections from theorists whose works have shaped the discipline. Those considered will include De Tocqueville, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, Mead, Parsons, and Goffman. To the extent possible, we will place these authors contributions in their historical contexts, although we can only skim the surface of social thought's rich history. We will focus on the analytical assumptions and implications of each theoretical approach.
Sociological theories try to render the social world understandable. They are logical apparatuses with empirical implications. We will explore both how to grasp the internal logic of a theory and how that theory applies to real social processes and to history. We will also try to improve students' analytical and writing skills.
Requirements
All
class meetings will run as discussions (some classes will begin with an
orienting lecture). In these discussions, the students will try to
resolve issues raised by the professors. Every
student must come prepared to every class and
participate.
Written assignments will include
short papers examining class readings throughout the semester and a
take-home exam requiring
essays similar to the short papers' format. These short papers
will be written as group projects. Students must submit
all assignments on time. Incompletes will not be given.
Papers
- Click here for some questions that may help in reading and assessing theoretical works.
- Click here for some general suggestions about writing papers, particularly those concerning theory.
- Click here for a schedule of paper due dates and the composition of writing groups.
- Click here to see the submitted papers.
Readings (Dates will be revised as needed.)
General Background (Optional): Giddens and Turner Social Theory Today
Introduction. 1 week
Sept. 3: Enlightenment and Precursors. What is a theory? (Background reading: Craig Calhoun's “Introduction” to the reader Classical Sociological Theory, ed. Calhoun, Gerteis, Moody, Pfaff, Schmidt, and Virk)
I. Alexis de Tocqueville. 1 week
Sept. 10: Democracy in America (Required: Volume 1, Part 1, Chaps. 3, 4; Part 2, Chaps. 3, 4, 6-9; Volume 2, Parts 2 and 4;. Read what you can of the rest.). The causes and consequences of democratic political organization. Writing assignment: Prepare an analysis of the theoretical logic as described separately.
II. Max Weber. 2 weeks
Sept. 17: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. What is the relationship between religious and economic organization?
Sept. 24: "Class, Status, & Party" and "Bureaucracy". These may be found in Economy and Society (Roth & Wittich, eds.; Vol. 2, Ch. IX, Sect. 6 & Ch. XI) or From Max Weber (Gerth & Mills, eds.) How does power and authority become organized in modern societies?
III. Karl Marx. 2 weeks
Oct. 1: The Marx-Engels Reader. [read in order] Pp. 3-6, 136-142, 16-125, 143-145, 148-188, 473-483, 594-617, 665-676, 525-541. Marx's broad theoretical agenda and political theory.
Oct.
8: Pp. 203-217, 294-465,
683-717. Marx's specific theory of capitalism.
IV. Retrospective. 1 week
Oct. 15.
Comparative reappraisal of Weber and Marx
V. Emile Durkheim. 2 weeks
Oct. 22: Suicide (focus on "anomic" suicide) & Rules of the Sociological Method (focus on first three chapters). How does social organization systematically influence moral choice and individual actions? How should we apprehend social insights? (How well does the logic of Durkheim's analysis of suicide fit or violate his ideas in the Rules?)
Oct. 29: Division of Labor (focus on Chs. 2 & 3 of Book 1, peruse the detailed table of contents, skim rest as appropriate) and Elementary Forms of Religious Life (focus on introduction and conclusion). What cement unifies societies under different evolutionary conditions? How does religious belief reflect social organization? (What are the primary theoretical arguments in these two works? Compare them.)
VI. Generalizations. 1 week,
Nov. 5.
Generalizations derived from Weber, Durkheim, and Marx.
VII. Georg Simmel. 1 week
Nov. 12: Georg Simmel on Individuality and Social Forms (Levine, ed.) Introduction & Chs. 1-3, 5-6, 18, 20, 22, 24. A neo-Kantian theory stress the form-content distinction and the relationship between individuals and social structure.
VIII. George Herbert Mead. 1 week
Nov. 19: Mind, Self, & Society Chs. 17-42. Symbolic interaction--self and society construct each other.
IX. Talcott Parsons. 1 week
Dec. 3: Toward a General Theory of Action; Neil Smelser, The Theory of Collective Behavior, Introduction. Systematic functionalism.