SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES I

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1 SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES I Sociology 510 Fall 2011 M 4:15-7:05pm, Humanities 114 Professor: Elizabeth Popp Berman Office: Arts & Sciences epberman@albany.edu Phone: (518) Office Hours: Th 2-3:30pm, F 3-4:30pm, and by appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION This seminar provides an overview of classical sociological theories, focusing particularly on those of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim, but also touching on pre-sociological political theory, Georg Simmel, W.E.B. Du Bois, and George Herbert Mead. It does not assume prior knowledge of sociological theory. I have two main goals for the class. The first is for you to acquire a solid familiarity with the ideas and perspectives of these theorists. The second is for you to start to understand how these writers fit into a larger, ongoing conversation about how the social world works that starts before them and extends all the way to the present. The course is organized roughly in chronological order. First are the political theorists and economists of the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Then comes Marx, who was born in Then Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, Du Bois, and Mead, all of whom were born in the very fruitful decade of 1858 to In addition to the primary sources, we will draw on Anthony Giddens Capitalism and Modern Social Theory, which provides an overview of the work of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, and selections from Randall Collins Four Sociological Traditions. In the last week of class we will read a contemporary book by Donald Levine that ties the threads of these different theoretical traditions together and explores the different visions of classical theory that sociologists use today. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING There are three main requirements for this class. 1) Class participation. A central requirement of the seminar is active and informed participation. Most of our time will be spent discussing texts, so it is critical that everyone come prepared to engage with the readings and with one another. The primary thing I am looking for is that you have done the readings and that you verbally contribute in class (without dominating the conversation). I am less concerned with whether you sound smart while you are doing it. 2) Ten short reflection memos on the readings. On ten of the thirteen Mondays that we meet (after the first day), you should turn in by a brief set of reflections on the week s readings. These memos should respond in paragraph form to the following questions: 1) What do you think the main themes of this week s texts were? 2) What about the texts (if anything) did you find difficult to understand? 3) What questions or issues do you think are worth discussing further in class? 1

2 I may also add a question or two specific to the week s reading. Your memo should focus on the primary sources; you don t need to address the secondary sources unless there is something in particular that you want to bring in. The memos should be at least one single-spaced page in length, and not longer than two singlespaced pages. They are due Sunday nights. (Very early Monday morning is fine, but I would like to be able to look at them over breakfast Monday, which is unfortunately at 5:15am.) If you are not able to send your reflection memo by that time, please use that week as one of your weeks off. 3) Two 7-10 page essays on one or two theorists. These essays will be on a theme of your choice. They can focus on a single theorist, or can compare two. The essays should be analytic and based on the class readings. You do not have to use additional sources unless you want to. We ll spend time talking about possible appropriate topics in the weeks to come. They are due in class on: Mon. Oct. 17 (the political philosophers, Marx and/or Weber) Mon. Dec. 5 (your choice of theorists, but the content should not overlap with the first essay) Grading. The grading is based 50% on class participation and the short memos, and 50% on the two longer essays. The essays will be formally graded (letter grade and comments), but the short memos will not be individually graded. However, when I return the first essay I will also give you a letter grade and brief comments on your participation and memos to that point, and feel free to ask how you are doing at any point. REQUIRED BOOKS We read a lot of books in this class. All except for the Du Bois reader (which the bookstore could not get) are available at the university bookstore and Mary Jane Books. If you buy them all at the bookstore you will spend a whole lot of money. Fortunately, most of them are available used online, often pretty cheaply. As of this writing, buying them all new on Amazon would cost $206, and buying all the cheapest used copies on Amazon would cost $76, including shipping. All books except the Du Bois reader and the Simmel book are also on three-hour reserve at the library. The Giddens we will use many weeks, The Marx-Engels Reader we will use for three weeks, and the Gerth and Mills volume we will use for two weeks. The other books we use for a week each. While it will be harder to participate in class if you do not have the book (we will frequently refer to the text), and you will need some subset of the books to write your papers, you may use your judgment about how many of the one-week books to purchase. Giddens, Anthony Capitalism and Modern Social Theory: An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim, and Max Weber. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tucker, Robert C., ed The Marx-Engels Reader. Second edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Weber, Max The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. (Any edition you can get it substantially cheaper than the version in the bookstore.) 2

3 Gerth, H. H., and Mills, C. Wright, eds From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. (Any edition but if you buy on Amazon, beware! The default edition with the plain cover is literally a bound photocopy of a marked-up old edition read the customer reviews.) Durkheim, Emile The Division of Labor in Society. New York: Free Press. (Other editions are fine.) Durkheim, Emile The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, translated by Karen E. Fields. New York: Free Press. (Most editions are fine, but avoid the Oxford World s Classics edition, which is abridged.) Levine, Donald N., ed Georg Simmel on Individuality and Social Forms. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lewis, David Levering, ed W.E.B. Du Bois: A Reader. New York: Owl Books. (Out of print you need to buy this one online.) Mead, George Herbert Mind, Self, and Society: From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Levine, Donald N Visions of the Sociological Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Also ask me about this one.) There will also be several other readings posted on ereserves.albany.edu (password: theory). THEORIES OF SOCIETY Monday 29 August Introduction to the course *** No class Monday 9/5 Labor Day *** Monday 12 September The political philosophers Collins, Four Sociological Traditions, pp (this will be available on ereserves) All of the following can be found at Hobbes, Leviathan, Ch. 13 Locke, Second Treatise of Government, Ch. 5 Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Parts I & II Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book 1 Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments Read: Part 1: Sec. 1 Ch. 1 and Sec. 3 Ch. 2 Part 2: Sec. 2 Ch. 3 Part 3: Ch. 1 Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Chs. 1-3 [Continued on next page] 3

4 Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Preface, Introduction, first four pages of Ch. 2 (till she starts the comparison between women and military men), and Ch. 9 Monday 19 September Marx: Alienation and historical materialism Giddens, Introduction and Chs. 1-2 Collins, pp (ereserves) Tucker, pp. 66, , 146, and Monday 26 September Marx and Engels: Class and the relations of production Giddens, Chs. 3-4 Tucker, pp , 294, , , , , , , Monday 3 October Marx: Politics Tucker, pp. 469, , , , Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (Read all but the prefaces; available at and Monday 10 October Weber: The Protestant Ethic Giddens, Chs Collins, pp (ereserves) Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (no need to read the extra essays included in some editions) Monday 17 October Weber: Rationalization, power and politics Giddens, Ch. 11 Gerth and Mills, Science as a Vocation, Class, Status, Party, Bureaucracy Weber, Economy and Society, pp. 4-43, 53-56, , , (ereserves) Monday 23 October Weber: Capitalism and religion Giddens, Ch. 12 Weber, General Economic History, pp (ereserves) Gerth and Mills, Religious Rejections of the World and Their Directions, India: The Brahman and the Castes, The Chinese Literati Monday 30 October Durkheim: Division of Labor 4

5 [Note the readings for this week and the following week are somewhat longer than those in other weeks plan accordingly] Giddens, Ch. 5 Collins, pp (ereserves) Durkheim, Division of Labor in Society, Preface to the First Edition, Introduction, Book I: Chs. 1-3 and 5-6, Book II: Chs. 1-2 and 5, Book III: Chs. 1-3, Conclusion Monday 7 November Durkheim: Elementary Forms Giddens, Chs. 6-8 Durkheim, Elementary Forms of Religious Life Read: Introduction Book I: Ch. 1 (part 3 only) and 4 Book II: Chs. 1-4, 7 (parts 1, 2, and 4), 8 (parts 2, 5, and 6) Book III: Chs. 1, 4 (part 3) and 5 Conclusion Monday 14 November Simmel: Social forms Simmel, On Individuality and Social Forms, Chs. 3, 6, 8-10, Monday 21 November Du Bois: Race Morris, Sociology of Race and W. E. B. DuBois: The Path Not Taken, from Sociology in America (ed. Calhoun) (ereserves) Lewis, W.E.B. Du Bois: A Reader Read: (they are all very short) The Conservation of Races Of our Spiritual Strivings The Color Line Belts the World The Gift of the Spirit China and Africa Economics The Propaganda of History The Negroes of Farmville, Virginia A Negro Student at Harvard at the End of the Nineteenth Century Woman Suffrage The Damnation of Women Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others Social Equality and Racial Intermarriage The Souls of White Folk [Continued on next page] Marxism and the Negro Problem A Negro Nation within the Nation 5

6 Socialism and the Negro Problem My Evolving Program for Negro Freedom The Vast Miracle of China Today The African Roots of the War The Disenfranchised Colonies Monday 28 November Mead: Pragmatism Collins, pp (ereserves) Mead, pp and Monday 5 December Synthesis and reflection Levine, Chs. 1-5 (read quickly), 7-10 and 12 (more slowly) 6