Course Syllabus
SOC 350 Theory I Syllabus online new.doc
The upload version above is highly recommended - version below is less detailed fyi.
SOC 350
Social Theory I
Professor: Yvonne Vissing, PHD
Office: MH 335 at Salem State College, 352 Lafayette St, SSU
Phone: 978-542-6144 office
e mail: yvissing@salemstate.edu
Course Description:
This course introduces students to the classical sociology of the field and offers a guided entry into the complex ideas and writings of the classical sociologists. The concepts they developed to analyze society and the social concerns they addressed remain fundamental to sociology in the 1990s, and are represented in the works of Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Freud, Nietzsche and Simmel. While there was a proliferation of social theory during this period, Marx, Weber and Durkheim addressed the problems of analyzing and understanding modern industrial society in such distinctive and insightful ways that they have set the terms for later developments in sociology, while Nietzsche, Freud and Simmel in different ways questioned the rationalist assumptions characteristic of classical sociology, thus anticipating what came later to be misnamed postmodernism.
I want for you to become conversant with the most important theories in contemporary sociology, and for you to be able to analyze, use, and criticize those theories. Simply memorizing facts about theories is not sufficient; you need to read about them, write about them, and use them; and in doing so you will become more comfortable with them. In order to help us achieve these goals, you will focus on learning about the basic perspectives in sociology. We will focus our attention on both the grand "masters" of the field as well as more contemporary theorists.
Overview of Theory and its Importance:
Theory is important because it shapes our understanding of the world around us. We can choose to focus in on some aspects of why things are the way they are; when we do, we inevitably don’t look at things from other angles. Marx conceived of humans as practical actors and producers whose thoughts and ideas are co-extensive with their material activities, and these activities are in turn the material 'base' of any society. Every society is thus determined by the way in which it produces the economic necessities of life and an economic surplus. For Durkheim sociology is a science which goes beneath the often individualistic appearance of social relations to get at the underlying social facts, which are always collective in nature. Durkheim argued that religion is eminently social, since it is a set of beliefs and practices shared by the group and defining their common existence. Even more controversially, Durkheim argued that the categories which we use to think about the world are derived from society. Nietzsche also challenges the rationalistic, enlightenment assumptions of classical sociology, arguing instead that life is about power and strength. Simmel believed that society was more about social forms and processes than about particular substantive contents. He also argued that the proliferation of social forms in modernity tends to overwhelm the individual - hence the tragedy of culture. Simmel's impressionistic writing style makes his work uniquely accessible - he is an essayist. Weber, in contrast to both Durkheim and Marx, believed that reality was too complex to be entirely known or understood. The social scientist thus produces partial explanations informed by [but not biased by] his concerns or his values. Meanwhile, the actor must impose meaning on an inherently meaningless and conflict-ridden world. Weber analyzed the way in which different world-religions provided different value-systems which geared their believers into (or away from) the world in distinctive ways which were decisive for the development of the great world civilizations, including western capitalism.
Course Objectives:
To identify major themes in the writings of scholars whose work has become the foundation of the field of Sociological inquiry.
- To understand how the themes produced in their works were influenced by the social culture and conditions during the time in which they wrote.
- To relate the themes produced in these works to contemporary social, economic, and political developments.
- To compare and contrast the works of these different key theorists.
- To determine what type of theorist you are.
Required Readings:
Randall Collins and Michael Makowsky. The Discovery of Society. McGraw Hill. Boston, MA.
Recommended Readings:
Robert K. Merton, On Theoretical Sociology, pb.
Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action, 2 vols. pb. [hereafter SSA]
George Ritzer, Sociological Theory, 4th ed. (1996)
Robert C. Tucker editor, The Marx-Engels Reader.
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Hans Gerth & C. Wright Mills editors, From Max Weber.
The Durkheim Reader (from University Reader Printing Service)
Abraham, Francis, and John H. Morgan. 1989. Sociological Thought: From Comte to Sorokin. Indiana: Wyndham Hall Press.
Parsons, Talcott, et al., eds. 1965. Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory. New York: The Free Press.
Zeitlin, Irving M. 1987. Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory. 3d ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY WEBPAGES
The following web sites will be helpful to you, especially in the latter part of the class when you write your end of the semester paper.
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. The Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace: Theory - Sociological theory sources. Social Sciences Virtual Library - Keeps track of online information as part of The World-Wide Web Virtual Library. Sites are inspected and evaluated for their adequacy as information sources. The SocioWeb: Sociological Theory - Search for your favorite theory on the SocioWeb. The Dead Sociologists Index - An extensive collection of writings on and by classics. Sociologists, Dead and Very Much Alive - A long list of online materials on theorists. WWW Virtual Library, Sociology, Sociological Theory and Theorists - Single and multiple theorists. |
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY JOURNALS
It is useful for you to be familiar with the key journals in the field of sociological theory. You may wish to look at some of them for your end of semester paper.
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Theory and Society - Renewal and Critique in Social Theory. Includes subscription-based online editions. Founding Editor: Alvin W. Gouldner.
Theory, Culture and Society - Available online via Ingenta. American Sociological Review - The home page of the ASA journal. Search for JSTOR issues of ASR. American Journal of Sociology - Online from the University of Chicago Press, since 2000. Older issues from 2000 and before in JSTOR. Social Forces - Recent online editions at Project Muse. See also: Social Forces Homepage, including abstracts, at UNC-Chapell Hill. Social Problems - Homepage of the journal of SSSP. Online via Ingenta. Sociological Forum - Homepage of the journal of the ESS. Includes subscription-based online editions (via Table of Contents). Journal of the History of Ideas - Online at Project Muse. Examines the evolution of ideas and their influence on historical developments. Journal of Mundane Behavior - The journal is devoted to the study of the "unmarked" and attempts to incorporate sociological and social theory written for the public eye. Journal of World History - Devoted to historical analysis from a global point of view, the Journal of World History features a range of comparative and cross-cultural scholarship and encourages research on forces that work their influences across cultures and civilizations. |
Grading:
This is a web-based class and as such you are to submit your works on line. I do not want attachments. Please copy and paste your submissions into the box.
You have 7 chapters in your book, each which describes a particular theorist or theoretical school of thought. You are to write a review on the first eight chapters, using the guidelines that will be provided for you. Then, at the end of the semester, you are to write a paper that will allow you to tell me which theorist/school of thought you prefer, and why. This will enable you to decide what type of theorist YOU are!
Each chapter will be worth equal value and the final paper will be worth 100 points.
Specific guidelines will be provided to you for these assignments.
I will be carefully reading each student’s work to make sure they have acquired the key concepts developed by each theorist and are able to apply their work to contemporary life. I will be paying attention to the clarity and logic of the arguments and analyses that you develop. You need to think for yourself and create well organized, well conceptualized pieces of writing that explores what you think each theorist wrote, why, and how their work can be applied. Theory is “heady” work that takes time to emerge; it is not a “cut and paste” type of class. Being able to think clearly and to identify different theoretical approaches used in different people’s arguments is a sign of a good scholar. This is my hope for you. As a result, I want to see well developed pieces of writing, instead of a test. In the long run, it is my opinion that you will learn the material better this way than in a traditional regurgitation-test type format.
There is no final exam because the end of the term required paper will incorporate key concepts developed throughout the course and be an appropriate way to grade you at the end of the term.
Each submission is worth 100 points.
Chapters To Be Read, Analyzed and Critiqued:
Preface & Introduction: Society and Illusion
Salem State University is committed to non-discrimination of handicapped persons as specified in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students who qualify as handicapped under this section of this Act should notify the instructor at the beginning of the course so that reasonable modifications may be made when necessary.
Course Summary:
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