1 CLASSICAL SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY (Soc 201A) Tuesday 10am-12pm Barrows Hall Room 402 Fall 2017 Contact information: Marion Fourcade Barrows Hall 474 fourcade@berkeley.edu (510) 643 2707 This course offers an introduction to the construction of social theories through a survey and critical analysis of the foundational texts in sociology. We will explore the following questions: (1) What are the main themes and arguments developed in classical sociological theory? (2) How do they relate to the social and intellectual context in which these texts were produced? (3) How have these theories and methods been used in recent sociological research? (4) How can they help us formulate explanations of social phenomena? This seminar is required of first-year graduate students in sociology. It is also open to graduate students in other fields, as well as to senior-year sociology majors, upon permission of the instructor. Requirements (1) One page (no more) reaction paper based on weekly readings (excluding course intro and conclusion). These papers are required every week starting on September 5 and have to be posted on the course website by midnight on Monday. The format is completely open ended. However you should use clear and concise language to summarize, probe or challenge the readings. You are also strongly encouraged to take this as an opportunity to write a pointed memo about a particular question that interests you. In doing so, you are welcome to compare this author s arguments with those provided by other theorists (e.g.: how do Durkheim and Simmel conceptualize the nature of the social bond?). You are entitled to miss three reaction papers in the course of the semester, for a total of 9 reaction papers. (each paper will be marked as -,, or +) (2) One final essay (15-20 double-spaced pages) This essay will address an interesting empirical question of your choice and contrast at least three possible theoretical explanations for it, using the perspectives developed in this class. You should work on this paper throughout the semester and are encouraged to check the topic with me.
2 (3) Participation in class discussions is essential, but so is courtesy vis-à-vis other students and a helpful attitude toward facilitating the collective conversation. Please be mindful that everyone should get an opportunity to participate. Course website A course website has been set up in bcourse (Classical Sociological Theory). I encourage you to use the website to communicate with me and with your classmates. Readings The following books are required and have been ordered from the Cal student store. They have also been placed on graduate reserve in Moffitt library. Additional readings are available from electronic reserves on the course website, under resources. Robert C. Tucker, ed. 1978. The Marx-Engels Reader. W. W. Norton. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds. From Max Weber. Oxford University Max Weber. 2001. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Penguin. Emile Durkheim. 2001. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Oxford University Marcel Mauss. 1990. The Gift. WW Norton. Norbert Elias. 2000. The Civilizing Process. Wiley-Blackwell. George Herbert Mead. 1962. Mind, Self and Society. University of Chicago Donald N. Levine (ed.) 1971. Georg Simmel. On Individuality and Social Forms. University of Chicago Not required, but useful background readings: Raymond Aron. 1998. Main Currents of Modern Sociological Thought. Vols I and II. Transaction Publishers. Marshall Berman. 1983. All That is Solid Melts into Air: The Experience of Modernity. London: Verso Randall Collins. 1994. Four Sociological Traditions. Oxford University Lewis Coser. 2003. Masters of Sociological Thought. Ideas in Historical and Social Context. 2 nd edition. Waveland Anthony Giddens. 1973. Capitalism and Modern Social Theory. Cambridge University Geoffrey Hawthorn. 1987. Enlightenment and Despair. A History of Social Theory. Cambridge University
3 August 29. The Historical Emergence of Sociology, the Status of Sociological Theory. Kieran Healy. 2017. Fuck Nuance. Sociological Theory. 35(2) 118 127. C. Wright Mills. 2000. The Sociological Imagination. Oxford University Chapters 1-3. Geoffrey Hawthorn. 1987. Enlightenment and Despair. A History of Social Theory. Cambridge University Introduction and Enlightenment and Doubt, pp1-27. : On the history of sociology: Randall Collins. 1994. Prologue: The Rise of the Social Sciences. Pp3-46 in Four Sociological Traditions. University of Chicago Press 1994. Johan Heilbron. 1995. The Rise of Social Theory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Wolf Lepenies. 1988. Between Literature and Science: The Rise of Sociology. Cambridge University On the place and meaning of theory within sociology: Jeffrey Alexander. 1996. The Centrality of the Classics in Stephen P. Turner, Social Theory and Sociology: The Classics and Beyond, Blackwell Pub. Craig Calhoun. 1992. Sociology, Other Disciplines, and the Project of a General Understanding of Social Life. Pp137-196 in T. Halliday and M. Janowitz, eds. Sociology and Its Publics. The Forms and Fates of Disciplinary Organization. University of Chicago Connell, R. W. 1967. Why is Classical Theory Classical? American Journal of Sociology 52(6):1511-57. Gabriel Abend. 2008. The Meaning of Theory. Sociological Theory 26(2):173-199. September 5. Karl Marx I. Biography and Method. Historical Materialism and the Theory of Alienation. Adam Smith, 2009. The Wealth of Nations. Pp9-26, 986-994. Bantam Classics. From: Robert C. Tucker, ed. 1978. The Marx-Engels Reader. W. W. Norton. The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1944, pp. 66-105, esp. 70-81 ( estranged labour ). Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, pp3-6 Theses on Feuerbach, pp. 143-145 The German Ideology, pp. 146-200
4 E.P. Thompson. 1967. Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism. Past & Present 38:56 97. Francis Wheen. 2001. Karl Marx. A Life. W. W. Norton. G.A. Cohen. 2000. Karl Marx s Theory of History: A Defense. Princeton University Allen Wood. 2004. Karl Marx. Second edition. Routledge. Geoffrey Hawthorn. 1987. History resolved by men. Pp51-65 in Enlightenment and Despair. A History of Social Theory. Cambridge University September 12. Karl Marx II. Classes and Class Struggle. From: Robert C. Tucker, ed. 1978. The Marx-Engels Reader. W. W. Norton. Manifesto of the Communist Party, pp. 473-483 18 th Brumaire of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, pp. 594-617 W.E.B. Du Bois. 1935. Black Reconstruction in America. New York: Russell & Russell. Pp. 3 39; 670 710. : Shlomo Avineri. 1968. Karl Marx: Social and Political Thought. Cambridge University For modern critiques and restatements of Marxist class analysis, see in particular: Georg Lukács. 1972. History and Class Consciousness. MIT Erik Olin Wright. 1998. Classes. Verso. Pierre Bourdieu. 1985. Social Space and the Genesis of Groups. Theory and Society 14(6): 723-744. September 19. Karl Marx III. Capitalist Accumulation and Crisis. From: Robert C. Tucker, ed. 1978. The Marx-Engels Reader, W. W. Norton. Wage Labor and Capital, pp. 203-217 Capital, Vol. I., pp. 302-308 (commodities), 319-329 (fetishism of commodities), 329-336 (general formula of capital); 419-431 (general law of capitalist accumulation); primitive accumulation (431-434). Robert Heilbroner. 1999. The Inexorable System of Karl Marx, pp. 136-170 in The Worldly Philosophers. Simon and Schuster. Joseph Schumpeter. 1984. Marx the Economist. Chapter 3 in Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. HarperCollins.
5 Duncan Foley. 1986. Understanding Capital: Marx s Economic Theory. Harvard University William Baumol. 1974. The Transformation of Values: What Marx Really Meant (An Interpretation). Journal of Economic Literature 12:51-62. September 26. Max Weber I. Biography and Method. Interpretation, Values, and the Rationalization of Society. Max Weber. 1978. The Nature of Social Action pp7-32 in Walter Runciman, ed. Weber. Selections in Translation. Cambridge University [course website] From: H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. eds. From Max Weber. Oxford University Politics as a Vocation pp. 77-128 Science as a Vocation pp. 129-156. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. Introduction: The Man and His Work pp3-74 in H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. From Max Weber. Oxford University Reinhard Bendix. 1977. Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait. University of California Geoffrey Hawthorn. 1987. History resolved by will. Pp137-163 in Enlightenment and Despair. A History of Social Theory. Cambridge University Wolfgang Schluchter. 1979. The Paradox of Rationalization. In Guenther Roth and Wolfgang Schluchter, eds. Max Weber s Vision of History. Ethics and Methods. University of California Robert K. Merton. 1936. The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action. American Sociological Review 1(6): 894-904. October 3. Max Weber II. Power. Max Weber. The Types of Legitimate Domination. Pp. 212-254 in Economy and Society. University of California [course website] From: H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds. From Max Weber. Oxford University The Sociology of Charismatic Authority pp. 245-252 Class, Status and Party pp. 180-195 Bureaucracy pp. 196-244
6 Bourdieu, Pierre. 1984. Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Stanford University Rosemary Crompton. 2008. Class and Stratification. Third Edition. Polity George Ritzer. 2007. The McDonaldization of Society. Pine Forge October 10. Max Weber III. Religion. Max Weber. 2002. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Penguin. Pp1-36 (the problem / the spirit of capitalism); 67-87 (the idea of the calling in ascetic protestantism); 105-122 (asceticism and the capitalist spirit); 203-219 (churches and sects in North America) Max Weber. 1978. The Soteriology of the Underprivileged Pp. 174-191 in Walter Runciman (ed). Weber. Selections in Translation. Cambridge University [course website] Max Weber. The Social Psychology of the World Religions pp. 267-301 in H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds. From Max Weber. Oxford University Randall Collins. 1992. Weber s Last Theory of Capitalism in Mark Granovetter and Richard Swedberg, The Sociology of Economic Life, Westview R. S. Warner. 1970. The role of religious ideas and the use of models in Max Weber's comparative studies of non-capitalist societies. The Journal of Economic History 30(1), 74-99. Talcott Parsons. 1938. The role of ideas in social action. American Sociological Review 3(5), 652-664. October 17. Emile Durkheim I. Biography and Method. Social Facts and Social Morphology. From Emile Durkheim. 1982. Rules of Sociological Method. The Free Pp. 38-88. [course website] Preface to the Second Edition Chapter 1 What is a Social Fact? Chapter 2 Rules Relative to the Observation of Social Facts. From Emile Durkheim. 1953. Sociology and Philosophy. New York: Glencoe [course website]
7 The Determination of Moral Facts. Pp. 35-62 Social Morphology. Pp. 241-242 From Anthony Giddens, ed. 1972. Durkheim. Selected Writings. Cambridge University [course website] Forms of Social Solidarity. Pp. 123 140 The Division of Labour and Social Differentiation. Pp. 141 154 Steven Lukes. 1982. Introduction Pp1-27 in Rules of Sociological Method. The Free Geoffrey Hawthorn. 1987. History Resolved by Laws III. Pp112-136 in Enlightenment and Despair. A History of Social Theory. Cambridge University Gianfranco Poggi. 2000. Durkheim. Oxford University Steven Lukes. 1985. Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work, a Historical and Critical Study. Stanford University October 24. Emile Durkheim II. Knowledge, Religion and Ritual. Emile Durkheim. 1995 (1912). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Oxford Classics. Introduction. Book I, Chapters 1, 4. Book II, Chapters 1, 3, 6, 7. Book III Chapter 1, 2. Conclusion. Emile Durkheim and Marcel Mauss. 1963. Primitive Classification. University of Chicago [course website] The Problem. Pp3-10 Zuni, Sioux. Pp42-45 Conclusion. Pp81-88. Warren Schmaus. 2004. Durkheim and the Social Character of the Categories. In Rethinking Durkheim and His Tradition. Cambridge University Press Claude Levi-Strauss. 1971. Nature and Culture Pp5-11 in The Elementary Structures of Kinship. Beacon Pierre Bourdieu. 1979. The Kabyle house or the world reversed. In Algeria 1960. Cambridge University Mary Douglas. 1984. Purity and Danger. An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Routledge. October 31. Marcel Mauss. The Total Social Fact. Marcel Mauss. 1990. The Gift. University of Chicago
8 From Marcel Mauss. 1973. Techniques of the Body. Economy and Society 2(1): 70-88. [course website] Claude Lévi-Strauss. 1969. The Elementary Structures of Kinship. Beacon (esp. preface to the first edition and chapter 5, the principle of reciprocity ) November 7. Sigmund Freud and Norbert Elias. Psychogenesis and Sociogenesis. Sigmund Freud. 1989. Excerpt from Civilization and its Discontents. Pp737-742, 752-756 (until like a garrison in a conquered city ), 767-772 in Peter Gay, ed. The Freud reader. W.W. Norton. [course website] Norbert Elias. 1994. The Civilizing Process. Blackwell. Ppix-xv, Part II (passim, focus on analytical parts), Part IV, (and if you can: Postscript). Philip Gorski. 2003. The Disciplinary Revolution. Calvinism and the Rise of the State in Early Modern Europe. University of Chicago November 14. Cooley, Mead, DuBois. Charles Horton Cooley. The Looking Glass Self In Human Nature and the Social Order. Pp179-185 [course website] George Herbert Mead. 1967. Mind, Self and Society. University of Chicago Pp 42-68 (the mind); 135-209 (the self), 273-281, 303-310, 317-328 (society). W.E.B. Du Bois. 1903. Of Our Spiritual Strivings. Pp. 7 15 in The Soul of Black Folks. New York: Modern Library. [course website] George Herbert Mead. 1967. Mind, Self and Society. University of Chicago The Point of View of Social Behaviorism pp. 1-41. Hans Joas. 1997. Mead: A Contemporary Re-examination of His Thought. MIT Erving Goffman. 1982. Interaction Ritual. Pantheon Books. November 21. Georg Simmel. A Sociology of Forms.
9 From: Donald N. Levine (ed.) 1971. Georg Simmel. On Individuality and Social Forms, University of Chicago Pp. ix-lxv (introduction by D. Levine), 6-32 ( how is society possible?, the problem of sociology ), 143-149 ( the stranger ), 251-339 ( group expansion and the development of individuality, metropolis, fashion ). From: Kurt Wolff (ed.) 1950. From the Sociology of George Simmel. Free Pp188-239. [course website] On the Isolated Individual and the Dyad (and if you have time: the Triad ). Kurt Wolff. 1950. Introduction in The Sociology of Georg Simmel. Free Ron Breiger. 1974. The Duality of Persons and Groups Social Forces 53:181-90. November 28. Wrap-up and conclusion. Connell, R. W. 1967. Why is Classical Theory Classical? American Journal of Sociology 52(6): 1511-57. [course website] December 5. Theory potlatch (RRR) December 8: Final paper due (please provide a hard copy, even if you email the paper)