Classical Sociological Theory
Minnesota State University Moorhead Spring 2008
Think on these things…
“We think it a fertile idea that social life must be explained, not by the conceptions of it created by those who participate in it, but by profound causes which escape awareness; and we also think that these causes must principally be sought in the way in which associated individuals are grouped.” Review of Antonio Labriola, ‘Essais sur la conception materialiste de l’historie’ [1897]; in M. Traugott (ed. & trans.), Emile Durkheim on Institutional Analysis, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978, pg.127.
“The first and fundamental rule is to consider social facts as things.”
Emile Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method (first published in French in 1895); in Kenneth Thompson (ed. & trans.), Readings from Emile Durkheim, London: Routledge, 1985, pg. 67.
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and surf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended either in revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.” Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto [1848]; Moscow, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1959, pg. 45-46.
“It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being determines their consciousness.” Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy [1859]; trans. T.B. Bottomore in Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy, ed. T.B. Bottomore and M. Rubel, Harmondworth, Penguin, 1963: 67.
“Power [macht] is the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance, regardless of the basis on which this probability rests. Domination [herrschaft] is the probability that a command with a given specific content will be obeyed by a given group of persons.” Max Weber, Economy and Society (3 vols.), ed. Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich, New York, Bedminster Press, 1968, vol. 1, pg. 4. First published in German in 1925.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Gerth, H.H. and C. Wright Mills (Editors). 1946. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Giddens, Anthony. 1972. Emile Durkheim: Selected Writings. UK: Cambridge University Press.
Tucker, Robert C. 1978. The Marx-Engels Reader. New York: W.W. Norton & Company
RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
Arthur Asa Berger. 2003. Durkheim is Dead. NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Randall Collins. 1994. Four Sociological traditions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lewis A. Coser. 1977. Masters of Sociological Thought. Harcourt Brace Javanovich.
Emile Durkheim. 1984. The Division of Labor in Society. NY: Free Press.
Emile Durkheim. 1973. On Morality and Society. Chicago: University Press.
Emile Durkheim. 1951. Suicide: A Study in Sociology. NY: Free Press.
Eric Fromm. 1961. Marx’s Concept of Man. NY: Continuum.
James B. Rule. 1997. Theory and Progress in Social Science. Cambridge: University Press.
Georg Simmel. 1950. The Sociology of Georg Simmel. NY: Free Press.
Max Weber. 1947. The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. NY: Free Press.
COURSE CONTENT:
This course offers an introduction to the classical tradition in sociological theory through original readings from Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. Along the way, “WE” will encounter the major traditions in sociology (conflict theory, structural functionalism, and theories of rational action). Some issues of paramount concern to this discourse are:
· the structural contexts (or constraints) that informed classical theories.
· the place of cumulative knowledge in the production of classical ideas.
· the role of human agency and freedom given profound structural constraints.
Moreover, “WE” consider the following strategic questions:
· What scope conditions constrain the various classical paradigms?
· Do 19th Century theories have a time limitation? (Or, are classical theories still viable?)
· What are the standards for “good” theory, and how are “WE” to differentiate?
· Is there a place for epistemic-reflexivity in the production of scientific ideas?
COURSE STRUCTURE & POLICIES:
Class attendance and participation are required. Assigned readings should to be read before each class session. Students should be fully prepared to answer questions and make informed comments on assigned readings. In a typical class period, I will lecture for more than half of the apportioned time, but I will always try to set aside time for discussion and/or questions. In my classes, I endeavor to create a “safe space” so that no question or comment is ignored or seen as unimportant. In “safe spaces,” everyone should feel empowered to interrogate the professor and to engage other students in a manner that is respectful and caring, yet intellectually rigorous. A FOREWARNING: THIS COURSE IS READING & (W)RITING INTENSIVE. Conscientious students should anticipate (at least) 8 to 10 hours of reading per week.
GRADES & COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Three (3) Theory Meditations from Modules I, II, & III 60%
2. Three (3) Scholarly Outlines & Discussant Leader Presentations from Modules I, II, & III 20%
3. Consistent Class Attendance (I will deduct two points, or 10%, from this total for each absence) 20%
100%
I require three (3) scholarly outlines and discussant leader presentations, one for each module, of selected topics and readings. The scholarly outlines should be 1-2 pages in length, and your discussant leader presentations are based on your scholarly outlines. Your outlines might include (1) key quotations, (2) critical questions, and/or a general point-by-point summary of your selected reading. These outlines are due on the first day the topic is discussed (see underlined dates). For example, if you decided to do a scholarly outline for the essay Estranged Labor, then that scholarly outline will come due on January 14th. You should make two (2) copies of your scholarly outlines (one for your professor and one for your discussant leader presentation). I will call for three to five (3-5) discussant leaders and scholarly outlines per reading. Then, you will highlight parts of your outline during the next class that follows its submission. I will not accept an outline after its due date has passed. A word of advice: Please do not wait until the end of a given module to complete your outline and presentation as I will only accept a maximum of five (5) scholarly outlines/discussant leaders per reading. If you insist on waiting until the last assigned readings in a module to do a scholarly outline & discussant leader presentation, then please be sure to sign up weeks in advance. If you miss the opportunity to do an outline & presentation for a module, you will forfeit 6.67 points. Together, the scholarly outlines & discussant leader presentations are worth 20% of your final grade.
There are three (3) theory meditations that will make up a combined 60% of your final grade.
Finally, you have the opportunity to earn a total of 20% percent of your course grade from daily attendance. Here’s how the attendance policy works: Everyone will begin the course with a total of 20 attendance points (20%) toward the course grade. Each time you miss a class, I will deduct 2 points (or 10%) from that total. For instance, if you miss four (4) classes during the semester, your attendance total will be 12 points. (I also deduct points for leaving class early or for being excessively late.) Of course, if you have perfect attendance, you will earn the full 20 attendance points. J Please do not bring excuses for your absences or explanations for why you were gone. I will only accept a doctor’s note that explains your absence in the case of serious debilitating illness; no other excuses are considered: Please Do Not Ask!
I am available during my office hours (and beyond) for consultation on lectures, readings, and/or classroom interactions. I am pleased to assist you through this intellectual journey. I encourage the formation of weekend or evening study groups to discuss the readings and lectures: education is a collaborative and an interactive process -and so is my pedagogy. If you need special accommodations for exam meditations, please contact Greg Toutges in the Disability Services Office (Tele: 477-5859): I will freely to make these arrangements on your behalf.
THEMES & READING ASSIGNMENTS
1. (Jan. 9th & 11th) Whither Classical Theory: An Introduction
Ceteris Paribus: The Industrial Revolution was a necessary & sufficient
condition for the birth of the science of sociology. It gave rise to three (3) initial theoretical traditions, namely conflict theory, functionalism, and rational action perspectives.
Module I: The Conflict Tradition of Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels
“For conflict theory, the basic insight is that human beings are sociable but conflict-prone animals. Why is there conflict? Above all else, there is conflict because violent coercion is always a potential resource, and it is a zero-sum sort. This does not imply anything about the inherence of drives to dominate; what we do know firmly is that being coerced is an intrinsically unpleasant experience, and hence that any use of coercion even by a small minority, calls forth conflict in the form of antagonism to being dominated.” Randall Collins, Conflict Theory: Toward an Explanatory Science, NY: Academic Press, 1975.
2. (Jan. 14th – 18th) The Problem of Estranged Labor
1. Karl Marx, Estranged Labor, The Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 70-81.
2. Karl Marx, Production of Relative Surplus-Value. Machinery and Modern Industry, Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 403-417.
3. (Jan. 23rd – Feb. 1st) “From Each According to His Ability, To Each According to His Need.” Communism & Social Classes Reconsidered
“Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other –bourgeoisie and proletariat.” -Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto, 1848.
1. Karl Marx, Manifesto of the Communist Party, The Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 473-491.
2. Karl Marx, Private Property and Communism, The Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 81-105.
3. Karl Marx, Alienation and Social Classes, The Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 133- 135.
4. Karl Marx, Classes, The Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 441-442.
5. Documentary: The Specter of Marxism.
4. (Feb. 4th – 8th) The Question of a ‘German’ Ideology (or Marx’s Anti-Semitism?)
“The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas: i.e., the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force.”
1. Karl Marx, Ideology in General, German Ideology in Particular, The Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 148-175.
2. Karl Marx, On the Jewish Question, The Marx Engels Reader, pg. 26-52.
5. (Feb. 11th-22nd) “Money for (No)thing: Marx’s Critique of Capitalism
“An oppressed class is the vital condition for every society founded on the antagonism of classes. The emancipation of the oppressed class thus implies necessarily the creation of a new society. For the oppressed class to be able to emancipate itself it is necessary that the productive powers already acquired and the existing social relations should no longer be capable of existing side by side.”
1. Karl Marx, Wage Labor and Capital and The Coming Upheaval, Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 203-219.
2. Karl Marx, Commodities and Money, Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 302-336.
3. Friedrich Engels, Working-Class Manchester, Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 579-585.
4. Friedrich Engels, The Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State, The Marx-Engels Reader, pg. 734-759.
Module II: Emile Durkheim, the Functionalist Tradition, and the Problem of Order
“The Analysis of social and cultural phenomena in terms of the functions they perform in a sociocultural system. In functionalism, society is conceived of as a system of inter-related parts in which no part can be understood in isolation from the whole. A change in any part is seen as leading to a certain degree of imbalance, which in turn results in changes in other parts of the system as a whole. The development of functionalism was based on the model of the organic system found in biological systems.” –George A. Theodorson and Achilles S. Theodorson, eds., A Modern Dictionary of Sociology, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1969.
6. (Feb. 25th – 29th) Problem of Integration: “E Pluribus Unum?”
“The Individual submits to society and this submission is the condition of his liberation. For man freedom consists in deliverance from blind, unthinking physical forces; he achieves this by opposing against them the great and intelligent force of society, under whose protection he shelters. By putting himself under the wing of society, he makes himself also, to a certain extent, dependent upon it. But this is a liberating dependence; there is no contradiction in this.” –Emile Durkheim
1. Anthony Giddens, Introduction: Durkheim’s Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy, Emile Durkheim: Selected Writings, pg. 1-48.
7. (March 10th – 14th) The Emergence of (Academic) Sociology and the Study of Social
Facts
“The function of a social fact can only be social, that is to say, it consists in the production of socially useful effects.” –Emile Durkheim
1. Emile Durkheim, The Field of Sociology, Emile Durkheim: Selected Writings, 51-68.
2. Emile Durkheim, Methods of Explanation and Analysis, Emile Durkheim: Selected Writings, pg. 69-88.
8. (March 17th – 21st) “It’s Morality, Silly!” Toward a (Social) Science of the Moral Order
“It is psychologically impossible to pursue an end to which we are
indifferent –that does not appear to us as good and does not affect our sensibility. Morality must, then, be not only obligatory but also desirable and desired. This desirability is the second characteristic of all moral acts.” –Emile Durkheim
1. Emile Durkheim, The Science of Morality, Emile Durkheim: Selected Writings, pg. 89-107.
2. Emile Durkheim, Moral Obligation, Duty and Freedom, Emile Durkheim: Selected Writings, pg. 108-122.
3. Emile Durkheim, Religion and Ritual and Secularization and Rationality, Emile Durkheim: Selected Writings, pg. 219-249.
9. (March 26th - 31st) Social Morphology, the Division of Labor, and the Rise of Moral Individualism (w/Special Emphasis on the Problems of Anomie & Suicide)
“In the same city, different occupations can co-exist without being obliged mutually to destroy one another, for they pursue different objectives. The soldier seeks military glory, the priest moral authority, the statesman power, the businessman riches, and the scholar scientific renown. Each of them can attain his end without preventing others from attaining theirs. It is still the same even when the functions are less separated from one another… This having been said, it is easy to understand that any condensation of the social mass, especially if it is accompanied by an increase in population, necessarily stimulates an advance in the division of labor.”-Emile Durkheim