Soc 204A
Brandeis University
Fall 2012
Wed 2:00-4:50
Laura Miller
Office: Pearlman 103
736-2643
lamiller@brandeis.edu
office hours: M 10:00-10:50
Th 12:00-1:00
and by appointment
Foundations of Sociological Theory
This course is meant to familiarize graduate students with some of the major thinkers and
classic texts that have been central to theoretical perspectives in sociology. Through studying
key works in social theory, we can understand the basis for many of the core questions,
debates, and methodological approaches within the discipline of sociology. The course
considers how various preoccupations of sociology grew out of theorists' attempts to grapple
with the legacy of the Enlightenment and the transition to modern society. In addition, we will
examine how these theorists understand a number of important social issues, including the
nature of interdependence, cooperation, inequality, power, meaning, social stability, and social
change, as well as domains of social life such as religion and labor. The course will focus on
the works of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber, and the concepts they developed
to understand social relations. We will not only try to explicate their ideas, but also consider
their relevance for the contemporary world and current sociological research.
Learning Goals
Students who complete this course will:
1. Gain familiarity with classic theoretical perspectives in sociology.
2. Identify original sources of many contemporary theoretical ideas and concepts.
3. Improve the ability to comprehend, analyze, and discuss theoretical statements.
4. Assess the credibility and consistency of theoretical arguments.
Requirements
Students are expected to keep up with the readings and actively participate in seminar
discussions. Written work consists of two papers, 8-12 pages each, that address theoretical
ideas raised in the class. In addition, at least twice during the semester, students should post
on the Latte site for the course questions about the readings that can be discussed in class.
These posts need to be made by 9:00 PM on the day preceding class. A sign-up list will be
circulated in the first weeks of the course so that we all know which weeks students are
responsible for.
If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability,
you should contact me, and present your letter of accommodation, as soon as possible.
The following books are available for purchase in the bookstore:
John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government. New York: Pearson, 1952.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Indianapolis: Hackett,
1992.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1988.
Robert C. Tucker, ed., The Marx-Engels Reader, second edition. New York: W.W.
Norton, 1999.
Emile Durkheim, Suicide: A Study in Sociology. New York: The Free Press, 1997.
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Routledge,
2001.
(if buying used, the Scribner edition is also fine)
H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds., From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1958.
These books are also on reserve at the main library.
One required book:
Emile Durkheim, Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, translated by Karen E.
Fields, New York: Free Press, 1995
has not been ordered at the bookstore. That is because this particular edition is out of print.
When you go elsewhere to locate this book, try to get the Fields translation. There are
multiple copies of this edition, new and used, available via bookfinder.com (tip: search on the
ISBN number: 9780029079379).
The reading for Week 1 is available on Latte. All additional required readings are contained in
a custom course packet. These are marked with an * on the syllabus. Information on how to
purchase the packet will be announced in class.
Course Schedule
Introduction
week 1
Sep 5
Robert A. Nisbet, The Sociological Tradition. New York: Basic Books, 1966, chap. 2.
Perspectives on the Bases of Human Society and Cooperation
week 2
Sep 12
John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government. New York: Pearson, 1952.
week 3
Sep 19
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Indianapolis: Hackett,
1992.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1988, Books 1-3;
Book 4, Chapter 1.
week 4
Sep 26
no class -- Yom Kippur
Karl Marx: Capitalism, Conflict, and Human Emancipation
week 5
Oct 3
"Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Introduction." In Robert C.
Tucker, ed., The Marx-Engels Reader, second edition, New York: W.W. Norton,
1999. pp. 53-54.
"On the Jewish Question." In Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 26-52.
"Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844." In Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader,
pp. 67-125.
week 6
Oct 10
"Theses on Feuerbach." In Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 143-145.
"The German Ideology: Part I." In Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 147-200.]
"Manifesto of the Communist Party." In Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 473-491.
week 7
Oct 17
"Wage Labour and Capital." In Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 203-217.
Capital, Volume I, chap. 1, secs. 1-2 & 4 (Tucker, Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 302-312,
319-329); chaps. 6-7 (pp. 336-361); chap. 15 (pp 403-417); chap. 32 (pp. 436438).
turn in notification of topic for first paper
Emile Durkheim: Social Bonds, Collective Life, and Individual Well-Being
week 8
Oct 24
Suicide: A Study in Sociology. New York: The Free Press, 1997 [1897], Preface;
Introduction; Book 2, chaps. 1-3 (pp. 145-216) [79]; Book 2, chaps. 4-5 (pp. 217276).
first paper due
week 9
Oct 31
Suicide, Book 3, chaps. 1-2.
* The Division of Labor in Society. New York: The Free Press, 1984 [1893], Preface to
the First Edition; Preface to the Second Edition; Book 1, chap. 6; Conclusion.
* "Individualism and the Intellectuals." In Robert N. Bellah, ed., Emile Durkheim on
Morality and Society: Selected Writings. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1973 [1898], pp. 43-57.
week 10
Nov 7
Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: Free Press, 1995, Book 1, chap. 1;
Book 2, chaps. 6-7; Book 3, chap. 1; Conclusion.
Max Weber: Rationalization, Power, and the Loss of Meaning
week 11
Nov 14
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Routledge, 2001 [1905].
week 12
Nov 21
no class -- Thanksgiving
week 13
Nov 28
* "The Types of Legitimate Domination." In Economy and Society: An Outline of
Interpretive Sociology, pp. 212-254. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978
[1922].
"Bureaucracy" (originally published 1921). In H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds.,
From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press,
1958, pp. 196-244.
week 14
Dec 5
* "The Distribution of Power Within the Political Community: Class, Status, Party." In
Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, pp. 926-940. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1978 [1922].
(read this version rather than the one in From Max Weber as this one is a clearer
translation)
* "The Origins of Religion," "Magic and Religion," and "Theodicy, Salvation, and
Rebirth." In Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, pp. 399421, 422-439, 518-529. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978 [1922].
"Religious Rejections of the World and Their Discontents" (originally published 1915).
In Gerth and Mills, From Max Weber, pp. 323-359.
week 15
Dec 12
"Politics as a Vocation" (originally published 1919). In Gerth and Mills, From Max
Weber, pp. 77-128.
"Science as a Vocation" (originally published 1919). In Gerth and Mills, From Max
Weber, pp. 129-156.
turn in notification of topic for second paper
second paper due Thursday, December 20th