Sociological Theory
Soc 4111 Weekly Schedule.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
UMD

Topics & Outlines	Readings - epub, pdf, & html	Suggested Readings
Aug. 27 - Sept. 12, 2018	INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS LEADING TO THE RISE OF SOCIOLOGY This early section of the course provides some historical context to the rise of sociology. This will be a brief overview. Intellectual, Economic, and Political Revolutions and their impact on Sociologic Thought
	Paradigms in Sociology	Paradigms Friedrichs
	David Hume, John Locke, and Thomas Hobbes: Represent Social Contract Theory Jeremy Bentham Adam Smith Thomas Malthus	Hobbes; Of the First and Second Natural Laws, and of Contracts. Locke, Of Property Smith, Book 1, Chapter 1 of the Wealth of Nations Smith, Book 1, Chapter 2 of the Wealth of Nations
*Sample Review Questions*

EARLY SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

Sept. 19 - Oct. 3, 2018

Saint Simon

Augustus Comte;

Harriet Martineau;

Spencer

Required
Background on St. Simon
St. Simon's "Letters from an Inhabitant of Geneva to His Contemporaries

Comte, Positive Philosophy - Introduction.

Harriet Martineau, Illustrations of Political Economy

Sample Review Questions

October 10 - 22, 2018

Emile Durkheim

Functionalism This is an over view of functionalism, including a small section on Davis and Moore.

Talcott Parsons established the agenda and set the parameters for sociological theorizing in the United States for a great part of the 20th century. His work is what we call grand theory. Perhaps his most important contribution was the legacy of graduate students he spawned. We will only cover Parsons if time permits. I will let you know as we get to this section.

Robert Merton. Although there have been many functionalist theorists, Merton is perhaps one of the brightest. Merton has made many contributions by backing away from grand theory and advocating what is referred to as middle range theory. We will talk about Merton's Anomie theory and, if time, social role theory.

Required
Durkheim, Social Facts
Durkheim, Division of Labor
Merton, Durkheim's Division of Labor in Society

Merton, The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action
Merton, Social Structure and Anomie
Merton, Manifest and Latent Functions, (Social Theory and Social Structure)

Review Questions

October 29 - Nov. 19, 2018

Max Weber: The tradition of conflict theory has grown tremendously since the late 1960s in the U.S. There are a variety of approaches within the conflict tradition drawing from both Karl Marx and Max Weber.

If time permits, we will discuss C.W. Mills, the person who brought conflict theory into the mainstream of sociology; Lewis Coser , one of a few people who has ever cared to try and blend functionalism with conflict theory (He produces an interesting look at the functions of conflict for society.) and; Ralf Dahrendorf, probably the real founder of contemporary conflict theory. He so modified Marxism in the 1950s that today Marxist sociology and conflict sociology are often considered the same.

Martin Luther, A treatise on Good Works

Weber, Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism

C.W. Mills, The Power Elite

Randall Collins, The Basics Of Conflict Theory

Coser, The Functions of Social Conflict

W.E.B. Dubois, The Economic Future of the Negro

George H. Mead is often consider one of the founding fathers of Symbolic Interactionism
a product of American Pragmatism and German Idealism.

Jane Addams: Considered part of the Chicago School of Interactionism, was more applied and founded Hull House in Chicago.

Herbert Blumer is given most of the credit for founding the approach and providing it with it's name.

Munford Kuhn and the Iowa School of Interactionism: Just who am I anyway?

Dramaturgy Theory:, In this approach, all the world is a stage - so get your act together.

Required
Mead, Mind, Self, and Society
Mead, The Genesis of the Self and Social Control
Mead, The Social Self
Mead, The Behavioristic Account of the Significant Symbol

Cooley, Primary Groups
Cooley, Looking-Glass Self

Goffman, Embarrassment and Social Organization
Goffman, The Arts Of Impression Management
Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life - The Front

Review questions for Weber, Mead, and Goffman

November 26 - December 5, 2018

Karl Marx and

Fredrich Engles

Young Karl Marx

Theodore Adorno and Critical Theory has surfaced as one of the major additions to Marxian sociology. Another addition, among many, to Marxian Theory is World Systems Theory.