Time:
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00-10:20am

Requirements.
Outline & reading assignments.
Full Syllabus (PDF).
On-line Reserve
(Requires password for access).
Reading Guides.
Office Hours

Enrollment for this course is now closed.

There may be a couple of slots open. If you are still interested in the class, fill out the electronic application form and you will be added to the waiting list.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course explores central issues and concerns of modern social theory through an examination of the works of four major thinkers: Alexis de Tocqueville, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. The course is designed to focus on key issues raised by a few important theorists rather than attempt to survey the range of classical or contemporary theory. Critical reading of these works will serve as an introduction to recurring themes, fundamental orientations, and epistemological dilemmas in modern social thought.

These authors have been chosen for three reasons: (1) because they have been influential; (2) because they provide particularly powerful formulations of fundamental problems and orientations of sociological thought; (3) because they can give us an historical sense of the way modern social theory has emerged out of the attempt to comprehend the transformation of western society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Each of these theorists presents a distinctive view of the character of modern society, a conceptualization of the nature of society in general, and a distinctive understanding of the nature of social scientific knowledge and its relationship to human action. A major theme of the course will be the way perceptions of change and crisis in modern society produced an understanding of the profoundly social nature of human beings.

TEXTS:

Most of the required reading can be found in the following books, all of which should be available at the campus bookstore. In addition, they will be on reserve at the library.

Emile Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society (Free Press).

Emile Durkheim, Suicide (Free Press).

Emile Durkheim, Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (Free Press).

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The MarxEngels Reader, ed. R. Tucker (Norton).

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Harper)

Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Roxbury).

Gerth and Mills (eds.), From Max Weber (Oxford).

REQUIREMENTS:

[1] Participation. Regular class attendance, faithful completion of the reading assignments, and informed participation in class discussions. Class discussions will focus on the texts, so it will be important to complete the reading assignments prior to class, and to come prepared with questions. N.B.: More than four(4) absences from class will be grounds for an "unsatisfactory" evaluation for the term.

[2] Writing assignments. Students will be required to submit four essays (each approximately 4-6 pages, typed and double-spaced) over the course of the term. Topics for each essay will be handed out in class approximately two weeks before the essay is due (with the exception of the first assignment).

[3] In-class quizzes. These exercises will generally focus on the interpretation of passages from the texts. They will not be announced in advance. Some exercises will be open-book, but others will be designed to assess students’ grasp of key arguments in the reading assignments. One out of three quizzes can be ‘unsatisfactory’ without affecting the ability to receive a satisfactory evaluation for the course. If a student submits two unsatisfactory quizzes in a row, I recommend a meeting to discuss reading and study strategies.

Some general expectations and helpful hints: Aside from introducing students to fundamental problems and concepts in the "classical" tradition in social theory, this is really a course in reading and writing, focused on cultivating the ability to read difficult texts, explicate complex arguments, and develop thoughtful, well-developed, carefully argued critical essays. The format of the course will be a mixture of lectures and discussions. Both lectures and discussion will revolve around the reading of the texts. It is therefore especially important to keep up with the reading assignments, and students need to come to class prepared to discuss the texts.

The most important preparation for each class will be to read carefully, intelligently, and critically. This doesn't just mean looking for points with which to disagree. It means puzzling out the central arguments and underlying assumptions in the texts; identifying key points or important concepts, and trying to figure out their significance; formulating questions that you are prepared to raise in class. You aren't expected to come to class having understood everything in these difficult readings, but you are expected to have spent enough time with the texts to be able to raise questions and join in the project of making some sense of them.

Reading guides are available on the web site (http://www.ncf.edu/brain/courses/theory). This material is only available to students in the class, so you will need to login with your user name and password. I strongly recommend that every student read (at the very least) the “Guide to Writing Essays.”

If this is your first time reading this kind of material, you might also find it helpful to refer to one of the many secondary sources on this material. I recommend Raymond Aron, Main Currents in Sociological Theory. This two volume work provides a clear, intelligent, and accurate gloss on all of these theorists.

Essays must be typed, double-spaced, and, most importantly, carefully proofread. Papers with spelling errors, sloppy syntax and grammar, stylistic atrocities, or a just plain ugly look about them will be rejected as unsatisfactory (and possibly subjected to public ridicule, if I am really outraged). Please review the Style Sheet for guidelines concerning form, and the “Guide to Writing Papers” for suggestions with respect to content and organization of the essays. Deadlines for the written assignments will be taken seriously, so plan ahead.

Students should be sure they understand the definition of plagiarism. The most common instances of plagiarism are due to ignorance or laziness rather than intentional dishonesty. The New College Writing Center has some excellent resources on their web page. I strongly recommend consulting them to make sure you understand how to avoid unintentionally plagiarizing. Note that academic dishonesty includes not only cheating and plagiarism, but also false citations ( intentionally attributing ideas or work to a source that was not consulted), and submission of the same work to fulfill requirements for different academic activities, without permission of the instructors involved.

Evaluation: All essay assignments must be completed in order to receive a satisfactory evaluation for the course. Essays evaluated as unsatisfactory can be re-written and resubmitted (but only if submitted on time, or within the limits of the one-time-only grace period described below). More than one “unsatisfactory” essay at the end of the term will result in an unsatisfactory evaluation for the term.

Late work. The policy for late work will be “forgive and remember.” Students are allowed one ‘free pass’ for an extension up to three days. No excuses necessary (or wanted). Once that free pass has been used, however, late papers will be interpreted as an indication of profound unworthiness (and will be evaluated as ‘unsatisfactory.’) Any paper that is more than three days late will be evaluated as “unsatisfactory,” although it still must be completed to receive a satisfactory evaluation for the course.

Please note the following policies, in accordance with general New College policy:

Academic Dishonesty. Any suspected instance of plagiarism will be handled in accordance with the College’s policy on academic dishonesty. (For a full description of the procedures, see Faculty Handbook, 6:20).

Students with Disabilities. A student claiming a need for special accommodations because of a disability must work with the Counseling and Wellness Center, which will establish the need for specific accommodations and communicate them to the instructor.

Religious Holidays. No student shall be compelled to attend class or sit for an examination at a day or time when he or she would normally be engaged in a religious observance or on a day or time prohibited by his or her religious belief. Students are expected to notify their instructors if they intend to be absent for a class or announced examination, in accordance with this policy, prior to the scheduled meeting.

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

Note: Readings with an asterisk (*) are on reserve.

WEEK 1 (8/28). Introduction

*Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (chs. 1-3).

*Robert Nisbet, "The Two Revolutions"

[RECOMMENDED: If you have little background in 19th century European history, you might find it helpful to look at E. J. Hobsbawm's The Age of Revolution (chs. 1-3).]

WEEK 2 (9/2-9/4). Social theory and the dilemmas of liberalism.

*John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (chs. 1-3).

*John Stuart Mill, “On Bentham,” “On Coleridge.”

FIRST ESSAY DUE: Friday, September 5.

WEEK 3 (9/9-9/11). Conservative reaction and the republican alternative to liberalism.

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America. Volume I: Author’s Introduction. Part I (chapters 2-5); Part II (chapters 4-9). Volume II: Author’s Preface. Part II (chapters 1-8). Part III (chapters 1, 5, 17, 21). Part IV.

WEEK 4 (9/16-9/18). Historical Materialism and Marx's critique of liberalism.

NOTE: All Marx readings are in Tucker, ed., The Marx-Engels Reader.

"Manifesto of the Communist Party," pp. 469491.

"On the Jewish Question," part 1, pp. 2646.

"The German Ideology," part I, pp. 148166, 172174, 189193,197.

Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, pp. 36.

"Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Introduction, " pp. 5354.

WEEK 5 (9/23-9/25). Marx's Political Economy.

Wage Labor and Capital, pp. 203217. Prefaces to Capital, pp. 294302.

Capital, vol. 1, Part I, Chapter I, sections 1, 2, 4 (pp. 302-312, 319-329); chapter VI; VII.12; X.12, 5 (pp. 336-367, 373-376); XII (pp. 376-384); XIV. 1, 45 (pp. 388-390, 392-403).

WEEK 6 (9/30-10/2). Crisis, politics, and class formation.

Capital, vol. 1, chapters XXV-XXXII (pp. 419-438). Capital, vol. 3, pp. 439-441. (Review The Communist Manifesto.)

The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, pp. 594617.

WEEK 7 (10/7-10/9). The Protestant Ethic.

Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, "Author's Introduction," pp. 1331. Part I, pp. 35-92. Part II, pp. 95-128, 155-185.

SECOND ESSAY DUE: Tuesday, October 7.

Fall Break

WEEK 8 (10/21-10/23). Weber's Sociology.

*Max Weber, "Basic Sociological Terms," pp. 3-28, 53-54 in Economy and Society.

Max Weber, "The Social Psychology of the World Religions," pp. 267-301 in From Max Weber.

Max Weber, "Class, Status Party," pp. 129-156 in From Max Weber.

Max Weber, "Science as a Vocation," pp. 180-194 in From Max Weber.

WEEK 9 (10/28-10/30). Bureaucracy, democracy, and leadership.

Max Weber, "Bureaucracy," and "The Sociology of Charismatic Authority," pp. 196-252 in From Max Weber.

Max Weber, "Politics as a Vocation," in From Max Weber, pp. 7786, 115128.

*Max Weber, "Bureaucracy and Political Leadership," pp. 1393-1416 in Economy & Society.

WEEK 10 (11/4-11/6). Solidarity & Social Order

Emile Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society, Prefaces to the First Edition, Introduction, Book I. chs. 1 (pp. 1117, 2229), 2(pp. 3847, 6064), 3(pp. 6872, 8187), 5 (101106, 118123), 7(pp. 149163,172174) Book II: ch. 5 (pp. 286287); Book III: chs. 12; Conclusion; Preface to the Second Edition.

THIRD ESSAY DUE: Monday, November 3.

WEEK 11 (11/11-11/13). The normal and the pathological.

Emile Durkheim, Suicide. Preface; Intro.; Book II: chs. 1, 2, 3 (first paragraph on 171, 208216), 4 (pp. 217228, 233234), 5 (pp. 241260, 270271); Book III: chs. 1, 2 (pp. 332338), 3 (pp. 386392).

WEEK 12 (11/18-11/20). Symbols, rituals, and moral reality.

Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (Introduction; Book 2, chaps. 1, 3, 6, 7; Conclusion).

WEEK 13 (11/25). Legacies of the classical tradition.

Reading selections to be announced. (Students will be asked to select from a list of contemporary readings.)

WEEK 14 (12/2). Legacies of the classical tradition.

FINAL ESSAY DUE: Friday, December 6.


Social Theory	David Brain Fall 2008