Wilfrid Laurier University Sociological Theory, SY203OC. Fall/Winter Instructor: Dr Darryl Burgwin

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1 Wilfrid Laurier University Sociological Theory, SY203OC Fall/Winter Instructor: Dr Darryl Burgwin This course examines the central themes of classical and contemporary sociological theory through the works of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. The aim of the course is to examine the conditions leading to the growth of modern industrial societies and the corresponding changes taking place in social, economic and political life as a whole. The course goes on to explore the major schools of sociological thought by examining the dominant theoretical perspectives related to the understanding of society and the individual. These include the consensus, conflict and interactionist theoretical perspectives. Discussion will focus on the development of sociology as a discipline, the role of concepts in understanding society, and the nature and scope of explanation in sociological theory. The course has its mandate in the study of society through theory issues. The approach taken in the course is historical and conceptual, focusing on the main social questions of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as the dramatic rise in poverty, the increasing reliance on science as a means of social and moral problem solving, and the dominance of economic individualism. The early parts of the course will focus on the development of modern society and the theories traditionally used to explain the social and political consequences of these changes. Generally, there are four key developments to be discussed: revolution, industrialization, capitalism, and modernism. In addition, we will explore the emergence of sociology as a distinct discipline, discuss its role as the science of society, and explore the nature of its subject matter. Subsequent to this, the theoretical views of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber will be examined in some detail. Their theories will be place in the context of developments in Western social thought and in the overall history of ideas. The final part of the course focuses upon the broad areas of social theory developed in the United States. It will focus on developments in modern consensus theory, principally those proposed by Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton. And it will examine the origins of the micro perspective in sociological theory. Some of the key theorists examined in this area of the course include Charles Horten Cooley, George Herbert Mead, Herbert Blumer, and Erving Goffman. Course Material 1. Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formations of Modern Social Thought, second edition, by Ken Morrison 2. Readings for Part D are from the, Encyclopedia of Social Theory (2004) SAGE Reference Online, and are linked to on the 24-week weekly schedule. 3. Lecture Notes on MyLearningSpace.

2 Course Objectives: 1. Introduce students to the tradition of sociological theory through the works of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. 2. Introduce students to the early modern tradition of sociological theory through the works of Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton, George Herbert Mead, and Erving Goffman. 3. Promote the development of analytic skills in students by familiarizing them with the three explanatory perspectives used by sociologists to understand society. 4. Develop an understanding of the system of ideas which shaped modern society. 5. Familiarize students with key historical events leading to the formation of modern Western societies and to elucidate the social and political consequences leading to the development of these societies. 6. Increase student s awareness of the role society plays in shaping human experience. Grades 1. Midterm #1 Part A 20% Friday, Oct Midterm #2 Part B 20% Friday, Nov Midterm #3 Part C 20% TBA 4. Final Exam Part D 20% April TBA (in the official exam period) 5. Participation 20% (see below for details) Each midterm test is worth 20% of the grade for this course. The first midterm is based on Part A; the second on Part B; the third on Part C. Each midterm is 2 hours long and you will answer 4 questions out of 6. The final exam is worth 20% of the grade for the course and is based on Part D. It is 2 hours long and you will answer 4 questions out of 6. The potential questions for the midterms and the final exam are posted in the 'content' section for this course. The midterms and the final exam are not done online. They are written at a specific location. The questions on the midterms and the final examination are of a general nature permitting you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the material. The questions are essay-type questions and you are expected to write essay answers. That is, discuss the material using sentences and paragraphs organized into an essay. Do not provide an answer that consists of a list of points. Students are expected to provide considerable coverage of the readings and the lessons. Although this course is being taught online during the summer months, that does not mean it is going to be easy. Short meagre answers are unlikely to do well. A list of potential questions is posted for each midterm and the final exam. The list for each has ten (10) questions, of which six (6) will actually appear on each. Students are welcome to work with each other in order to prepare answers. Normally this is organized on the

3 Discussions bulletin board. Students typically share their work using google docs or ; this way I cannot observe what you are doing. There is no requirement that a student participate in the preparation and sharing of answers. In my experience the best students are not inclined to share their work because they give up more than they get. Thus you should not interpret the shared answers as being good answers, let alone the best answers. Students are expected to download all relevant course material to their own computers early in the course. Any failure of MyLearningSpace to function properly will not be a basis for a deferred midterm or final exam. Official Exam times and rooms are available at the Online Learning web page ( Participation There will be required to do 4 participation assignments through the course of the year. Participation #1 will be based on the material about Karl Marx presented in Part A. Participation #2 will be based on the material presented about Emile Durkheim in Part B. Participation #3 will be based on the material presented about Max Weber in Part C. Participation #4 will be based on the material presented about Symbolic Interaction in Part D. Participation #1 will take place during Part A. I will open a forum on the Discussions bulletin board for this course. The forum will begin when I place a link to some news material and will be open for about a week. Students will respond to the question: What would Marx say? (Assuming that he were alive and had an opportunity to analyze the news.) Each student will provide one and only one response. You must provide your response during the specified time period as stated above. When the time period is up, no more contributions will be permitted. Your response will consist of a statement about what you think Karl Marx would say about the news if he had the opportunity to do so. Your interpretation of Marx will be based on the readings and the lessons for this course. At the end of your contribution, you must state the page numbers of the textbook or of the lessons that you have used. You do not and must not provide your opinion of the news. You must not repeat or refer to what other students have already said. (This means that you will have to read the earlier postings to ensure that you are not being repetitious.) Your task is to state what you think Marx would say. It must be your interpretation of Marx and you may not and must not refer to any other source; the statement you provide must be your work and only your work and you must not receive help of any sort from any source (other than the readings and the lessons for this course); any violation of this requirement is academic misconduct. Your statement must consist of 200 to 300 words. If you have too many or too few words, your mark will be zero. If your express your personal opinion, your mark will be zero. If you do not meet the requirements as stated here, your mark will be zero. Normally students will get all or most of the 5 marks for this participation mark as long as they provide a legitimate and credible interpretation of what Marx would say. Participation #2 will take place during Part B. Participation #2 has the same requirements as participation #1, except that you respond to the question: What would Émile Durkheim say?

4 Participation #3 will take place during Part C. Participation #3 has the same requirements as participation #1, except that you respond to the question: What would Max Weber say? Participation #4 will take place during Part D. Participation #4 has the same requirements as participation #1, except that you respond to the question: What would Symbolic Interactionists say? It is the responsibility of each student to be available as needed during each time slot. It is the responsibility of each student to have an internet connection as needed during each time slot. Any failure of MyLearningSpace to function is not a legitimate reason for not providing a participation. If you provide a reason for not being available to make a participation (a medical reason or a death in the family or a significant accident), you must be incapacitated for the full period that the participation question is posted. A rational student will make their contribution early in each of the specified time slots. Communication Policy: My policy is to respond to and bulletin board messages on a daily basis. That is, if you or post a message one day, at some point, no later than the evening of the next day, I will provide a response. The exception to this is for weekends and holidays. If, for some reason, you are having trouble accessing the MyLearningSpace site for this course, you should contact the Online Office: However, if you cannot access the course and if you are also in particular need of a response from me concerning an academic issue, me at: dburgwin@wlu.ca. Normally, I prefer that all course-related issues be discussed using the and discussion board on the MyLearningSpace site. Late Penalties and Missed Exams: As you will be given plenty of lead time to complete a relatively short exercise, participations assignments must be handed in by the due date or you will not receive a mark. If you are unable to make an exam date due to exceptional circumstances or an avoidable scheduling conflict please contact the Online Learning Office as they administer all exam deferrals. You can see the deferred exam policy here: grp_id=329&p=15296#deferred_midterm_examination_policy

5 Course Outline Part A: Karl Marx 1. Origins of Modern Social Theory Read: Lesson 1 & Morrison, pp Origins of Modern Social Theory Read: Lesson 2 & Morrison, pp Karl Marx: Conflict Theory Read: Lesson 3 & Morrison, pp Karl Marx: Ideology Read: Lesson 4 & Morrison, pp Karl Marx: Capitalism Read: Lesson 5 & Morrison, pp Karl Marx: Alienation Read: Lesson 6 & Morrison, pp Karl Marx: The State Read: Lesson 7 & Morrison, pp Complete participation #1: No later than October 9th First Mid-term: Friday, October 23rd Part B: Emile Durkheim 8. Emile Durkheim: Consensus Theory Read: Lesson 8 & Morrison, pp Emile Durkheim: Society and the Individual Read: Lesson 9 & Morrison, pp Emile Durkheim: Anomie Read: Lesson 10 & Morrison, pp. pp , Emile Durkheim: Suicide Read: Lesson 11 & Morrison, pp Emile Durkheim: Sociology of Knowledge

6 Read: Lesson 12 & Morrison, pp Complete participation #2: No later than November 20th Second Mid-term: Friday, November 27th Part C: Max Weber 13. Max Weber: Rationalization Read: Lesson 13 & Morrison, pp Max Weber: Class and Status Read: Lesson 14 & Morrison, pp Max Weber: Calvinism and Capitalism Read: Lesson 15 & Morrison, pp Max Weber: Social Action Read: Lesson 16 & Morrison, pp Max Weber: Max Weber: Legitimate Domination Read: Lesson 17 & Morrison, pp Max Weber: Bureaucracy Read: Lesson 18 & Morrison, pp Max Weber's Theory of Social Action Read: Lesson 17 & Morrison, pp Complete participation #3: No later than February 5th Second Mid-term: TBA Part D: America 19. Talcott Parsons: Social Action and Social System Read: Lesson 19; Talcott Parsons, AGIL (online; all readings in this section will be linked to on the Weekly Schedule on MylearningSpace) 20. Robert Merton: Anomie and Structure Read: Lesson 20; Robert Merton, Structural Functionalism (online) 21. Charles Horton Cooley: Historical Context of Micro Theory Read: Lesson 21; Charles Horton Cooley (online)

7 22. George Herbert Mead: Mind and Self Read: Lesson 22; George Herbert Mead, Self and Self-Concept (online) 23. Herbert Blumer: Symbolic Interaction Read: Lesson 23; Herbert Blumer, Symbolic Interaction, Negotiated Order, Labelling Theory, Identity (online) 24. Erving Goffman: Dramaturgy Read: Lesson 24; Erving Goffman, Dramaturgy, Social Interaction, Impression Management, Total Institutions (online) Complete participation #4: No later than March 25th Final: During the exam period, TBA

8 September 2015 Fall/Winter Additional Information Student Awareness of the Accessible Learning Centre: Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier s Accessible Learning Centre for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus. Guidelines regarding the consideration of such students can be obtained by contacting the Accessible Learning Centre, ext. 3086, Academic and Research Misconduct: Academic misconduct is an act by a student, or by students working on a team project, which may result in a false evaluation of the students(s), or which represents a deliberate attempt to unfairly gain an academic advantage. Academic misconduct includes: please refer to web site: Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for plagiarism. Examination Deferrals: The academic date section of the 2015/2016 calendar: Examination_Policy (Deferred Examination Policy section) clearly states the examination policy and date period for each semester. Students must note that they are required to reserve this time in their personal calendars for the examinations. The examination period for this school year is: FALL TERM: December 12-23; Winter Term: April Students who are considering registering to write MCAT, LSAT or GMAT or a similar examination, should select a time for those examinations that occurs outside the University examination period. For additional information regarding special circumstances for examination deferment, consult the Examination Policy web site and check the Deferred Examination Policy section: Examination_Policy (Special Examinations section) of the 2015/2016 University on-line calendar. The up to date, official Academic Calendar is posted on Wilfrid Laurier University s web site at Go to Academic Info/Academic Calendars/Undergraduate Academic Calendar/2015/2016

9 September 2015