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Department of Sociology, Spring 2010 Instructor: Dan Lainer-Vos, [email protected] Office Hours: Thursday 9-11, KAP 348E Class: Monday and Wednesday 10:00-11:20 KAP 167

SOCI 370: Introduction to Sociological Theory

This course provides an introduction to key classical sociological thinking. We will review the writings of Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber and a few of their prominent disciples. These thinkers, working in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, established sociology as an academic discipline. Living in a period of great economic, political, and social transformation, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber attempted to understand the emerging new social order and the condition of life in modernity. The questions they raised, the problems they identified, and even some of their solutions still shape our understanding of society.

Marx, Durkheim and Weber offer radically different perspective on what society is, how we can study it, and what sociology should do. Marx’s sociological theory is emancipatory. As such, it claims to speak in the name of certain oppressed groups (in Marx’s case this group is the proletariat, but we will examine other examples, such as Marxist Feminist theory). This point of view is not just a matter of moral principle: Marx believed that society is best understood from the point of view of the oppressed. Moreover, he believed that properly understanding this point of view offers a key for social change. The role of sociology, from this perspective, is not just to understand society, but to fundamentally emancipate it from oppression — hence their name.

Durkheim’s approach to sociology is different. Durkheim attempted to establish sociology after the model of positivist natural sciences. Positivist theoreticians, including Durkheim, do not claim to speak in anybody’s name. They believe their authority to speak derives from scientific expertise. Instead of linking themselves to different groups, they believed that the best view from which to understand society in from above. Only from this perspective, they believed, can objective sociological knowledge be accumulated. Durkheim did not believe in emancipation. To the extent that he was interested in social change, he sought reform rather than revolution. The role of sociology, from this perspective, is to positively apply scientific method toward discovering and describing the rules that govern societies — hence the term “positivism.”

Weber’s sociological approach breaks away from both emancipatory and positivist thought. Weber’s perspective can be described as “critical theory.” Unlike emancipatory theoreticians, Weber does not claim to speak on behalf of any oppressed social group but he does not adopt the positivist point of view from above either. In fact, Weber and other critical theoreticians doubt the very possibility of objective representation of society. They do not believe in either emancipation (which they characterize as a dream which turned into a nightmare), or in reform (which they characterize as the pragmatism of the mouse on the turning wheel). Disillusioned with the promise of emancipation and positivism, Weber is deeply ambivalent about the role of sociological theory.

1 This overly schematic description of the three main sociological approaches that will be studied in class hides more than reveals. What is society? What is it made of? What are the dominant relations in society? And how should societies be studied? During the semester, we will try to understand Marx, Durkheim and Weber’s answers to these questions.

Course goals

The goal of the course is not to turn you into experts in classical sociology but to introduce you to the thinking of Marx, Durkheim and Weber and provide you with tools with which to approach and analyze current social issues. To accomplish this, we will discuss in class and in the writing assignments a number of contemporary issues: the economic crisis, facebook, online sharing, the legal battle over the cross in Mojave desert, Obama’s charisma and more. The ideas and concepts of these classical writers allow us to see these phenomena in different light.

Course Requirements and grading

You must show up to class in a timely manner, and having already read the materials assigned for that week. There will be two midterm writing assignments (20% each), a final paper (40%) and a final exam (25%). The remaining 15% will be awarded on the basis of class attendance, participation, and two short in-class quizzes based on the readings for the relevant week.

In the final exam you will be required to define a few concepts, answer 2-3 short questions and write a short essay in response to a discussion question. For the midterm writing assignments you will write short essays (no longer than 5 pages) that explore particular issues in the writings of Marx and Durkheim. The final writing assignment will ask you to write an essay comparing the theories of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, from a particular angle (no longer that 10 pages). The writing assignments must be printed on both sides of the page, 12 size font, double spaced and with normal margins.

Please make sure to use my office hours. The material covered in this class is not easy and is more complex than it seems at first reading. If you have problems attending my office hours, we can schedule an alternative time to meet via email.

Statement for Students with Disabilities Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Integrity

2 USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.

Readings:

There are 3 books required for the course. 1) Robert C. Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader. (New York: W.W. Norton, 1972); 2) Émile Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society. (N.Y.: The Free Press, 1984 [1893]); 3) Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. (N.Y.: Charles Scribnher’s Sons, 1958 [1904-5]). Readings that are not part of these books are marked in the syllabus with an asterisk and are available on blackboard.

Course Outline and Readings

Part I. Emancipatory Theory: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Marxist feminism

Week 1 (January 10, 12): Introduction—what is sociological theory? How should we read theory? Readings: 1) “Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy”, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp.3-6.

Week 2 (Martin Luther Day, January 19): The materialist conception of history Reading: 1) “Contribution to the critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction”, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 53-65. 2) “The German Ideology,” The Marx-Engels Reader, pp.147-163, from the paragraph beginning with “The premises from which we begin…”

Week 3 (January 24, 26): The theory of alienation Reading: 1) Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, “Estranged labor,” The Marx-Engels Reader, pp.70-81. 2) “The Meaning of Human Requirements,” The Marx-Engels Reader pp.93- 105. 3) The Holy Family, “Alienation and Social Classes”, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp.133-135.

Week 4 (January 31, February 2): The theory of exploitation and the origins and dynamic of capitalism

3 Reading: 1) “Wage Labour and Capital,” The Marx-Engels Reader, pp.203-217. 2) The German Ideology, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp.176-186.

Week 5 (February 7, 9): The theory of exploitation (continued) Reading: 1) Capital Vol. 1, “The general formula for capital,” Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 329-336. 2) Capital Vol. 1, “The labour-process and the process of producing surplus- value,” pp. 344-361. 3) Capital Vol.1, “The so-called Primitive Accumulation,” Marx-Engels Reader, pp.431-438.

Week 6 (February 14, 16): The theory of classes and class struggle Reading: 1) The Communist Manifesto, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp.473-483 2) Capital Vol.3, “Classes”, The Marx-Engels Reader, pp.441-442. Mid-term assignment will be distributed in class (February 16)

Week 7 (President’s Day, February 23) The problem of women Reading: 1) Heidi Hartmann, 1981“The unhappy marriage of Marxism and Feminism,” Pp. 1-42 in Women and the Revolution: A Discussion of the Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism, edited by Lydia Sargent. Boston: south end Press.* Mid-term assignment is due in class (February 23).

Part II. Positivist Theory: Émile Durkheim and Erving Goffman

Week 8 (February 28, March 2): The study of social facts and the problem of solidarity Reading: 1) “What is a Social Fact”, pp. 35-38, 50-59 in The Rules of Sociological Method.* 2) “Rules for the explanation of social facts,” pp. 119-121(until “”having observed human nature”), and 127 (from “But such a method is not applicable”)-135 in The Rules of Sociological Method.* 3) “The problem,” pp. 1-2 (until the end of first paragraph) in The Division of Labor in Society 4) The function of the division of labor, pp. 24 (from “We have not merely”)- 29 in The Division of Labor in Society.

Week 9 (March 7, 9): From mechanic to organic solidarity and the problem of anomie Reading: 1) “Mechanical solidarity, or solidarity by similarities,” pp. 38 (from “The totality”)-41 (until “their original nature); 60-64, in The Division of Labor in Society. 2) “Solidarity arising from the division of labor, or organic solidarity,” pp. 68- 71; 83 (from “The first kind”)-86, in The Division of Labor in Society.

4 3) “The causes, pp. 200-205. 4) The anomic division of labor, 301-308; 311-328.

Week 10 (March 14-16): Spring Break—No Class

Week 11 (March 21, 23): Collective representations and the cult of the individual Reading: 1) Introduction, pp 3 (from “First of all”)-6; 207-241; 361-367, in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.* 2) “Individualism and the intellectuals” pp. 43-57 in Emile Durkheim on Morality and Society.*

Week 12 (March 28-30): The self as a sacred object Reading: 1) Erving Goffman, “Supportive and Remedial Interchange,” pp. 62-94 in Relations in Public.*

Part II. Critical Theory: Max Weber

Week 12 (April 4, 6): Objectivity in the Social Sciences Reading: 1) “ ‘Objectivity’ in social science,” pp. 171-177, in Classical Sociological Theory.* 2) “The definition of sociology and of social action” pp. 4-26 (selection) in Economy and Society Vol. 1.*

Week 13 (April 11, 13): Rationality and Disenchantment Reading: 1) “The problem, pp. pp.3-7; in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. 2) “The spirit of capitalism,” pp. 13-28 (until “the spirit of capitalism”); 35 (from “Now, how could”)-38, in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. 3) “Asceticism and the spirit of capitalism”, pp. 115 (from “This worldly”)-125, in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

Week 14 (April 18, 20): Domination and bureaucracy Reading: 1) “The types of legitimate domination,” pp. 212-216, in Economy and Society.* 2) “Legal authority with a bureaucratic administrative staff”, 217-221 (until “these fields”), in Economy and Society.* 3) “Traditional authority”, 226-231, in Economy and Society.* 4) “Charismatic authority”, pp. 241-245, in Economy and Society vol. 1.* 5) “The routinization of charisma”, pp. 246-249 (until a number of typical forms); 251 (from “For charisma to be transformed)-254, in Economy and Society. 6) “Bureaucracy,” pp. 196-204 (until “such certificate”), 214 (from “The decisive reason”)-216 (until “special virtue”), 224 (from “In spite”)-226 (until “in fact and in form”; 228-230 (until “rationalized structure”), in From Max Weber.*

5 Week 15 (April 25, 27]): The McDonalidization of Society Reading: 1) George Ritzer The McDonaldization of Society: an Investigation Into the Changing Character of Contemporary Social Life,” pp. 1-12, pp. 185-212.* Final assignment is distributed

May 5: Final assignment is due in KAP 352.

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