Sociology 5001     CLASSICAL SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY     Fall 2006

Professor: Martha E. Gimenez
Office: Ketchum 205A
Office Hours: Wednesday 10 to 12 and by appointment Telephone: 492-7080
E-Mail address: gimenez at sobek.colorado.edu
Visit Professor Gimenez' Home Page: http://www.colorado.edu/Sociology/gimenez/index.html

VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS:
Students are encouraged to ask questions using email. Questions and answers will be posted.

ABOUT THE CLASS LIST

All students are REQUIRED to join the class list. Additional or substitute reading assignments, important deadlines, reminders, information and general discussion will be posted daily: READ THE COURSE EMAIL EVERYDAY TO KEEP INFORMED.

To subscribe to the class list send email to

listproc@lists.colorado.edu

in the message write: subscribe class-list first name last name
example: subscribe class-list Homer Simpson

Send your messages to: class-list@lists.colorado.edu

VISIT THE COURSE HOME PAGE, http://www.colorado.edu/Sociology/gimenez/soc.5001/ind.html where you will find links to relevant online resources.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This seminar is designed to examine the contributions of classical sociological theory to the understanding of the main structures, processes and contradictions of modern capitalist societies. The social sciences emerged, in the 19th century, as the intellectual outcome of vast processes of sociopolitical and economic change. They were the product of the intellectual labor of scholars deeply engaged in political life, seeking to elucidate the nature of the emergent social order: capitalism. Political theory, political economy, sociology, and historical materialism focused on different levels of analysis, asked different questions and together produced answers which still shape contemporary social science theory and research.

Though the readings include a historical overview on the development of the social sciences, particularly sociology and historical materialism, the seminar will focus on the contributions of three main theorists; Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. Given their enormous intellectual productivity and the time limitations within which we must necessarily approach their work, we will examine in depth only a small selection of primary sources. The major goal of the seminar is to familiarize students with some of the main theoretical assumptions, concepts and patterns of determination identified by each theorist in his approach to the study of modern capitalist society. The seminar will have succeeded to the extent students master the skills necessary to continue and deepen their reading and understanding of the classics on their own. Reading the classics is hard work: a major requirement for this seminar is the completion of all reading assignments. Class presentations and participation in the discussions are also required.

Because reading the classics is hard work, students will often find themselves lost, confused, upset or, perhaps, elated after having experienced a breakthrough in their understanding. Whatever your reactions to the readings, feel free to drop during office hours to discuss your concerns. Also, I encourage you to form study groups. Learning, despite the individualistic ethos of this society, is a collective process and it is in the process of discussing and debating ideas with others that we test and strengthen our understanding of complex issues.

The study of theory requires the learning of new concepts and complex ideas. It is the responsibility of each student to request explanations, when necessary, either in class or through email. Furthermore, Norlin Library has SEVEN dictionaries of sociology; four of them, including the Blackwell and Penguin dictionaries, cannot be checked out and can be always found in the library's reference department. In addition, students can consult Bottomore's Dictionary of Marxist Thought, on reserve for this course.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

  • 1. Biweekly Short Paper

    Every other week you are to turn in a short paper, two pages at most, in which you answer a question YOU generate on the basis of your understanding of the reading assignments.

    RATIONALE:
    "Student-generated questions allow students to take charge of restructuring text for themselves. Framing questions involves active processing of text and interacting with text meaning. In addition, students who can ask their own questions can check their own comprehension rather than relying on teacher questions and feedback."
    (Source: http://www.mdk12.org/practices/good_instruction/projectbetter/thinkingskills/ts-77-78.html)

    Your paper should be double spaced, typed or legibly printed.

    The purpose of this exercise is to test your ability to get to the essential points in a given reading assignment, and to learn how to start thinking theoretically. As you strive to understand an author's theoretical contribution, you will start developing your own grasp of a given theorist's style of thinking and view of the social world.

    DUE DATES:
    WEEKLY PAPERS:
    There will be 6 papers due on September 14, 28; October 12, 26; November 9, and 30.
    FOLDER WITH ALL THE PAPERS: Due on Thursday, November 30.

  • 2. Group, class and online participation

    The class will be divided in four groups.

    I will go over the main points of the readings during the first 45 minutes; afterwards, the groups will meet separately, for about 40 minutes. At this time, students are expected to share their learning, questions about the readings and the issues they examined in their weekly paper. There will be a 10 minutes break and, during the last third of the class, each group will present, to the entire class, the substance of its discussions.

    IMPORTANT:
    Group discussions will work best if the groups are organized soon after the first class, remain stable throughout the semester, and the time allocated for group discussion is used wisely.

    Class participation is crucial for the success of the seminar. Seminars where students do not speak out, or only a few students speak and dominate the seminar, become small lecture classes where student intervention is insufficient to justify calling the class a seminar. This seminar is larger than average; consequently, the risk of becoming a small lecture class is substantial.

    Online Participation through the Class List

    Every Tuesday, earlier if possible, students must send a message to the class list in which they a) send a brief list of concepts they would like to discuss in class and b) identify the theory they found most compelling, present its main assumption and arguments and, to the best of their ability, use one of its insights to illuminate a social phenomena of their choice.
    The purpose of this required exercise is to test students' ability to identify the essential points from the reading assignments, and to learn how to examine social issues and phenomena using postmodern perspectives. As students strive to understand an author's theoretical contribution, they will start developing their own grasp of the theorist's style of postmodern theorizing.
    Students must start posting messages in the class list on Tuesday, September 5.
    Messages should not be excessively long, at most 500 words (about two double spaced printed pages). All students should read these messages, so they come to class prepared to address, in class discussions, the issues raised by their classmates.

  • 3. Final Take Home Examination

    The exam, due on Monday, December 18, will consist of three questions (to be chosen from a larger list) based on the materials covered in class and in the readings. The examination is no more than a more formal and structured engagement with the issues you have been dealing with throughout your class participation, presentations and written work. The reply to each question should be at most 8 double spaced pages and no less than 6 pages long, excluding references. You will receive the exam questions, through email, a week in advance, on December 12.

    GRADING POLICY

    I will use blind grading. Students will identify their papers with an ID of their choice and will reveal their name, by email, after the papers have been returned.

    Each weekly essay WILL NOT receive an individual grade. I will write comments stating, for example, that you what you wrote needs rethinking, or lacks organization, or that it was well argued; I ask questions, suggest additional readings, ask you to rewrite, etc. When papers are insightful, well written, I write only one word: excellent! When papers are weak in content and organization, they require extensive feedback. I often mark them with an S (=satisfactory), an S+ (well done!) or an S- (you could do better). What matters, when I examine these papers together, is not only whether they deserved S, excellent, or any other overall assessment, but the nature of the comments I wrote and the way you may or may not had used them to improve your work. I end up re-reading all of them again to attain a basis for the grade, especially if I originally wrote few comments. What I look for in these papers is your thinking, your ability to engage with the readings and take a concept or a theoretical insight and push it in a direction that matters to you, either because it is related to your work, or because it simply delights you and forces you to think in new and interesting ways.

    Two weeks before the semester is over, you will return all the essays and I will grade them as a whole, looking over comments and marks and assessing your progress.

    High grades (A, A+) are not an entitlement: they have to be earned.

    Grading will be allocated as follows:

    Biweekly essays: 30 percent.

    Class, group and online participation: 25 percent.

    Take home final exam: 45 percent.
    The final exam is due December 16 at 3 PM.

    IMPORTANT:

    Please read this syllabus carefully; if you find the course requirements. grading policy or anything else unclear, let me know.

    If you have any questions about your performance in the class, about your work or any other course related issue, don't hesitate to make an appointment; that's what office hours are for.

    Keep in mind that a low grade or a critical comment does not reflect an asssessment of you, as person; it is an assessment of the work. To teach means to educate. The word education has the Latin root duc that means to lead forth. The role of the teacher is to point the way, to create the conditions for learning and to let students know when their work needs to be improved. I would be failing as a teacher if I were to overlook problems in your work, either in its form or its content.

    To rely on secondary sources or simply paraphrase the text is not an adequate way to fulfill this course's requirements.

    On September 7 or before, all students are required to send me an email statement ratifying that they understand the course requirements and grading policies.

    USEFUL INFORMATION:

    Disability Policy
    If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services (DS) early in the semester so that your needs may be addressed. DS determines accommodations based on documented disabilities (303-492-8671, Willard 322, www.colorado.edu/sacs/disabilityservices)

    Religious Holidays Policy
    Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class, a class missed to observe a religious holiday will not be counted as an absence. If you have to miss an exam because of a religious holiday, please notify me two weeks in advance, so that we identify an alternative date for fulfilling that course requirement.
    See full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html

    Appropriate Classroom Behavior Policy
    Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat all students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See polices at
    http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at
    http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code

    Academic Integrity Policy
    All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/

    Plagiarism Policy
    "Plagiarism (Portrayal of another's work or ideas as one's own), Cheating (Using unauthorized notes or study aids, allowing another party to do one's work/exam and turning in that work/exam as one's own; submitting the same or similar papers in more than one course without permission from the course instructors)" and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Please see additional information about academic dishonesty in http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/Code1.html
    and learn about the new Student Honor Code System in http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/Home.html

    Sexual Harassment Policy
    The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment (http://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination.html, the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships applies to all students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh

    CELL PHONES AND PAGERS MUST BE TURNED OFF BEFORE ENTERING THE CLASSROOM

    REQUIRED READINGS

    Mustafa Emirbayer, ed., Emile Durkheim. Sociologist of Modernity. Blackwell ME.

    Robert J. Antonio, ed., Marx and Modernity. Key Readings and Commentary. Blackwell MM

    Stephen Kahlberg, ed., Max Weber. Readings and Commentary on Modernity

    Required ONLINE readings:

    Marx's writings on alienation, the state, civil society and civil rights, and religion are not available in your text. You can download these readings from the Marxists Archive

    OPTIONAL PACKAGE OF READINGS AVAILABLE IN THE DEPARTMENT OFFICE

    T. R. Kandal, "Emile Durkheim: Suicide and the War between the Sexes," pp. 79-88 in T. R. Kandal, The Woman Question in Classical Sociological Theory. Miami, FL: Florida International University Press, 1988.

    Jennifer Lehmann, "Durkheim's Response to Feminism." Sociological Theory. 8, 2 (Fall 1990): 163-187.

    Max Weber, Economy and Society, Vol I. University of California Press, Berkeley (selected sections).

    Matthias Gross, "Classical Theory and the Restoration of Nature: the Relevance of Emile Durkheim and Georg Simmel." Organization & Environment. 13, 3 (September 2000): 277-291.

    Martha E. Gimenez, "Does Ecology Need Marx?" Organization & Environment. 13, 3 (September 2000\ ): 292-304.

    RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL READINGS

    Biography

    Steven Lukes, Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work, A Critical Study. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Rheinhart Bendix, Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait. London: Methuen, 1959.

    David McLellan, Karl Marx: His Life and Thought. New York: Harper & Row, 1973.

    Walter Benjamin, "Capitalism and Religion," in Selected Writings, Vol. I

    Tom Bottomore et al, eds., A Dictionary of Marxist Thought. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983.

    Roslyn W. Bologh, Love or Greatness: Max Weber and Masculne Thinking- A Feminist Inquiry.

    Simon Clarke, Marx, Marginalism and Modern Sociology: From Adam Smith to Max Weber.

    G. A. Cohen, Karl Marx's Theory of History. A Defense. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1980.

    Maurice Dobb, Studies in the Development of Capitalism

    Martha E. Gimenez, "Does Ecology Need Marx?" Organization & Environment, Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 2000): 292-304

    Robert W. Green, Protestantism and Capitalism: The Weber Thesis and its Critics.

    Mathias Gross, "Classical Sociology and the Restoration of Nature- The Relevanc\ e of Emile Durkheim and Georg Simmel" Organization & Environment. Vol. 13, No. 2 (September 2000): 277-291

    John Lewis, Max Weber and Value Free Sociology: A Marxist Critique.

    Michael Lowy, ""Weber Against Marx? The Polemic with Historical Materialism in the Protestant Ethic," in On Changing the World: Essays in Political Philosophy from Karl Marx to Walter Benjamin.

    Herbert Marcuse, "Industrialization and Capitalism in the Work of Max Weber," in Negations. Esays in Critical Theory.

    Immanuel Wallerstein, Unthinking Social Science. The Limits of Nineteenth-Century Paradigms. Polity Press, 1991.

    Erik O. Wright, E. Sober, and Andrew Levine, Reconstructing Marxism. Verso, 1992.

    Ellen M. Wood, Democracy Against Capitalism (the chapter on Weber).

    READING ASSIGNMENTS

    WEEKS I THROUGH V: MARX

    Week I 8/31

    Introduction to Classical Sociology
    Introduction to Marx's work

    Weeks II/III 9/7 - 9/14.

    Antonio, Introduction
    Part I: Marx's Vision of History: "Historical Materialism."
    Part II: The Juggernaut of Capitalist Modernity...."
    Part III: Marx's Labor Theory of Value....
    Part IV: From Manufacture to Modern Industry...

    Weeks IV/V 9/21 - 9/28

    Part V: The Downside of Capitalist Growth...
    Alienated or Estranged Labor
    Introduction to a Contribution to The Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right
    On the Jewish Question

    WEEKS VI THROUGH IX: DURKHEIM

    Weeks VI/VII 10/5 - 10/12.

    Emirbayer, Introduction
    Part I - An Agenda for Sociology. pp. 32-49
    Durkheim's Methodological Manifesto. pp. 283-293.
    Part II - A Topography of Modernity. pp. 57-78.
    Part III - Culture and Symbolic Classification. pp. 83-96.
    Part IV - Collective emotions and Ritual Process. pp. 107-124.
    Part V - Individual and Collective Agency. pp. 139-155.

    Weeks VIII/IX 10/19 - 10/26.

    Part III - The Institutional Order of Modern Societies:
    The Modern State. pp. 167-185
    The Modern Economy. pp. 192-211
    Civil Society (1) Occupational Groups and Family. pp. 217-230
    Civil Society (2) Education. pp. 236-248.
    Part IV - Morality and Modernity. pp. 255-279.

    - WEEKS X THROUGH XIV: WEBER

    Weeks X/XI. 11/2 - 11/9

    S. Kahlberg - Introduction

    Part I - The Uniqueness of the West
    Part II - The Uniqueness and Origins of the Modern Western Work Ethic
    Part III - The Economy, the Workplace....
    Part IV - Stratification and Inequality

    Week XII. 11/16
    Part V - Authority in the Modern Epoch
    Part VI - The Nation, The Modern State, and Modern Law
    Part VII - Introduction and The Antagonism... PP. 245-254

    Week XIII

    Thanksgiving Break

    Week XIV. 11/30
    Part VIII - The Political Culture
    Part IX - On "Race"....
    Part X - The Meaning, Value....

    Weeks XV/XVI 12/7 - 12/14
    REVIEW

    December 15 - LAST DAY OF CLASSES

    December 18 - FINAL EXAM DUE AT 1 PM

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