Sociology 138: History of Social Thought

Spring 2002

A review of the development and current status of sociological theory. Theory is the foundation of all good sociological investigation. It tells us what problems are worth studying, what facts are relevant, how to make sense of those facts and what conclusions to draw. The purpose of the course is to convey some sense of how sociological thinking has evolved as societies have changed and how and why theories differ from one another. Emphasis is placed on the application of sociological theory to empirical research.

There will be lectures on Monday and Wednesday. On Friday, the class divides into sections and discusses the readings on reserve. Students must post their comments on the readings on the Courseinfo page by Wednesday midnight previous to the Friday when they will be discussed.

The final grade for the course will be computed in the following way: Mid-term examination = 30%; final examination = 50%; section participation = 20%. I will grade both exams. The grade for the section participation, based on the weekly posting and class discussion, will be give by the teaching assistant.

Readings: The text for the course is Ruth Wallace and Alison Wolf, Contemporary Sociological Theory (Fifth Edition). The sequence of lectures does not match the sequence of chapters in the textbook. Follow the instructions in this syllabus carefully. The readings for the section meetings are on electronic reserve in Perkins Library.

Introduction

What is the “sociological imagination” and what role does theory play in it? [Textbook, Chapter One].

The section reading is Murray Melbin’s Night as Frontier, which shows how useful metaphors can be in thinking innovatively about social life. Nigh-time life in cities resembles the social life of the “Wild West”.

Social Constructionist Theories

Society is the relationship of ideas, not “things”. Individuals have no meaning outside society. The “self” is a product of social interaction, a “looking glass self,” in which self-consciousness is formed in the conversation between “I” and “me”.

The section readings for this segment are: David Snow and Leon Anderson’s Identity Work Among the Homeless, which examines how the meaning of “homelessness” and the identity of being a “homeless person” are socially constructed and Diana Dull and Candace West’s Accounting for Cosmetic Surgery, which shows us how the body is used to “accomplish gender”. [Textbook pp.189-203 for Cooley and Mead, pp. 227-239 for Goffman, background reading for the Snow and Anderson article; pp. 252-276, background reading for the Dull and West article].

Rational Choice Theory

Sociological theory should take as its starting point the assumption that human beings rationally seek pleasure and avoid pain. Social relationships form if each actor decides that the other has something he or she wants and has something to give in return. Complex forms of exchange lead to social institutions such as labor and commodity markets, but dating and marriage behavior as well as a host of other social patterns, can be explained with these principles.

The section readings for this segment are: Rodney Stark and Roger Finke’s Religious Group Dynamics, which explains why some religious groups are able to generate high levels of commitment; and Mary Lennon and Sarah Rosenfeld’s Relative Fairness and the Division of Housework, which shows that decisions about what is “fair” are affected by the relative distribution of power and resources. [Textbook pp. 293-322 for the foundations of rational choice theory; pp. 328-336 for an explanation of social exchange; pp. 338-346 for a discussion of the “free-rider” problem].

Structural-Functionalism

Sociology’s true subject matter is the structure and function of groups and other supra-individual phenomena (e.g. organizations, societies). These are “emergent properties” that arise out of the interaction between individuals. “Structure” describes patterns of behavior (e.g., the division of labor) and “function” refers to the contribution that structure makes to the survival of society.

The section readings are: Talcott Parsons and Renee Fox’s Illness, Therapy and the Modern American Family, in which the authors reveal that sickness is a social role as much as a biological condition, and that modern ideas of illness are a reflection of the changing function of the family in social life; and Martin Jankowski’s Islands in the Street, in which he explains the existence of gangs by pointing to the contribution they make to community cohesiveness. [Textbook pp. 16-65 for a general overview of functionalist theory]

Conflict Theory

Social “order” is actually the result of social conflict, in which those with more power and resources impose their will on those with less [Textbook pp. 68-78 for a general introduction to conflict theories].

Marxist: Some sociologists see class conflict as the principal ordering mechanism in modern societies

 The section readings for this section are: Terry Clark and Seymour Lipset’s  Are Social Classes Dying? which argues that Marxist theories of class conflict are no longer valid; Alvin So’s Recent Developments in Marxist Class Analysis, which argues that, with modifications, Marxist class analysis can still be useful.

Marx is also known for his acerbic analysis of consumption in capitalist regimes, using the concept of the commodity form. The section reading is Andrew Wernick’s The Promotional University, a description of what’s happening to higher education, in a world where everything seems to be for sale [Textbook pp. 80-99, 158-162 for background reading on these issues].

Weberian: Power and authority are at the center of this theoretical tradition, and especially the study of bureaucratic power. In class I will describe the features of bureaucracy as outlined by Weber. The section reading is Robert Jackall’s The Main Chance – a study of how organizations really work. Compare it to the “ideal type” bureaucracy described by Weber.

Weber is also well known for his analysis of rationalization, which was for him what commodification is for Marx. George Ritzer’s Efficiency applies Max Weber’s theory of rationalization to the fast food industry. [Textbook pp. 118-127, 135-153 for a general introduction to Weber’s ideas].

Feminist: Some sociologists believe patriarchy – the rule of men – means gender will be the main focus of conflict in society. The reading for this section is Susan Bordo’s Reading the Slender Body, a feminist analysis of the modern preoccupation with “trimness”. [One of the features of the textbook is the way the authors’ introduce feminist critiques in many parts, but see pp. 283-292, 376-382 specifically].