25.2.05
Theory Greats
One of the main components of your workbook is to relate your topic to the tradition of sociological theory. 9 times during the course of the semester, you must engage in a mental dialogue with one of the past or present towering figures of the discipline. Take some insight from the theory or work of the figure and apply it to your own topic.
In practice what that means is that you should read over the relevant chapter or chapters of One World and then make an entry of about one page, concerning the application of the theory to your topic. Below, I have written ten thumbnail sketches of those figures, to make it easier, but the sketches are designed to supplement rather than to substitute for the reading. They are also designed to give you some sense of he human face behind the theories.
Any serious engagement or dialogue with the theories is acceptable. There are no right (or wrong) answers to the assignment. You are not responsible for doing library research to find out what the theorist may have said about your topic; you are only being asked to think about what they would say, based on the assigned reading. Not only could you take an idea or argument from the theorist and apply it to your topic, but also you could make an argument that the theorist is irrelevant to your topic. It may be that you think they have nothing useful to contribute, either because their whole approach is essentially wrong, in your view, or because it is true and useful for other topics, but not for yours.
Note, however, that a thoughtless dismissal is not acceptable. It is not OK to dismiss their relevance, either because you have not done the reading, or because they did not address your particular topic and you have not thought about what they would say about it. What makes these theorists important is that most other sociologists have regarded them as having developed really basic insights that are illuminating and applicable to almost every topic within sociology.
The nine entries to your workbook should be made by the Mondays of the dates shown. On 10/7, you may pick either Spencer or Mead. I shall only look your entries when the workbooks are handed in ,but I would strongly advise you not to get behind in the reading and in these assignments. Some of the material from these 9 assignments should find its way into your final paper. One of the essential requirements of the paper is that it relate to the readings from One World in an integral way. Exactly how the theories of these figures will relate to your topic will depend on the kind of paper you are writing.
Ten Great Figures in Sociology
One approach to sociological theory looks at the writings of the great figures of the discipline. There are about two dozen figures with whom any sociologist is familiar -- or at least acquainted. The towering classic figures are Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. They established the principal paradigms of the discipline. In the mid-twentieth century, Parsons' development of Durkheimian functionalism and Mill's development of marxian conflict theory established the main lines of theory important today. While there would, no doubt, be more debate about the status of living sociologists, most practicing sociologists are acquainted with the works of Stinchcombe, Wilson and Habermas.
Sociologists Doctrines Due
1. Karl Marx (1818-1883) Socialism 1/29
2. Emile Durkheim (1858-1916) Functionalism 2/5
3. Max Weber (1864-1920) Organization Theory 2/12
4. Hebert Spencer (1820-1903) Social Darwinism 2/26
5. George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) Symbolic Interactionism 2/26
6. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) Structural Functionalism 3/12
7. C. Wright Mills (1916-1961) Power Elite Conflict Theory 3/19
8. Arthur Stinchcombe (1935- Theory Construction Movement 3/26
9. William Julius Wilson (1940- Contemporary Conflict Theory 4/9
10. Joe Feagin Institutional racism and sexism 4/16
In practice what that means is that you should read over the relevant chapter or chapters of One World and then make an entry of about one page, concerning the application of the theory to your topic. Below, I have written ten thumbnail sketches of those figures, to make it easier, but the sketches are designed to supplement rather than to substitute for the reading. They are also designed to give you some sense of he human face behind the theories.
Any serious engagement or dialogue with the theories is acceptable. There are no right (or wrong) answers to the assignment. You are not responsible for doing library research to find out what the theorist may have said about your topic; you are only being asked to think about what they would say, based on the assigned reading. Not only could you take an idea or argument from the theorist and apply it to your topic, but also you could make an argument that the theorist is irrelevant to your topic. It may be that you think they have nothing useful to contribute, either because their whole approach is essentially wrong, in your view, or because it is true and useful for other topics, but not for yours.
Note, however, that a thoughtless dismissal is not acceptable. It is not OK to dismiss their relevance, either because you have not done the reading, or because they did not address your particular topic and you have not thought about what they would say about it. What makes these theorists important is that most other sociologists have regarded them as having developed really basic insights that are illuminating and applicable to almost every topic within sociology.
The nine entries to your workbook should be made by the Mondays of the dates shown. On 10/7, you may pick either Spencer or Mead. I shall only look your entries when the workbooks are handed in ,but I would strongly advise you not to get behind in the reading and in these assignments. Some of the material from these 9 assignments should find its way into your final paper. One of the essential requirements of the paper is that it relate to the readings from One World in an integral way. Exactly how the theories of these figures will relate to your topic will depend on the kind of paper you are writing.
Ten Great Figures in Sociology
One approach to sociological theory looks at the writings of the great figures of the discipline. There are about two dozen figures with whom any sociologist is familiar -- or at least acquainted. The towering classic figures are Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. They established the principal paradigms of the discipline. In the mid-twentieth century, Parsons' development of Durkheimian functionalism and Mill's development of marxian conflict theory established the main lines of theory important today. While there would, no doubt, be more debate about the status of living sociologists, most practicing sociologists are acquainted with the works of Stinchcombe, Wilson and Habermas.
Sociologists Doctrines Due
1. Karl Marx (1818-1883) Socialism 1/29
2. Emile Durkheim (1858-1916) Functionalism 2/5
3. Max Weber (1864-1920) Organization Theory 2/12
4. Hebert Spencer (1820-1903) Social Darwinism 2/26
5. George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) Symbolic Interactionism 2/26
6. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) Structural Functionalism 3/12
7. C. Wright Mills (1916-1961) Power Elite Conflict Theory 3/19
8. Arthur Stinchcombe (1935- Theory Construction Movement 3/26
9. William Julius Wilson (1940- Contemporary Conflict Theory 4/9
10. Joe Feagin Institutional racism and sexism 4/16
