Sociology - Classical Social Theory

Catalog description

This seminar will focus on the later 19th and early 20th century "theories of society," addressing the origins and developmental tendencies of Western modernity and their relation to premodern social orders. Primary texts of the major theorists (e.g. Marx, Durkheim, Nietzsche, Weber, Simmel, and Mead) will be studied in historical context. The tradition's analytical and critical resources and problematic features will also be explored. Finally, the connections between this tradition and contemporary sociological approaches will be explored.