Classical Sociological Theory

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to sociological theory until the 1970s. We will read excerpts of original works from key theorists in, or influencing, the discipline. We will read original works of Tocqueville, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, DuBois, Gramsci, Marcuse, C. Wright Mills and more. We will also read a few more recent works echoing classical theory. The goal of this course is to help students understand the core concepts, including those of class, race, power, markets and the state, in classical sociological theory and to sharpen their own sociological imaginations.