SOC 210

CLASSICAL SOCIAL THEORY

FALL 2019

Instructor: Ilker Corut

E-mail: ilker_c@auca.kg

Class Time: Wednesday 9:25-10:40, Friday 9:25-12:05

Class Room: NC/G32 (Wednesday session) and NC/G26 (Friday session)

Enrollment Key: SOC210.1

Office Hours: TBA (and by appointment)

NB: This is a tentative syllabus and open to change by the instructor at any point.

Course Description:

This course on classical social theory is centered on the key texts of Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile
Durkheim who continue to inspire sociological imaginations and inform the ways in which
contemporary sociologists formulate their research questions and proposals. During the course,
students will read, discuss and analyze the classics of sociological thought to become fluent with the
issues raised, questions posed, concepts coined, arguments developed by the founding fathers of the
modern sociological thought.

In addition to discussions around the key texts of classical social theory; lectures, discussions and
guidance concerning academic writing skills of students will be the other major axis of the course.
Students will write quite a few papers, both formal and informal, on topics related to various
arguments and debates of classical social theory and be assisted to see and overcome the main
shortcomings of their academic expression styles.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

 Define theory and describe analytical assumptions and implications of theoretical approaches in
classical sociology.
 Explore the internal logic of a theory in building sociological knowledge.
 Show how theories reflect the context in which they are developed.
  Have a broad understanding of main arguments, approaches and concepts of classical social
theory.
 Compare and contrast arguments of different schools of classical social theory.
 Match empirical evidence to appropriate theoretical concepts.
 Effectively use the conceptual toolbox of classical social theories to make sense of specific
social puzzles that they are dealing with.
 Use evidence to formulate and support theoretical arguments.
 Use APA or ASA to cite sources properly.
 Integrate sources effectively through summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting directly to avoid
plagiarism.

Course Policies:

1- Academic Integrity

All students are obliged to meet the standards of academic honesty defined by the AUCA of Central
Asia (https://auca.kg/uploads/Students_life/Docs/Code%20of%20Students%202019.pdf) and must
keep in mind that plagiarism will not be tolerated in any cases. Academic dishonesty of any sort may
result in immediate course failure.

2- Punctuality

Students need to be at class on time not to disrupt the flow of the class discussions. Unexcused late
arrival to class may be counted as an absence at the discretion of the instructor.

3- Using cell phones or other electronic devices during the class

Using electronic devices such as cell phones or laptops during the course is distractive to the
instructor and other students. All such devices should be turned off and put away before the class
starts.

Assessment:

1- Grading scale

A 94-100% B- 77-79% D+ 60-63%

A- 90-93% C+ 74-76% D 54-59%
B+ 86-89% C 68-73% D- 50-53%
B 80-85% C- 64-67% F below 50
Grading will be based on following components:

a. Attendance, participation, pop quizzes, 25% of the final grade

b. Response papers (5 in total), 20% of the final grade
c. Presentation, 15% of the final grade
d. Mid-term exam, 20% of the final grade
e. Final paper, 20% of the final grade

Course Requirements

1- Attendance and Participation

Attendance is mandatory and taken every class. Missing more than three classes without showing
any justified excuses (e.g. documented serious health problems) may result in course failure.

A real, meaningful attendance is much more than the physical presence of the students at the
classroom. All students present in the class are expected to make real, qualified contributions
(questions, arguments, comments) to the class discussions with specific references to the material
of the week.

2- Readings

a) Students are expected to read the assignments in advance and should be prepared to discuss the
material in class.

b) Students should have a hard copy of the assigned reading with them in the class.

3- Response Papers

Students are allowed to submit up to 7 response papers (around 450-500 words). Of these 7
response papers only 5 response papers with highest grades will be taken into account for the
calculation of final grade. To write a proper response paper:

a) Choose one of the articles assigned.

b) Summarize the arguments of the text and restate what the theorist is saying in your own
words (200 words).

c) Indicate the main lines of your own understanding of the article (agreement, disagreement,
questions) with reference to specific sentences or passages from the article (250-300 words).

Warning!!!

a) Response papers must be submitted by e-mail no later than class session. Late assignments
will not be accepted.
b) Students must submit at least one and no more than two response papers in every three
weeks!
4- Presentations

Students are expected to present one of the readings of the course. The presentations need to be
designed to foster the class discussions. For this to happen, the presenter must meet two criteria:

a) To able to provide a useful, concise summary of the arguments of and issues addressed by
the text under focus.

b) To be able to provide critical questions and comments to enable a ground of class

discussions.

Warning!!!

A presentation should be no more than 15 minutes. Questions for class discussion and their
rationale should be e-mailed to me 24 hours before the class discussion.

5- Exam

Students will have a midterm exam which will be based on lectures, readings and class discussions.
As an essay exam, it will measure students’ ability to understand, interpret, analyze and critically
think on the arguments of classical theorists. A list of study questions will be distributed a week
before the exam; the exam questions will be chosen from this list.

6-Pop Quizzes

There will be several unannounced "pop" quizzes throughout the semester. These will serve to
ensure that students are keeping up with the reading and with the material presented in lecture.

7-Final Paper

Students are expected to write a final paper (around 3000 words) at the end of the term (Font: Times
New Roman, size 12, spacing 1.5, normal formatting). With reference to the texts discussed
throughout the academic term (and other related texts like optional readings), students will indicate
in the final paper the level of both their command of classical social theory and developing their own
way of relating concepts, arguments and debates of classical social theory to each other.

READINGS
WEEK 1: Introduction

Desfor, Laura and Scott Appelrouth. 2015. “Introduction.” Pp. 1-19 in Sociological Theory in the Classical
Era: Text and Readings, edited by Laura Desfor and Scott Appelrouth. Los Angeles: Sage. Selection: 1-
11.

Dean, Mitchell. 2005. “Society." Pp. 326-329 in New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and
Society, edited by Tony Bennett, Lawrence Grossberg and Meaghan Morris. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
 Karl Marx

WEEK 2: Alienation

Marx, Karl. 1978. “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844.” Pp. 66-125 in The Marx-Engels
Reader, edited by Robert C. Tucker. W. W. Norton & Company: New York. Selection: 70-81.

Marx, Karl. 1978. “The Fetishism of Commodities and Secret Thereof.” Pp. 319-329 in The Marx-Engels
Reader, edited by Robert C. Tucker. W. W. Norton & Company: New York.

Marx, Karl. 1978. “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right Introduction.” Pp. 53-65 in
The Marx-Engels Reader, edited by Robert C. Tucker. W. W. Norton & Company: New York.

WEEK 3: Historical Materialism

Marx, Karl. 1978. “Society and Economy in History.” Pp. 136-142 in The Marx-Engels Reader, edited by
Robert C. Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Marx, Karl. 2007. “The German Ideology.” Pp. 82-86 in Classical Sociological Theory, edited by Craig
Calhoun et al. Oxford: Blackwell.

Marx, Karl. 1978. “Marx on the History of His Opinions.” Pp. 3-6 in The Marx-Engels Reader, edited by
Robert C. Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

WEEK 4: Class Struggle and the State

Marx, Karl. 2007. “Manifesto of the Communist Party.” Pp. 96-111 in Classical Sociological Theory,
edited by Craig Calhoun et al. Oxford: Blackwell.

Engels, Friedrich. 1978. “The Origin of Family, Private Property, and State.” Pp. 734-759 in The Marx-
Engels Reader, edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

WEEK 5-6: Marx’s “Capital”

Required:

Marx, Karl. 1978. “Capital Volume 1.” Pp. 294-438 in The Marx-Engels Reader, edited by Robert C.
Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Optional:

Fine, Ben and Alfredo Saad-Filho. 2004. Marx’s Capital. London: Pluto Press. Selections: “Commodity
Production” (14-30); “Capital and Exploitation” (31-50).
 Max Weber

WEEK 7: Weber and Method

Weber, Max. 2007. “‘Objectivity’ in Social Science.” Pp. 211-217 in Classical Sociological Theory,
edited by Craig Calhoun et al. Oxford: Blackwell.

Weber, Max. 2007. “Basic Sociological Terms.” Pp. 218-227 in Classical Sociological Theory, edited by
Craig Calhoun et al. Oxford: Blackwell.

WEEK 8: Religion, Protestant Ethic and Capitalism

Weber, Max. 2007. “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.” Pp. 228-247 in Classical
Sociological Theory, edited by Craig Calhoun et al. Oxford: Blackwell.

Weber, Max. 2015. “The ‘Social Psychology of the World Religions.’” Pp. 194-204 in Sociological Theory
in the Classical Era: Text and Readings, edited by Laura Desfor and Scott Appelrouth. Los Angeles: Sage.

WEEK 9: Bureaucracy

Weber, Max. 2007. “Bureaucracy.” Pp. 264-276 in Classical Sociological Theory, edited by Craig
Calhoun et al. Oxford: Blackwell.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1994. “Rethinking the State: Genesis and Structure of the Bureaucratic Field.”
Sociological Theory, 12 (1): 1-18.

WEEK 10: The Types of Legitimate Domination

Weber, Max. 2007. “The Types of Legitimate Domination.” Pp. 256-263 in Classical Sociological
Theory, edited by Craig Calhoun et al. Oxford: Blackwell.

Breuilly, John. 2011. “Max Weber, Charisma and Nationalist Leadership.” Nations and Nationalism, 17
(3): 477-499.

WEEK 11: Class, Status, Party

Weber, Max. 2013. “Class, Status, Party.” Pp. 98-103 in Social Theory: Roots & Branches, edited by
Peter Kivisto. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chan, Tak Wing and John H. Goldthorpe. 2007. “Class and Status: The conceptual Distinction and its
Empirical Relevance.” American Sociological Review, 72 (4): 512-532.
 Emile Durkheim

WEEK 12: Durkheim and Method

Required:

Durkheim, Emile. 2013. “What is a Social Fact” Pp. 44-49 in Social Theory: Roots & Branches, edited
by Peter Kivisto. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Durkheim, Emile. 2002. Suicide: A Study in Sociology, edited with an introduction by George Simpson.
London: Routledge. Selections: “Introduction” (xxxix-li).

Optional:

Dillon, Michel. Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and their Applicability to the
Twenty-First Century. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Selection: 80-84.

WEEK 13: The Division of Labor in Society

Required:

Durkheim, Emile. 2007. “The Division of Labor in Society.” Pp. 158-180 in Classical Sociological
Theory, edited by Craig Calhoun et al. Oxford: Blackwell.

Tiryakian, Edward A. 2008. “Durkheim, solidarity and September 11.” Pp. 305-321 in The Cambridge
Companion to Turkey, edited by Jeffrey C. Alexander and Philip Smith. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Optional:

Coser, Lewis. 1984. “Introduction.” Pp. ix-xxiv in The Division of Labor in Society by Emile Durkheim.
Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Dillon, Michel. Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and their Applicability to the
Twenty-First Century. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Selection: 84-98.

WEEK 14: Religion and Society

Required:

Durkheim, Emile. 2002. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Free Press. Selections: 21-44.

Durkheim, Emile. 1995. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: Free Press. Selections:
216-225.

Optional:

Dillon, Michel. Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and their Applicability to the
Twenty-First Century. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Selection: 107-111