SOCI 301/321 Foundations of Social Thought

Nature of social thought and social theory; Context and development of Sociology; Founders of Sociology: Comte, social context, major ideas and evaluation of Comte’s contribution to social theory; Herbert Spencer, social context, major ideas and evaluation of Spencer’s contribution to social theory; Emile Durkheim, social context, major ideas and evaluation of Durkheim’s contribution to social thought; Karl Marx, the context, major ideas: the notion of dialectics; historical materialism, social classes and their transformation, vision of a new society, Marx’s analyses of political economy and Marx’s contribution to social theory; Max Weber: context and major ideas: definition of sociology; methodology of the social science: categories of social action; patterns of authority, rationality and bureaucracy; the protestant ethic thesis and its critics and Weber’s contribution to social theory; Vilfredo Pareto: elite theory; George Simmel-formal sociology and analysis of conflict; Sigmund Freud and the significance of his ideas for social analysis.