Second Class Meeting: Toward Classical Sociological Theory



Second Class Meeting: Toward Classical Sociological Theory

You have a series of handouts that I have produced over the years. The first page is a classification (ordered chronologically within category) of philosophers who are not sociologists (or, more accurately, who have not been retrofitted as sociologists. in a Church-of-Latter-Day-Saints-like redemption of the ancestors), sociologists whom we don't read, and the big three. The next two pages are pieces of my SOC 402 handouts and lecture outlines (also available on my website) that might be useful in helping us to solve the analysis of variance problem implicit in the first page: When does sociology start, and why don't we read these other guys? Stated as an ANOVA problem: Is there more variance within groups than between groups? If so, what do Marx, Durkheim, and Weber have in common that distinguishes (or justifies or rationalizes)this grouping?

Next, you have some book reports, which, purportedly, are examples of descriptive writing (although some drift far from an objective presentation of the "facts"). In another folder I have book reports by former 600 students (covering other writers from this section). Eventually, I'll post all of this on my website. In any case, these may be useful as a model and as a Cliffs-Notes alternative to actually reading the recommended readings.

Finally, there are questions to consider, which we will consider as soon as we solve our ANOVA problem and figure out what classical sociological theory is.

To launch that discussion, I'll rely on some notes from a former class (Fall 2000), which follow the following outline:

I. Background Assumptions (classical sociological theory exists now but did not always)

II. Two Questions

A. What makes theory "sociological"?

B. What makes theory "classical"?

III. A Little Philosophy, a Little History, a Little Sociology of Science

IV. More Questions

A. When does philosophy become sociology?

1. Marx and Comte were philosophers

2. How is there work different from Aristotle, More, or Locke?

B. How does philosophy become sociology?

C. Why?

D. So What?

[here we take a break and when we get back we turn to J.S. Mill and the questions at the end of your handout]

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