READINGS:

-Charles Lemert, (ed) Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classical Readings

-Lecture notes and supplementary materials.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

This is a unique capstone course during which instances of inequality, conflict, and social change, all issues emphasized throughout the Sociology program at this University, will be revisited in the context of classical and current social theory. The course will address a number of crucial intellectual, moral, political, and practical matters relevant to the interests of a graduating class in sociology. The method of teaching will include preparatory lectures, student presentations, and extensive class discussions. Student attendance and participation in all these sessions is mandatory. Participants' performance will be evaluated on the basis of their preparedness for discussions and presentations, oral examination, and reflection notes based on lectures and reading materials as well as their performance on periodical quizzes. The accumulative grades of the participation, quizzes, oral examination, and reflection notes will determine the final pass/fail grade.

METHOD OF EVALUATION:

Reflection notes and student presentations: 200 points

Class Attendance/Participation: 300 Points

Class Quizzes: 300 points

Final Examination: 200 points

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Total 1000 points

(Grades above 800 will be considered Pass)

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:

WEEK 1

September 1 Introductory remarks.

September 3 Uses of social Theory, pp. 1-23

PART I

MODERN SOCIETY AND MENTALITY IN THE MIRROR OF SOCIAL THEORY

WEEK 2 THE TWO SIDES OF SOCIETY

September 8,10 Marx, Engels, PP. 25-77

WEEK 3

September 15, 17 Durkheim, Weber, pp. 77-136

WEEK 4 SPLIT LIVES IN THE MODERN WORLD

September 22 Freud, Saussure, pp 136-169

September 24 James, Du Bois, Gilman, Cooper, Simmel, Cooley, pp. 171-205

PART II

SOCIAL THEORY AND SOCIAL CONFLICT

WEEK 5 ACTION, KNOWLEDGE, SELF

September 29, Oct.1 Keynes, Lukacs, Horkheimer, Parsons, Lenin, Mannheim, Fromm, Mead, Merton, pp. 207-261

WEEK 6 UNAVOIDABLE DILEMMAS

Oct 6, 8 Niebuhr, Myrdal, Thomas, Znaniecki, Thrasher, Benjamin, Woolf, Tse-tung, Benedict, pp. 263-289

PART III

NEW HORIZONS AND INSIGHTS

WEEK 7 THE GOLDEN AGE

October 13 Kennan, Bell, Rostow, Parsons, Merton, Levi-Strauss, Barthes, Althusser, pp. 291-347

DOUBTS AND RESERVATIONS

October 15 Riesman, Erikson, Goffman, Lacan pp. 349-366

WEEK 8 OTHERS OBJECT

October 20,22 de Beauvoir, Cesaire, King, Mills, SDS, Friedan, Fannon, pp, 367-395

PART IV

NEW CRITIQUES AND CRACKS

WEEK 9 EXPERIMENTS AT RENEWAL AND RECONSTRUCTION

October 27,29 Galbraith, Habermas, Berger and Luckman, Smith, Walerstien, Skocpol, Lash, Chodorow, 397-445

WEEK 10 BREAKING WITH MODERNITY

November 3,5 Derrida, Foucault, James, Gouldner, Marcuse, Garfinkel, Bourdieu, Lorde, PP. 447-487

PART V

MODERN AND POSTMODERN THOUGHT

WEEK 11 THE IDEA OF THE POSTMODERN

November 10,12 Huyssen, Lyotard, Rorty, Foucault, Baudrillard PP. 489-529

WEEK 12 REACTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES

November 17,19 Giddens, Hall, LaClau and Mouffe, Harstock, Asante, Alexander, Coleman, Schlesinger, PP. 531-575

WEEK 13 AFTER

November 24 West, Gates, Haraway, Minh-ha, Spivak, Anzaldua, Weeks, Butler, Allen, Havel, PP. 577-663

WEEK 14 PRACTICAL SKILLS

December 1 Skills in developing dossiers, resumes, and Job applications.

REQUIRED READING:

Distributed in Class

December 3 RECAPITULATION

WEEK 15

December 8,10 FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION, (presentation and reflection notes and practical skills' work due.)