ISOC208 — Classical Social Thought
Sociology's classical theoretical tradition is heavily dominated by the contributions of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. One reason for this is that these three social theorists have contributed a great deal to our understanding of the nature of the nature of the transition from pre-industrial to industrial society. Another reason is that these three theorists have set the terms of much of the ongoing debate concerning modernity and its future prospects. Their ideas, in other words, continue to have a relevance to the interpretation of present-day society under advanced capitalism. The theories of Marx, Weber and Durkheim can be presented in several ways. The approach taken in this course will be thematic and comparative in that it will bring together the ideas of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim in relation to a series of questions and topics. More specifically, these topics will range across the methods appropriate to the study of society, class and the division of labour, the state and democratic politics and the nature of cluture, religion and ideology. The legacy of Marx, Durkheim and Weber will also be discussed.