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Course Description
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| The primary purpose of this course is to introduce you to the sociological perspective, to have you - once the course is complete - thinking and reasoning like a sociologist. However, because sociologists tend to use a rather different logic of explanation and investigation, the achievement of this objective is more difficult than it may first appear. To cope, we shall approach the study of the sociological perspective by means of detailed case studies, intended to provide examples of the application of the perspective. |
| We will begin with the sociology of deviance (this sub-field is especially appropriate for it is here that the uniqueness of the sociological perspective is readily apparent). The first case study will be of Robert Merton, who conceives of the sources of deviance as emanating from social structure instead of from (troubled) individuals. A very different (yet equally sociological) view of deviance is provided by Kai Erikson's study of seventeenth century Puritan society in New England, wherein deviance is portrayed as being (unwittingly) socially manufactured. |
| From here we shall proceed to a brief examination of the classical sociologists - Durkheim, Weber, and Marx. For the first two, we shall focus primarily on their theories of religion and its relation to social organization. For Marx, we shall examine his theory of surplus value (a necessary prerequisite to understanding his notions of class and exploitation). An outcome of these examinations will be your acquaintance with some of the tools of sociological investigation - concepts such as class, community, and culture - which are utilized in the application of the sociological perspective. |
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Having become acquainted with the sociological perspective, the final task will be to apply it. By using the theories of Mills (who depends to some extent on Marx) and Riesman, we shall utilize the concept of surplus value in an attempt to comprehend the changing structure of North American society. Of particular concern here will be the organization of property and its relation to the class structure, together with the corresponding types of personality structure. Given that the point of sociology is to provide a more profound understanding of our own society (and therefore of ourselves), this will be a fitting conclusion to the course. |