| CODE | SOC2013 | ||||||
| TITLE | Classical Sociology | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Sociology | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Objective: This study-unit introduces students to the key concepts and theories of classical sociologists, such as Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber, as significant figures due to their contributions to social thought. This study-unit aims at making sense of the different sociological perspectives and approaches as well as build an understanding of the relationship between sociological thinking and its application in social relations, institutions and actions in the twenty-first century. Content: This study-unit explores the foundations of sociological theories by lecturing on classical sociological approaches and perspectives. First, this study-unit traces the origins of Sociology as a discipline in relation to historical events that inspired early sociologists. Secondly, this study-unit delves deep into key concepts and theories mainly of Durkheim, Marx and Weber. This study-unit also refers to Neo-Marxists such as Gramsci and Dahrendorf as well as Social Action and Symbolic Interactionist theorists. Study-unit content: 1. The origins of Sociology as a discipline 2. Classical sociological perspectives and approaches 3. The works of Emile Durkheim on social facts and division of labour 4. Durkheim's work on anomie and suicide 5. The development of Functionalism: The works of Talcott Parsons 6. Karl Marx: Class structure, revolution and communism 7. The applicability of Marxism today 8. The works of Neo-Marxists: Antonio Gramsci and Ralf Dahrendorf 9. Max Weber: The market situation and classes 10. Social Action approaches in Sociology 11. Symbolic Interactionism - The works of George Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman 12. Feminist critique to classical sociology 13.Classical theories and their applicability to the 21st century 14. Overview lecture. Study-unit Aims: Aims of this study-unit include: 1. Acquaint students with obtaining interdisciplinary knowledge on classical sociology; 2. Stimulate ways of connecting different sociological school of thoughts; 3. Acquaint students with the ability to understand and evaluate sociological arguments and the ability to apply sociological concepts. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding Upon completion of this study-unit, students will have the ability to: 1. Identify and analyse different classical sociological approaches; 2. Understand the significance of classical sociological studies as the foundations to contemporary studies; 3. Be able to distinguish classical theoretical thoughts and concepts. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Aquire a sociological imagination in making sense of key sociological concepts; 2. Demonstrate critical thinking skills through informed discussion on sociological literature on the topic; 3. Construct analytically solid arguments in relation to sociological thoughts in an academic essay format; 4. Apply classical sociological theories to a contemporary context. Reading List: Main texts: - Dillon, Michele, 2020, Introduction to Sociological Theory : Theorists, Concepts, and their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century, Wiley- Blackwell. Supplementary Readings: - Ritzer, George. and Stepnisky, Jeffrey, 2017, Sociological Theory, Tenth Edition, Sage Publications. - Carsten Bagge Laustsen, Lars Thorup Larsen, Mathias Wullum Nielsen, Tine Ravn, Mads P. Sørensen, 2017, Social Theory: A Texbook, Routledge. Students will be given supplementary readings including articles from the journal Classical Sociology (Sage). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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