UMass Boston

Course Overview

Description

Classical social theory is a required introductory course for graduate students in the Sociology Department. You will study the work of major canonical theorists, such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber ("the Big Three"), as well as other early theorists who are key to contemporary applied sociology, such as Harriet Martineau and W.E.B Du Bois. Upon completing the requirements for this course, you can expect not only to have a solid knowledge of classical sociological theorists but also a critical insight into sociology as a discipline. We will discuss how "the canon" of sociological theory was and continues to be constructed and its influence on contemporary scholarship.