ModuleSC3101SOCIAL THOUGHT & SOCIAL THEORY (2015/2016, Semester 1) CLOSEDescriptionModule FacilitatorsTimetableCreated: 16-Jul-2015, Updated: 16-Jul-2015Module Code SC3101Module Title SOCIAL THOUGHT & SOCIAL THEORYSemester Semester 1, 2015/2016ModularCredits4Faculty Arts & Social Sciences (Sociology)Timetable TimetableModuleFacilitatorsClick to view who is teaching the module.WeblinksTags --Learning Outcomes TopThis course offers an introduction to the works of three important founders of modernsocial thought Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. We will look at how these19th-century Europeans thought about what human life is and ought to be; and at howthey saw the world around them as one that systematically distorted human lives, andprevented individuals from living as freely and happily as they should. By thus workingthrough the ways in which Marx, Durkheim and Weber constructed modern society as aproblem, and by considering the solutions they proposed, we will develop a sense of whatit means to theorize social life. Students will learn how to bring different conceptions ofthe social to bear on the world around them, in a way that generates critical questionsand perspectives. Training in the classic works of these three thinkers will also equipstudents with a theoretical basis for understanding contemporary issues in the human andsocial sciences, such as the rise of identity politics, and the question of the relationbetween knowledge and power.Schedule Top11/8Week 1: Introduction18/8Week 2: Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto (1848) in Simon ed. pp. 157-18625/8Week 3: Marx and Engels, The German Ideology (1846) pp. 42-57; pp. 64-68Marx, The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1844) in Simon ed. pp. 58-681/9Week 4: Marx, Capital Vol. 1(1867) Chapters 4-7 (pp. 247-306), Chapter 10 Sections 1and 3 (pp. 340-344; pp. 353-367)Learning Outcomes | Schedule | Synopsis | Syllabus | Assessment | Preclusions | WorkloadLearning Outcomes | Schedule | Synopsis | Syllabus | Assessment | Preclusions | WorkloadIVLE Module Outline https://ivle.nus.edu.sg/Module/Student/default.aspx?CourseI...1 of 4 3/8/15 22:28*First short paper assigned, due 8th September in mailbox8/9Week 5: Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society (1893) Introduction (pp. 1-7), Book IChapter II (pp. 31-67), Book I Chapter III (pp. 68-87), Book III Chapter II (pp. 310-322)15/9Week 6: Durkheim, Suicide (1897) Introduction (pp. 41-52), Book Two Chapters 1-2 (pp.145-170), Book Two Chapter 5 (pp. 241-276)22/9Recess Week29/9Week 7: Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912) Introduction (pp. 1-18),Book Two Chapter 1 (pp. 99-126), Book Two Chapters 6-7 (pp. 190-241)*Second short paper assigned, due 6th October in mailbox6/10Week 8: Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904-5) Introductionand Part I (pp. 13-92)13/10Week 9: Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904-5) Part II ChapterIV (pp. 95-154)20/10Week 10: Weber, The Types of Legitimate Domination, pp. tbd Weber, Science as a Vocation (1919), pp. 129-15627/10Week 11: CW Mills, The Power Elite (1956) Chapters 11-13 (pp. 242-324)*Third short paper assigned, due 3rd November in mailbox3/11Week 12: Review10/11Week 13: DeepavaliSynopsis TopMarxs critique of capitalism lays the foundation for our course, as it is from here that wetake our idea of the social as an entity that all human beings belong to and areexistentially obliged to pursue the welfare of. Beginning with The Communist Manifesto, wesee how this entity emerges from Marxs conception of the conflict between the bourgeoisand proletarian classes of modern, industrial society. We will learn about Marxs historicalmaterialist approach his theory that the ideas we have about reality are not simply trueor false, but actually shaped by our material practices, or by what we do to stay alive; andhis belief that humanity is historically destined to free itself, both materially andideationally. By working through several other key ideas such as labor, modes ofproduction, ideology, class consciousness, alienation and history we will flesh out Marxscritical social thought.We then move on to Durkheim, but take with us from Marx the idea of social thought as aparticular kind of moral and intellectual undertaking, which sets out from the premise that(a) existing understandings of social life are in some way mistaken or inadequate, and (b)IVLE Module Outline https://ivle.nus.edu.sg/Module/Student/default.aspx?CourseI...2 of 4 3/8/15 22:28a truer understanding must be found, so that social life can be made better. We look athow Durkheim takes a very different approach to this task. We will look at his classic studyof Suicide to understand his particular view on the social which is set apart from individualas well as other aspects of human existence. Durkheim conceptualizes individual suicide asthe social and emphasizes the importance of scientific methodology in order to examinethe social within the discipline of sociology. We will use Durkheims key concept of anomieas a lens to understand how he theorizes the relationship between individual and society.Durkheims understanding of social change in his work of Division of labour is distinctive ina way that society, similar to human organism, naturally evolves to a better versionthroughout history. His distinctive view on social change makes him to be commonlyunderstood as a relatively optimist.Third, we read Webers classic study of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.Weber does not believe in Marxs revolution or in Durkheims path of progress. Comparedto them, he is a committed pessimist, and does not see a better future on the horizon. Wewill explore his view of modern history as a process of rationalization, by which humanitysacrifices more and more of its happiness for the sake of commercial and bureaucraticefficiency. In the process, we will also learn about some of the unique methodological toolsthat Weber created for studying the relationship between beliefs and practices, and therole of cultural values in world history.Finally, we finish by looking at how a mid-twentieth century American sociologist, C.Wright Mills, tried to bring the legacy of sociological thought to bear on the world aroundhim. Throughout the course, we will have been comparing and contrasting all four authorsassumptions and approaches. We now end by trying to situate them in theoretical andmethodological relation to one another, and, like Mills, trying to find ourselves in relationto them.Syllabus TopKarl Marx, Selected Writings, edited by Lawrence H. Simon, Hackett Publishing (1994)Karl Marx, The German Ideology (1846)Karl Marx, The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1844)Karl Marx, Capital Vol. 1(1867)Emile Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society, translated by George Simpson (1949)Emile Durkheim, Suicide: A Study in Sociology, translated by John A. Spaulding andGeorge Simpson (1951 [1897])Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, translated by Karen E. Fields(1995[1912])Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, translated by Talcott Parsons(1958 [1904-5])Max Weber, The Types of Legitimate Domination in Economy and Society, Volume 1,edited by Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich (1968)Max Weber, Science as a Vocation [1919] in From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology,translated and edited by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (1946)C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite (1956)Assessment TopIn-class Participation 12%Three Short Papers33%Final Exam 55%In-class Participation Physical presence does not count as participation. Activeengagement in class discussions, which includes intellectual responsiveness not only to theteacher but also to fellow students, is expected. Come to class having done the reading,and prepared questions and issues from it that you want to discuss.Short Papers 4 pages double-spaced. Specific questions will be announced in class.Final Exam This will be a closed book exam, testing students understanding of the majorIVLE Module Outline https://ivle.nus.edu.sg/Module/Student/default.aspx?CourseI...3 of 4 3/8/15 22:28concepts in all three authors works, as well as students ability to compare the authorsapproaches to one another.Plagiarism on any class assignment is a serious offence, and will result in a failing grade forthe entire course.Preclusions TopEU3224Workload Top2-1-0-4-3Workload Components : A-B-C-D-EA: no. of lecture hours per weekB: no. of tutorial hours per weekC: no. of lab hours per weekD: no. of hours for projects, assignments, fieldwork etc per weekE: no. of hours for preparatory work by a student per weekCloseLearning Outcomes | Schedule | Synopsis | Syllabus | Assessment | Preclusions | WorkloadIVLE Module Outline https://ivle.nus.edu.sg/Module/Student/default.aspx?CourseI...4 of 4 3/8/15 22:28