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Prof. Richard Swedberg

rs328@cornell.edu
Office hours: Monday 13.00-15.00
Uris Hall 328

SOC 3750: Classical Theory

(Fall of 2017; 4 credits;
Tuesdays and Thursdays 11.40-12.55; Uris Hall 262)

The purpose of this course is to make students think and to theorize, and to do so in
sociological ways, by engaging with the classics. As part of this enterprise, students will be
introduced to the main ideas, concepts and studies of the classics. While the category of the
classics is flexible, we will focus on the works of Alexis de Tocqueville, Karl Marx, Max Weber,
Emile Durkheim and Georg Simmel. We will also look at Montesquieu, Comte and Saint-Simon.
The grade will be based on presence during the lectures and participation in the
discussions towards the end of each class (10%) and on three tests (3x30%=90%). Each test will
consist of an essay question. At the end of this handout you will find three questions for each of
the three tests; and one of these three questions will be chosen on the day of the test. Note that
the third test is on the material from the whole term. Attendance, as noted above, is important
and too much absence will result in a lower grade.
Readings should be done for each class and will not exceed the habitual 100 pages per
week. At the end of each class, the lecture and the readings of the day will be discussed; you
should also feel free to ask questions about the lecture and the readings.
A number of books need to be bought for this course, and they are listed below. Copies of
these have been ordered for the Cornell Bookstore. My advice is that you get your own copies,
mark them up and keep them for future use. Copies of the required course literature can also be
found on reserve at Uris Library.
Several of the articles that are obligatory reading can be found on JSTOR, and this means
that you can find them (and download them) by going via Cornell Library on the internet.
Remaining articles and excerpts from books (which do NOT say JSTOR afterwards) are also
available on-line - from the course reserve list for this course at Uris Library.
Powerpoints shown in class will be posted on the Cornell Blackboard and students are
expected to draw on these when preparing for the tests. (If you do not have Microsoft
PowerPoint, you can download and use the free program Open Office).
Each student in this course is expected to abide by the Cornell University Code of
Academic Integrity. Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be
the students own work.
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REQUIRED BOOKS

Durkheim, Emile. The Rules of Sociological Method. The Free Press.

Simmel, Georg (ed. Donald Levine), On Individuality and Social Forms. University of Chicago
Press.

Tucker, Robert (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader. W.W. Norton.

Weber, Max (eds. Hans Gerth and C. Wright Mills), From Max Weber. New York: Oxford
University Press.

Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Any ed e.g. Routledge.

Zunz, Olivier and Alan Kahan (eds.), The Tocqueville Reader. Oxford: Blackwell.

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SCHEDULE

Always read the text under Read for each class. You may also read Additional Readings if
you are interested in the topic (but it is not required).

1. Tu Aug 22 Introduction: How to think and theorize - and to do so in sociological

ways. On the importance of the classics and the classic tradition in sociological
thinking (C. Wright Mills). Different kinds of sociology.

2. Th Aug 24 Montesquieu and Kant

Read: Kant, What is Enlightenment? (several versions on the web);
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Baron de Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de
Secondat (at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/).
Additional Readings: Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws; Emile Durkheim,
Montesquieu and Rousseau; Raymond Aron, Montesquieu in Main Currents in
Sociological Thought; Isaiah Berlin, Montesquieu in Against the Current; Kant,
Political Writings and Anthropology.

3. Tu Aug 29 Saint-Simon and Comte.

Read: L.L. Bernard, The Significance of Comte, Social Forces 1(1942):8-14 (JSTOR)
Additional Readings: Raymond Aron, Comte in Main Currents in Sociological
Thought; Henri de Saint-Simon, Social Organization, The Science of Man and Other
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Writings; F.A. Hayek, The Counter-Revolution of Science; Herbert Marcuse, The

Foundation of Positivism and the Rise of Sociology in Reason and Revolution; Stephen
Stigler, The History of Statistics (Ch. 5, for Quetelet).

4. Th Aug 31 Alexis de Tocqueville, Part 1: Introduction: Life, Work and Context.

Read: Introduction, pp. 1-31 and Travel Letters, pp. 40-50 in The Tocqueville Reader.
Additional Readings: Raymond Aron, Tocqueville in Main Currents in Sociological
Thought; Andr Jardin, Tocqueville.

5. Tu Sept 5 Tocqueville, Part 2: Democracy in America.

Read: Volume 2 of Democracy in America, pp. 161-214 in The Tocqueville Reader.
Additional Readings: George Wilson Pierson, Tocqueville in America; Seymour Drescher,
Tocquevilles Two Democracies, Journal of the History of Ideas 1964: 201-16
(JSTOR).

6. Th Sept 7 Tocqueville, Part 3: Democracy in America ctd. and Other Writings.

Read: Tocqueville the Colonialist and Tocqueville in 1848, pp. 227-31 and 232-48 in
The Tocqueville Reader.
Additional Readings: Seymour Drescher (ed.), Tocqueville and Beaumont on Social
Reform.

7. Tu Sept 12 Karl Marx, Part 1: Introduction: Life, Work and Context.

Read: Introduction, pp. xxi-xxxviii in Tucker (ed.), The Marx-Engels Reader.
Additional Readings: Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx; David McLellan, Karl Marx.

8. Th Sept 14 Marx, Part 2: Early Writings.

Read: Manifesto of the Communist Party, pp. 469-500 in Tucker (ed.), The Marx-
Engels Reader.
Additional Readings: Marx, The Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844; Harold
Laski, The Communist Manifesto, Socialist Landmark.

9. Tu Sept 19 Marx, Part 3: Historical Works and Marxism.

Read: Pp. 586-93, 594-617 in The Marx-Engels Reader.
Additional Reading: Leszek Kolakowski, Main Currents of Marxism, vols. I-III.

10. Th Sept 21 Marx, Part 4: Capital and the Late Marx.

Read: Pp. 294-98, 319-43, 431-38 in The Marx-Engels Reader.
Additional Reading: Karl Marx, Capital (vols. 1, 2 and 3); Roman Rosdolsky, The
Making of Marxs Capital.

11. Tu Sept 26 Test # 1

12. Th Sept 28 Max Weber, Part 1: Introduction: Work, Life and Context.
Read: Gerth and Mills, Introduction: The Man and His Work, pp. 3-74 in From Max
Weber.
Additional Readings: Dirk Ksler, Max Weber (Ch. 1, Life);
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Marianne Weber, Max Weber; Joachim Radkau, Max Weber.

13. Tu Oct 3 Weber, Part 2: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
(1 of 2).
Read: Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Part 1 (Up till and
including Ch. 3).
Additional Readings: Gordon Marshall, In Search of the Spirit of Capitalism;
Max Weber, The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism in From Max Weber.

14. Th Oct 5 Weber, Part 3: The Protestant Ethic (2 of 2) and Its Critique.
Read: Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Part 2 (Ch. 4 and
onwards [skip the notes]); Max Weber, Class, Status, Party, pp. 180-95 in From Max
Weber.
Additional Readings: Max Weber, Economy and Society, Ch. 2 in particular; Richard
Swedberg, Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology; Randall Collins, Webers
Last Theory of Capitalism, American Sociological Review 1980:925-42 (JSTOR).

15. Th Oct 12 Weber, Part 4: Webers Economic Sociology

Read: Richard Swedberg, Max Webers Central Text in Economic Sociology (on my
webpage
Additional Reading: Richard Swedberg, Verstehende Wirtschaftssoziologie?
On the Relationship between Webers Basic Categories and His Economic Sociology
on my webpage); Max Weber, Economy and Society, Ch. 2.

16. Tu Oct 17 Weber, Part 5: Law, Science, Religion, Objectivity.

Read: Max Weber, Science as a Vocation (excerpt pp. 129-43) and Bureaucracy
(excerpt pp. 196-204) in From Max Weber.
Additional Readings: Max Weber (ed. Max Rheinstein), Max Weber on Law and
Economy; David Beetham, Max Weber and the Theory of Modern Politics

17. Th Oct 19 Weber, Part 6: Webers Theoretical Sociology; Economy and

Society.
Read: Max Weber, The Definition of Sociology and Social Action, pp. 1-24 in
Economy and Society. (Very difficult reading sorry! - dont give up!!) (e-reserve
list).
Additional Readings: Max Weber, Economy and Society, Ch. 1 in particular; Wolfgang
Mommsen, Max Webers Grand Sociology, History and Theory 39:364-83.

18. Tu Oct 24 Emile Durkheim, Part 1: Introduction: Work, Life and Context.
Read: Talcott Parsons, The Life and Work of Emile Durkheim, pp. xliii-lxx in
Durkheim, Sociology and Philosophy (e-reserve list).
Additional Readings: Steven Lukes, Durkheim; Anthony Giddens, Emile Durkheim.

19. Th Oct 26 Durkheim, Part 2: Early Works.

Read: Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method, Part 1 (First half of the book:
Prefaces, Chs. 1-2).
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Additional Readings: Durkheim, Suicide; Robert Nisbet (ed.), Emile Durkheim

20. Tu Oct 31 Durkheim, Part 3: Mid-Career Work.

Read: Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method, Part 2 (Second half of the book:
Chs. 3 and onwards).

21. Th Nov 2 Durkheim, Part 4: Later Works.

Read: Suicide: Ch 2. Egoistic Suicide (electronic resource).
Additional Readings:
Durkheim, Suicide; Durkheim, Elementary Forms of Religious Life; Translators
Introduction, pp. xvii-lxxiii in 1995 translation of Elementary Forms.

22. Tu Nov 7 Test # 2

23. Th Nov 9 Georg Simmel, Part 1: Introduction: Work, Life and Context.
Read: Everett C. Hughes; A Note on Georg Simmel, Social Problems 13,2(Autumn
19965):118-19 (available from Cornell University Library electronic journals); Donald
Levine, Introduction, pp. ix-lxv in Georg Simmel, On Individuality and Social Forms.
Additional Readings: Donald Levine et al, Simmels Influence in American Sociology,
I-II, American Journal of Sociology 1976:813-45, 1112-1132 (JSTOR).

24. Tu Nov 14 Simmel, Part 2: Sociological Theory.

Read: Georg Simmel, The Problem of Sociology and How Is Society Possible?, pp.
23-35, 16-22 in On Individuality and Social Forms.
Additional Readings: Kurt Wolff (ed.), Georg Simmel 1858-1918; David Frisby, Simmel
and Since.

25. Th Nov 16 Simmel, Part 3: Sociological Essays.

Read: Sociability and The Stranger, pp. 127-40, 143-49 in Georg Simmel, On
Individuality and Social Forms.
Additional Readings: Georg Simmel, Philosophy of Money; Gianfranco Poggi, Money
and the Modern Mind: Georg Simmels Philosophy of Money.

26. Tu Nov 21 Simmel, Part 4: Cultural Analysis.

Read: The Conflict in Modern Culture. Pp. 375-93 in Georg Simmel, On Individuality
and Social Forms.

27. Tu Nov 28 The Status of the Classics Today and How They Are Used
Read: Arthur Stinchcombe, Should Sociologists Forget Their Mothers and Fathers?, pp.
347-63 in Stratification and Organization (e-reserve list).
Additional Readings: C. Wright Mills, On Intellectual Craftmanship on the web at:
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~psargent/Mills_Intell_Craft.pdf; Charles Camic (ed.),
Reclaiming the Sociological Classics; Jeffrey Alexander, Sociology and Discourse: On
the Centrality of the Classics in Structure and Meaning.
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28. Th Nov 30 Summing Up; Repetition for the Final Test

Final Test - Test # 3

(Place and time will be given later, when Cornell provides
this information)

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TESTS
There will be three tests, and for each you will be asked to answer and discuss one of three
questions in writing. Part of the answer should be based on what you have learned and part of
what you have thought. The question will be chosen by myself from the three questions below.

Test # 1: Tu September 26 in Class

Question # 1: How Did the Early Thinkers View Sociology (Montesquieu, Comte, Saint-
Simon, Marx and Tocqueville)?

Question # 2: Compare Marx and Tocqueville

Question # 3: The Work of Marx

Test # 2: Th Nov 7 in Class

Question # 1: How Should You Carry Out Sociological Research according to Weber and
Durkheim?

Question # 2: Compare the Works of Weber and Durkheim

Question # 3: Present and Discuss the Key Ideas in The Protestant Ethic

Test # 3: (Place and time will be announced later [when Cornell has issued its schedule for
the final tests])

Question # 1: Strength and Weaknesses of Georg Simmels Sociology

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Question # 2: Compare the Programs for Sociology of Tocqueville, Marx, Weber, Simmel and
Durkheim

Question # 3: Present and Discuss Durkheims Rules for How to Do Research in Sociology