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SOCI 437/537: Deciphering Our Social Worlds (Rev. C3/C4) Report a Broken Link

The main objective of this course is to show students how social theory may be relevant to their own lives. Social theory can often help us clarify and sharpen our understanding of the social world in which we live. This is because social theory can help us place personal situations and private experiences into a much broader social picture.

Textbook

Lemert, C. C. (2006). Postmodernism is not what you think (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Elliott, A. (2014). Contemporary social theory: an introduction (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

Required Readings

Unit 1

Craib, I. (1984). What’s wrong with theory and why we still need it. In Modern social theory from Parsons to Habermas (pp. 3–13). New York: St. Martins Press.
Craib, I. (1984). Cutting a path through the jungle. In Modern sociological theory from Parsons to Habermas (pp. 15–31). New York: St. Martins Press.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 1: What Is Sociological Theory? [Video file].

Unit 2

McQuarie, D., & Denisoff, R. S. (1995). Functionalism and neo-functionalism. In D. McQuarie (Ed.), Readings in contemporary sociological theory: From modernity to post-modernity (pp. 1–8). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Merton, R. K. (1968). Prevailing postulates in functionalist analysis. In Social theory and social structure (pp. 79–91). New York: The Free Press.
Allan, K. (2006). Social systems and their environments: Niklas Luhman (1927–1998). In Contemporary social and sociological theory: Visualizing social worlds (1st ed.) (pp. 213–237). London: Pine Forge Press.
Luhmann, N. (1982). The world society as a social system. International Journal of General Systems, 8, 131–138.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 2: Macrosociological Theories of Social Order [Video file].

Unit 3

McQuarie, D. (1995). Conflict theory. In D. McQuarie (Ed.), Readings in contemporary sociological theory: From modernity to post-modernity (pp. 63–68). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Dahrendorf, R. (1958). Toward a theory of social conflict. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2(2), 170–183.
Collins, R. (1974). Three faces of cruelty: Towards a comparative sociology of violence. Theory and Society,1(4), 415–440.
Goldstone, J. A. (2002). Theory development in the study of revolutions. In J. Berger & M. Zeldich, Jr. (Eds.), New directions in contemporary social theory (pp. 194–226). New York: Rowan and Littlefield.
Turk, A. (2004). Sociology of terrorism. Annual Review of Sociology, 30, 271–286.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 3: Macrosociological Theories of Social Conflict [Video file].

Unit 4

McQuarie, D. (1995). Marxism and neo-Marxism. In D. McQuarie (Ed.), Readings in contemporary sociological theory: From modernity to post-modernity (pp. 114–123). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kellner, D. (2005). Western Marxism. In A. Harrington (Ed.), Modern social theory: An introduction (pp. 1–25). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wallerstein, I. (1975). The present state of the debate on world inequality. In I. Wallerstein (Ed.), World inequality: Origins and perspectives on the world system (pp. 12–28). Montréal: Black Rose Books.
Wright, E. 0. (1995). What is analytical Marxism? In T. Carver & P. Thomas (Eds.), Rational choice Marxism (pp. 11–30). London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 4: Marxism and Neo-Marxism [Video file].

Unit 5

Marcuse, H. (1941). Some social implications of modern technology. In M. Horkheimer (Gen. Ed.), Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung, Jahrgang IX (pp. 414–439). Instituts für Socialforschung.
Rosenfeld, M. (2007). Habermas’s call for cosmopolitan constitutional patriotism in an age of global terror: A pluralist appraisal. Constellations, 14(2), 159−181.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 5: Critical Theory: Demystifying the Social World [Video file].

Unit 6

Blumer, H. (1962). Society as symbolic interaction. In A. M. Rose (Ed.), Human behavior and social processes: An interactionist approach (pp. 179–192). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Goffman, E. (1983). The interaction order. American Sociological Review, 48(1), 1–17.
Zarghooni, S. (2007, Autumn). A study of self-presentation in light of Facebook. Institute of Psychology, University of Oslo.
Charmaz, K. (2008). A future for symbolic interactionism. In N. K. Denzin, J. Salvo, & M. Washington (Eds.), Studies in symbolic interaction (Vol. 32) (pp. 51–59). Emerald Group Publishing.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 6: Symbolic Interactionism [Video file].

Unit 7

Ryave, A. L., & Schenkein, J. N. (1974). Notes on the art of walking. In R. Turner (Ed.), Ethnomethodology (pp. 265–274). Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Education.
Fishman, P. M. (1978). Interaction: The work women do. Social Problems, 25(4), 397–406.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 7: Ethnomethodology and Exchange Theory [Video file].

Unit 8

Wilson, E. O. (1978). What is sociobiology? In M. S. Gregory, A. Silvers, & D. Sutch (Eds.), Sociobiology and human nature: An interdisciplinary critique and defense (pp. 1–12). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sociobiology Study Group of Science for the People. (1976). Sociobiology—Another biological determinism. BioScience, 26(3), 182, 184–186.
Wilson, E. O. (1976). The response: Academic vigilantism and the political significance of sociobiology. BioScience, 26(3), 183, 187–190.
Edwards, J. (2001). Evolutionary psychology and politics. Economy and Society, 32(2), 280–298. 
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 8: Sociobiology [Video file].

Unit 9

Snyder, R. C. (2008). What is third-wave feminism? A new directions essay. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society, 34(1), 175−196.
Bryson, V. (2004). Marxism and feminism: Can the “unhappy marriage” be saved? Journal of Political Ideologies, 9(1), 13−30.
Stacey J., & Thorne B. (1985). The missing feminist revolution in sociology. Social Problems, 32(4), 301–316.
Lengermann, P. M., & Niebrugge-Brantley, J. (1990). Feminist sociological theory: The near-future prospects. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), Frontiers of social theory: The new synthesis (pp. 316−344). New York: Columbia University Press.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 9: Feminism [Video file].

Unit 10

Allan, K. (2006). Language on the rocks. In Contemporary social and sociological theory: Visualizing social worlds (1st. ed.) (pp. 311–329). London: Pine Forge Press.
Allan, K. (2011). The end of everything: Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007). In Contemporary social and sociological theory: Visualizing social worlds (2nd. ed.) (pp. 299–320). London: Pine Forge Press.
Kellner, D. (1990). The postmodern turn: Positions, problems and prospects. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), Frontiers of social theory: The new synthesis (pp. 255–286). New York: Columbia University Press.
Denzin, N. K. (1986). Postmodern social theory. Sociological Theory, 4(2), 194–204.
Seidman, S. (1991). The end of sociological theory: The postmodern hope. Sociological Theory, 9(2), 131–146.
Epstein, B. (1995). Why post-structuralism is a dead end for progressive thought. Socialist Review, 25(2), 83–119. Center for Social Research & Education.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 10: Postmodernism [Video file].

Unit 11

Therborn, G. (2007, January–February). After dialectics: Radical social theory in a post-communist world. New Left Review, 43, 63–114.

Please read pages 63–70 and 98–114. You can access a PDF version of the article through the button at the top right corner of the page.
Fopp, R., & Ellis, B. (2009). The future of sociology and ideological critique: Exploring Žižek and tolerance. In S. Lockie et al. (Eds.), The future of sociology (pp. 1–14). Proceedings of the Australian Sociological Association 2009 Annual Conference, December 1–4, Canberra, Australia.
Žižek, S. (2002). Welcome to the desert of the real! South Atlantic Quarterly, 101(2), 385–389.
Žižek, S. (2005, July–August). Against human rights. New Left Review, 34, 115–131.

You need not read pages 121–125. You can access a PDF version of the article through the button at the top right corner of the page.
Denyer, M. (n.d.) What and where is post-colonial theory? Photoinsight.org.uk.
Dhamoon, R., & Yasmeen, A. L. (2009). Dangerous (internal) foreigners and nation-building: The case of Canada. International Political Science Review, 30(2), 163–183.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 11: Postmillennial Social Theory [Video file].

Unit 12

Stein, A., & Plummer, K. (1994 ). "I can’t even think straight": "Queer" theory and the missing sexual revolution in sociology. Sociological Theory, 12(2), 178−187.
Athabasca University. (2014). Unit 12: Standpoint Theories [Video file].