The course is dedicated to classical sociological theory, with particular reference to the works of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Becoming familiar with the thought of the classics, in fact, represents an unavoidable step for those who want to do research in the sociological field. It aims to socialize the students to a sociological way of thinking. To this end, it adopts methods of face-to-face teaching and participatory learning. Hence, class attendance is strongly recommended.
For attending students:
• RITZER, G. (2014), Teoria sociologica. Radici classiche e sfide contemporanee, Milano: Apogeo [Cap. 1].
• JEDLOWSKI, P. (2009), Il mondo in questione. Introduzione alla storia del pensiero sociologico, Roma: Carocci [Capp. 1, 2 e 8].
• ARON, R. (1996), Le tappe del pensiero sociologico, Milano: Mondadori [Capp. su Marx, Weber e Durkheim].
• BELLINI, A. (2014), Il puzzle dei ceti medi, Firenze: Firenze University Press [Cap. 1].
For NON-attending students:
• RITZER, G. (2014), Teoria sociologica. Radici classiche e sfide contemporanee, Milano: Apogeo [Cap. 1].
• JEDLOWSKI, P. (2009), Il mondo in questione. Introduzione alla storia del pensiero sociologico, Roma: Carocci [Capp. 1, 2 e 8].
• ARON, R. (1996), Le tappe del pensiero sociologico, Milano: Mondadori [Capp. su Marx, Weber e Durkheim].
• BELLINI, A. (2014), Il puzzle dei ceti medi, Firenze: Firenze University Press [Cap. 1].
• Mandatory supplementary readings*
(NB. This part can be replaced by a written essay on at least three texts; see Verifica dell’apprendimento):
– Marx (1849), Lavoro salariato e capitale (33 pp.)
– Marx, Engels (1848), Manifesto del Partito Comunista, capp. 1-2 (28 pp.)
– Marx (1844), Per la critica della filosofia del diritto di Hegel. Introduzione (11 pp.)
– Marx, Engels (1846), Feuerbach, parr. 2-4, in L’ideologia tedesca (51 pp.)
– Weber (1904-05), L’etica protestante e lo spirito del capitalismo, parr. 2-3 (44 pp.)
– Weber (1922), I tipi di potere, capp. 1-4, in Economia e società (36 pp.)
– Weber (1916), L’etica economica delle grandi religioni (40 pp.)
– Weber (1904), Il senso della "avalutatività" delle scienze sociologiche ed economiche, parte selezionata (29 pp.)
– Durkheim (1897), 1893), La divisione del lavoro sociale, parti selezionate (34 pp.)
– Durkheim (1897), Il suicidio anomico, in Il suicidio. Studio di sociologia (16 pp.)
– Durkheim (1912), Le forme elementari della vita religiosa, introduzione (19 pp.)
– Durkheim (1895), Le regole del metodo sociologico, capp. 1, 2 e 5, parti selezionate (31 pp.)
* Due to their unavailability, these texts are made available on Moodle.
Learning Objectives
The course aims to help the students to grow wiser and develop autonomy of "thought", understood as theoretical processing capacity, which is indispensable to move with ease in the field of sociological research, either theoretical or empirical. In this sense, it intends to go beyond the supply of a purely notional knowledge, endeavouring to let the participants become familiar with a certain "way of thinking", a peculiar way to confront the problems of social life, which Charles Wright Mills, years ago, conceptualized through the fortunate expression "sociological imagination".
To this end, the course aims to provide the students with the following skills:
• The ability to read, analyze and interpret both primary and secondary theoretical writings (in the latter case, with specific reference to the works of critical reading of classical texts);
• The ability to reflect critically on sociological theories and how we apply them to read the social reality;
• The ability to communicate, through dialoguing and writing, in a sociological "language".
Prerequisites
It is advisable to have attended the course and passed the exam of Sociology.
Teaching Methods
For the specific objectives of the course, it is necessary to adopt mixed teaching methods, so the moments of face-to-face teaching alternate, in a synergic way, at moments of participatory learning.
Specifically, the course includes:
• Face-to-face lectures aimed at dealing in depth with the main topics;
• Individual study on selected readings, suggested by the teacher;
• Collective discussion of short texts or excerpts from the works of the authors;
• Individual work aimed at building collaborative products.
As regards the last point, the use of online resources (e.g. the "glossary" tool, in the Moodle environment, for the construction of a "concept map") will facilitate the systematization and consolidation of the knowledge acquired.
Please, note that class attendance is NOT mandatory, as per the teaching regulations of the University; given the participatory character of a significant part of the course, however, it is strongly recommended. To be considered regular attendants, students are supposed to attend at least 16 lessons out of 21 (about 3/4); the status of attending students relieves them of the assessment of the knowledge of the texts dealt with and discussed in class (indicated among the reference texts as "mandatory supplementary readings").
Further information
For thesis issues, see the dedicated section on the teacher's webpage.
Type of Assessment
The assessment of the knowledge acquired during the course is carried out by oral exam in the scheduled exam dates.
Students who have attended at least 16 lessons out of 21 (about 3/4), are relieved of the assessment of the knowledge of the texts indicated among the reference texts as “mandatory supplementary readings”. This is due to the fact that they are called to discuss those texts in class during the course.
NON-attending students can replace the "mandatory supllementary readings" with a written essay (of a minimum of 20,000 and a maximum of 30,000 characters) on at least three texts.
Please, note that, as usual, to be admitted taking the oral exam, students have to register for the scheduled exam date via the online procedure.
Course program
The course is dedicated to classical sociological theory. There are at least three good reasons for this choice. The first one has to do with the persistent relevance of the work of the founding fathers of sociology, with particular reference to Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Their texts, still today, are reference points both in theoretical and empirical research, and are subject to continuous works of reinterpretation, which reveals the constructive solidity and ductility of their underlying theoretical frameworks and conceptual tools. The second one concerns the questions they posed. Such questions related to how human societies develop and organize, the problems they face, and how they try to solve them. These are fundamental issues and, as such, they are very current topics. The way classic thinkers approached them, however, drew strength from their ability to move across disciplines – from philosophy, history and sociology to political science and economy – which can hardly be found in contemporary scholars. Here, we come to the third reason. The same object of study of sociology – modern society, as a form of living together that develops in the context of modernity, in its infinite aspects – and the way to approach it, in fact, posed unescapable epistemological questions, which led the classics to conduct a systematic reflection on the nature and limits of scientific knowledge, and soon translated in a discourse on the method in social sciences. For these reasons, acquiring familiarity with the thought of classical authors, their texts, theories and concepts, represents a necessary step for those who aspire to do research in the sociological field or, simply, try to understand society and social change better.
Given these circumstances, the course aims to clarify what is meant by "sociological theory". Theory, in fact, is part of the life of the human being; it provides the cognitive structure that we implicitly and unconsciously use to interpret the surrounding social reality. The sociological approach implies a distancing from the "opinions" that are produced in everyday life. The study of the classics, going back to the intellectual roots of the main theories of social change and the main ideological currents of our time, allows us to lay solid foundations on which to build a reflexive thought. While it is true that the object of study of sociology – social life in modernity – is in itself unstable and variable, classical theory indeed offers a secure anchorage to avoid drift.
It, then, presents concrete examples of how contemporary theories can be linked to classical ones. Scholars, today, widely use concepts coined in the classical age of sociology. They do so in a different way, undertaking sophisticated works of reconceptualization, re-adapting concepts to the changed social reality. However, if scholars can communicate and understand each other, this is due to the possibility of referring to a common "language", the same body of knowledge diligently built by classical authors.
After that, the course undertakes a brief excursus to search for the origins of sociology. As a matter of fact, this is a debated subject. What we call the "founding fathers", in effect, were preceded by refined intellectuals, who, in the 18th and 19th centuries, laid the foundations for the development of sociological thinking. It ranges from Scottish moralists, such as Ferguson, to liberal philosophers, such as Smith and Spencer, passing through the French positivists, from Saint-Simon to Comte, the latter being unanimously regarded as the one who coined the term "sociology".
The focal part of the course is dedicated to the analysis of the thought of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Here, the course faces an intriguing didactic challenge: to actualize the writings of authors who lived in a bygone era, in which the work of a "social scientist" was permeated by a theoretical reflection oriented to the development of a comprehensive thought and, as already emphasized, by its interdisciplinary nature. This has two significant implications. The first one is that, due to its multifaceted character, the thought of the classics is an ideal ground for doing practice in theoretical analysis, as a preparatory phase to "producing" sociological theory. The second one is that this very multifaceted character translates into complexity, which requires the development of an analytical method. This is one of the main objectives of the course: to equip students with a method for theoretical analysis. Starting from a limited group of authors with comparable profiles and using a plurality of approaches – biobibliographic, thematic, comparative – the course explores the diversity of responses to the "big questions" that have accompanied the development of modern society.
The course focuses on four main theoretical problems:
• the problem of capitalist development (and its consequences in terms of inequality);
• the problem of social change;
• the problem of religion;
• the problem of knowledge.
In this phase, lessons are organized in modules of five per author. The first four meetings are dedicated to the analysis of the authors’ thought concerning the theoretical problems listed above. Within the four meetings, moments of collective discussion of short texts or excerpts from the main works of the authors alternate with moments of face-to-face teaching. The fifth meeting, instead, introduces selected works of contemporary authors that offer alternative readings of the classics.
The following two lessons provide examples of comparative analyses of the three authors (in the first lesson) and between them and other classics, such as Gramsci, Pareto, Veblen and Siemmel (in the second). The thematic profile of comparison is that of class analysis, against the background of the processes of change inherent to industrial society. This is an advanced exercise that aims to consolidate the acquired knowledge and open the students to different possibilities of theoretical "practice".
The final lesson is intended to be a moment of synthesis and proposal.
A detailed plan of activities will be made available on Moodle.