Prof Monika Krause

This course is available on the MA in Modern History, MSc in Culture and Society, MSc in Political Sociology and MSc in Sociology. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access). Places are allocated based on a written statement. Priority will be given to students who have this course listed in their programme regulations. This may mean that not all students who apply will be able to get a place on this course.

The course provides a critical review of classical social theory. We explore the origins and development of classical social theory through a close reading of primary texts by authors such as Marx, Weber, DuBois, Simmel, Toqueville, Martineau and Durkheim. This course will consider texts in their historical contexts and discuss subsequent developments within the theoretical traditions associated with the authors studied. We will also consider implications for sociological research. It is not assumed that students have a basic grounding in classical social theory, although it is expected that students who register for this course will be prepared to develop their understanding through primary readings, and not rely on textbooks.

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures, online materials and seminars totalling a minimum of 20 hours in the AT.

Students on this course will have a reading week in AT Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

A 5 min class presentation and a formative essay.

The reading list for each seminar will be divided up into essential and additional reading. Students will be asked to read between 50 and 100 pages of primary text per week.

The following is a sample list of readings:

• Marx, K: The Communist Manifesto & Grundrisse & Capital (sections of vols 1 & 3);
• Weber, M: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism & 'Science as a Vocation';
• Simmel, G: The Philosophy of Money (various sections)

And various essays such as:

• Simmel, G: 'The Metropolis and Mental Life', 'The Stranger', etc.;
• Du Bois: Souls of Black Folk

Essay (100%, 5000 words) in the WT.

Attendance at all seminars and submission of all set coursework is required.

The course is designed for students who haven't studied this material before, although there is plenty here too for those who want to dig more deeply into the work of the authors discussed. I encourage students to read these theorists not just in terms of the history of ideas (important as this is) but also in a present day context. This is the focus of the classes that accompany each lecture.