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SOCY 711 - CONTEMPORARY SCHOLARS (READINGS)
Instructor: Mathieu Deflem, Ph.D.
University of South Carolina
Office Sloan College.|.Email deflem@sc.edu
Class meets M 4:00 p.m. 
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Course Outline.|.Readings Overview.|.Online Readings.
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XOnline Readings Contemporary Scholars
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OVERVIEW OF THE READINGS
These readings accompany Contemporary Scholars, graduate theory seminar taught by Mathieu Deflem at the University of South Carolina.

Bruce

Introduction: From Classical to Modern Sociological Theory
The Systems Theory of Talcott Parsons
The Functional-Structuralism of Robert K. Merton
The Conflict Theory of Lewis Coser
The Structuralism of Peter Blau
The Ecology of Francois Nielsen  (Mayhew Lecturer 2008)
The Structuralism of Bruce H. Mayhew, Jr.
The Radical Sociology of C. Wright Mills
The Frame of Erving Goffman
System and Lifeworld in the Sociology of Jürgen Habermas

NOTE: Some of the readings can only be accessed from University servers or by proxy(USC) or by adding the following prefix to articles in a subscription database: pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/login?url=
e.g. http://www.jstor.org/ becomes http://pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/login?url=www.jstor.org/

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XContemporary Scholars: Introduction
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Introduction

In this schedule of online readings, theoretically (T) and empirically (E) oriented readings are distinguished. Select from each group. 

NOTE: unlinked articles are available in JSTOR and can be retrieved via an online search. Print JSTOR articles by clicking on the article title, then click on PDF and print! 

Required:

Classical Sociological Theory. By Mathieu Deflem. Summary notes. 

Alexander, Jeffrey C. 1978. "On the Centrality of the Classics." In A. Giddens and J. Turner, eds., Sociological Theory Today. Stanford and MacMillan, pp. 11-57. 

Recommended:

Anthony Giddens. 1976. "Classical Social Theory and the Origins of Modern Sociology." American Journal of Sociology 81(4):703-729. 

Coser, Lewis A. 1976. "Sociological Theory From the Chicago Dominance to 1965." Annual Review of Sociology 2:145-160.

Some classical theory papers by Mathieu Deflem: 

The Sociology of the Sociology of Money: Simmel and the Contemporary Battle of the Classics. Journal of Classical Sociology 3(1):67-96, 2003. 

Ferdinand Tönnies on Crime and Society: An Unexplored Contribution to Criminological Sociology. History of the Human Sciences 12(3):87-116, 1999. 

For a look at more of my theory papers see my Publications list. 

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The Systems Theory of Talcott Parsons

Parsons, Talcott. 1983. On Institutions and Social Evolution: Selected Writings. Edited by Leon H. Mayhew. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

Articles

Parsons, Talcott. 1928. "Capitalism" In Recent German Literature: Sombart and Weber (& Conclusion). The Journal of Political Economy 36:641-661. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1935. The Place of Ultimate Values in Sociological Theory. International Journal of Ethics 45:282-316. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1937. "The Unit Act of Action Systems," pp. 43-48 in his The Structure of Social Action. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1938. "The Role of Ideas in Social Action." American Sociological Review 3(5):652-664. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1938. "The Role of Theory in Social Research." American Sociological Review 3(1):13-20. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1948. "The Position of Sociological Theory." American Sociological Review 13(2):156-171. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1942. Some Sociological Aspects of the Fascist Movements. Social Forces21:138-147. E

Parsons, Talcott. 1942. "Age and Sex in the Social Structure of the United States." American Sociological Review 7(5):604-616. E

Parsons, Talcott. 1943. The Kinship System of the Contemporary United States. American Anthropologist 45:22-38. E

Parsons, Talcott. 1971. "Action Systems and Social Systems." From his The System of Modern Societies. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, pp. 4-8. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1950. "The Prospects of Sociological Theory." American Sociological Review 15(1):3-16. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1953. Some Comments on the State of the General Theory of Action. American Sociological Review, Vol. 18, No. 6. (1953), pp. 618-631. T

Parsons, Talcott. 1963. On the Concept of Political Power. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 107:232-262. T 

Parsons, Talcott, & Gerald M. Platt. 1970. Age, Social Structure, and Socialization in Higher Education. Sociology of Education, Vol. 43, No. 1. (1970), pp. 1-37. E

Parsons, Talcott. 1964. Evolutionary Universals in Society. American Sociological Review, Vol. 29, No. 3. (1964), pp. 339-357. E

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The Functional-Structuralism of Robert K. Merton

Merton, Robert K. 1996. On Social Structure and Science. Edited and with an Introduction by Piotr Sztompka. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

Articles

Merton, Robert K. 1994. "A Life of Learning." Charles Homer Haskins Lecture for 1994. See also this obituary. T

Merton, Robert K. 1987. "Three Fragments from a Sociologist's Notebooks: Establishing the Phenomenon, Specified Ignorance, and Strategic Research Materials." Annual Review of Sociology 13:1-28. T

Merton, Robert K. 1945. "Sociological Theory." American Journal of Sociology 50(6):462-473. T

Merton, Robert K. 1968. Manifest and Latent Functions. From Social Theory and Social Structure. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. T

Merton, Robert K. 1948. "The Bearing of Empirical Research upon the Development of Social Theory." American Sociological Review 13(5):505-515. T

Merton, Robert K. 1936. "The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action." American Sociological Review 1(6):894-904. T

Merton, Robert K. 1938. "Social Structure and Anomie." American Sociological Review 3(5):672-682. E

Merton, Robert K. 1968. The Matthew Effect in Science [PDF]. Science 159(3810): 56-63 (or jstor copy); The Matthew Effect in Science, II [PDF]. ISIS 79: 606-623, 1968. E

Merton, Robert K. 1995. "The Thomas Theorem and The Matthew Effect." Social Forces 74(2) 379-424 [PDF file]. E

Merton, Robert K. 1957. "The Bureaucratic Structure and Personality." In his Social Theory and Social Structure. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press. E

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The Conflict Theory of Lewis Coser

Coser, Lewis. 1964. The Functions of Social Conflict. New York: The Free Press.

Articles

Dahrendorf, Ralph. 1958. "Out of Utopia: Toward a Reorientation of Sociological Analysis." American Journal of Sociology 64(2):115-127. T

Coser, Lewis. 1993. A Sociologist's Atypical Life. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 19. pp. 1-15. See also this obituary. T

Coser, Lewis. 1975. Presidential Address: Two Methods in Search of a Substance. American Sociological Review, Vol. 40, No. 6., pp. 691-700. T

Coser, Lewis. 1956. Selection: Conclusion, pp. 151-157. From his The Functions of Social Conflict. New York: The Free Press. T

Coser, Lewis. 1962. Some Functions of Deviant Behavior and Normative Flexibility. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 68, No. 2., pp. 172-181. E

Coser, Lewis. 1964. The Political Functions of Eunuchism. American Sociological Review, Vol. 29, No. 6. pp. 880-885. E

Coser, Lewis. 1972. The Alien as a Servant of Power: Court Jews and Christian Renegades. American Sociological Review, Vol. 37, No. 5., pp. 574-581. E

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The Structuralism of Peter Blau

Blau, Peter M. 1994. Structural Contexts of Opportunities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

Articles

Blau, Peter M. 1995. A Circuitous Path to Macrostructural Theory. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 21, pp. 1-19. See also Colleagues Remember Peter Blau. I 

Blau, Peter M. 1962. Patterns of Choice in Interpersonal Relations. American Sociological Review, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 41-55. T

Blau, Peter M.1960. A Theory of Social Integration. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 65, No. 6. 545-556. T

Blau, Peter M. 1960. Structural Effects. American Sociological Review, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 178-193. T

Blau, Peter M. 1957. Occupational Bias and Mobility. American Sociological Review, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 392-399. E

Blau, Peter M. 1974. Presidential Address: Parameters of Social Structure. American Sociological Review, Vol. 39, No. 5, pp. 615-635. T

Blau, Peter M. 1970. A Formal Theory of Differentiation in Organizations. American Sociological Review, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 201-218. T

Blau, Peter M. 1977. A Macrosociological Theory of Social Structure. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 83, No. 1, pp. 26-54. T

Judith R. Blau, & Blau, Peter M. 1982. The Cost of Inequality: Metropolitan Structure and Violent Crime. American Sociological Review, Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 114-129. E

Blau, Peter M., et al. 1979. Dissecting Types of Professional Schools. Sociology of Education, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 7-19. E

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The Ecological Perspective of François Nielsen
 
Nielsen, F. The Vacant "We": Remarks on Public Sociology  The Vacant "We": Remarks on Public Sociology. Social Forces, Vol. 82, No. 4 (Jun., 2004), pp. 1619-1627. T   

Nielsen, F. The Ecological-Evolutionary Typology of Human Societies and the Evolution of Social Inequality. Sociological Theory, Vol. 22, No. 2, (Jun., 2004), pp. 292-314. T  

Nielsen, F. & MT Hannan. The Expansion of National Educational Systems: Tests of a Population Ecology Model. American Sociological Review, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Jun., 1977), pp. 479-490. E 

 Delacroix, J. & F. Nielsen. The Beloved Myth: Protestantism and the Rise of Industrial Capitalism in Nineteenth-Century Europe. Social Forces, Vol. 80, No. 2 (Dec., 2001), pp. 509-553. E 
 
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The Structuralism of Bruce H. Mayhew, Jr. 

Mayhew, Bruce H. 1990. Researches in Structural Sociology: Selected Writings of Bruce H. Mayhew, Jr. Compiled and Edited by John Skvoretz. With a Foreword by John Skvoretz and Patrick D. Nolan. Department of Sociology, University of South Carolina. 

Articles

Bruce H. Mayhew. 1980. Structuralism versus Individualism: Part 1, Shadowboxing in the Dark. Social Forces 59(2):335-375. 

Bruce H. Mayhew. 1981. Structuralism versus Individualism: Part II, Ideological and Other Obfuscations. Social Forces 59(3):627-648. 

Bruce H. Mayhew, Roger L. Levinger, J. Miller McPherson, Thomas F. James. 1972. System Size and Structural Differentiation in Formal Organizations: A Baseline Generator for Two Major Theoretical Propositions. American Sociological Review, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 629-633. T

Bruce H. Mayhew, Jr., Louis N. Gray, James T. Richardson. 1969. Behavioral Measurement of Operating Power Structures: Characterizations of Asymmetrical Interaction. Sociometry, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 474-489. T

Louis N. Gray, James T. Richardson, Bruce H. Mayhew, Jr. 1968. Influence Attempts and Effective Power: A Re-Examination of an Unsubstantiated Hypothesis. Sociometry, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 245-258. E

Grant W. Childers, Bruce H. Mayhew, Jr., Louis N. Gray. 1971. Size and Structural Differentiation in Military Organizations: Testing a Baseline Model of the Division of Labor. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 76, No. 5, pp. 813-830. E

Bruce H. Mayhew, Jr., Thomas F. James, Grant W. Childers. 1972. System Size and Structural Differentiation in Military Organizations: Testing a Harmonic Series Model of the Division of Labor. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 77, pp. 750-765. E

Bruce H. Mayhew. 1973. System Size and Ruling Elites. American Sociological Review, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 468-475. T

Bruce H. Mayhew. 1974. Baseline Models of System Structure (in Comments). American Sociological Review, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 137-143. T

Bruce H. Mayhew, Roger L. Levinger. 1976. Size and the Density of Interaction in Human Aggregates. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 82, No. 1, pp. 86-110. T

Bruce H. Mayhew, Roger L. Levinger. 1976. On the Emergence of Oligarchy in Human Interaction. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 81, No. 5, pp. 1017-1049. E

Bruce H. Mayhew, Roger L. Levinger. 1977. Conflicting Interpretations of Human Interaction. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 83, No. 2, pp. 455-459. T

James T. Richardson, John R. Dugan, Louis N. Gray, Bruce H. Mayhew, Jr. 1973 Expert Power: A Behavioral Interpretation. Sociometry, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 302-324. E

Bruce H. Mayhew; J. Miller McPherson; Thomas Rotolo; Lynn Smith-Lovin. 1995. Sex and Race Homogeneity in Naturally Occurring Groups. Social Forces 74(1):15-52. E

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The Radical Sociology of C. Wright Mills

Mills, C. Wright. 1959. The Sociological Imagination. New York:  Oxford University Press.

Articles

C. Wright Mills. 1959. On Intellectual Craftsmanship last chapter of The Sociological Imagination. T

C. Wright Mills. 1958. The Structure of Power in American Society. British Journal of Sociology 9(1):29-41. E

C. Wright Mills.1945. The American Business Elite: A Collective Portrait. The Journal of Economic History 5:20-44. 

C. Wright Mills. Excerpts and excerpts from the Power Elite. E

C. Wright Mills. 1940. Situated Actions and Vocabularies of Motive. American Sociological Review 5(6):904-913. 

C. Wright Mills. 1946. The Middle Classes in Middle-Sized Cities: The Stratification and Political Position of Small Business and White Collar Strata. American Sociological Review 11(5):520-529. E

C. Wright Mills Online Search - There is a lot of info on Mills online. 

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The Frame of Erving Goffman - Not during Spring 2008

Goffman, Erving. The Goffman Reader, edited by Charles Lemert and Ann Branaman. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 

Articles

Goffman, Erving. The Arrangement between the Sexes. Theory and Society Vol. 4, No. 3 (Autumn, 1977), pp. 301-331. E

Goffman, Erving. Symbols of Class Status. The British Journal of Sociology Vol. 2, No. 4 (Dec., 1951), pp. 294-304.

Goffman, Erving. Front. From The Presentation of Self in EverydayLife. New York: Doubleday, 1956, pp. 22-30, 70-76. T

Goffman, Erving. The Interaction Order: American Sociological Association, 1982 Presidential Address. American Sociological Review Vol. 48, No. 1 (Feb., 1983), pp. 1-17. T

Goffman, Erving. Embarrassment and Social Organization. American Journal of Sociology Vol. 62, No. 3 (Nov., 1956), pp. 264-271. 

Goffman, Erving. Felicity's Condition. American Journal of Sociology Vol. 89, No. 1 (Jul., 1983), pp. 1-53. T

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The Critical Sociology of Jürgen Habermas

Habermas, Jürgen. 1989. On Society and Politics: A Reader, edited by S. Seidman. Boston: Beacon Press. 

Articles

Habermas, Jürgen. 1975. Theorems of Legitimation Crisis (1975). Excerpt from Legitimation Crisis, Chapter 6, (transl. by Thomas McCarthy). Boston: Beacon Press, 1975. T

Habermas, Jürgen. 2002. Letter to America: An Interview with Jürgen Habermas. The Nation, December 16, 2002. E

Habermas, Jürgen. 2003. Intolerance and Discrimination. International Journal of Constitutional Law, Volume 1, Issue 1. E

Habermas, Jürgen. 2001. Why Europe Needs a Constitution. From New Left Review. E

Habermas, Jürgen. 1995. "Multiculturalism and the Liberal State." Stanford Law Review 47:849-853. E

Habermas, Jürgen. 2001. On the Way to Liberal Eugenics? The Dispute over the Ethical Self-understanding of the Species [PDF]. Habermas's paper at The Colloquium in Law, Philosophy and Political Theory at New York University Law School, October 25 & November 1, 2001. E

Habermas, Jürgen. 2001. Faith and Knowledge. Nettime.org; Speech by Habermas on Biotechnology, ePuget Magazine. E

Habermas, Jürgen. 2003. Interpreting the Fall of a Monument. Constellations, Volume 10, Number 3, September 2003 , pp. 364-370. E

Habermas, Jürgen. 2005.  Equal Treatment of Cultures and the Limits of Postmodern Liberalism. Journal of Political Philosophy, Volume 13, Number 1, March 2005 , pp. 1-28. T

Habermas, Jürgen. 2006. Religion in the Public Sphere. European Journal of Philosophy, Volume 14, Number 1, April 2006 , pp. 1-25. E

Habermas, Jürgen.  2007. A Political Constitution for the Pluralist World Society? Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Volume 34, Number 3, September 2007 , pp. 331-343.

Video: Habermas in Tilburg, The Netherlands, March 15, 2008.


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