300196 Theories of Sociology / Theorien der Soziologie (S) (WiSe 2004/2005)

This seminar (which will be either in English or in German) focuses on key problems - both substantial and methodological - which have (had) a strong impact on the evolution of the sociological discipline. The principal aim is to discuss these problems from the standpoint of different sociological theories or traditions, such as pragmatism, structural functionalism, institutionalism, network theory, systems theory. We also analyze how different sociological traditions have (or have not) reacted to each other and to substantial or methodological developments in other scientific disciplines. Overall we employ a theory-historical perspective, with emphasis on (questions about) theory construction, knowledge accumulation and scientific progress.
More particularly, we will systematically address three "classical" themes: (a) the basic conditions of social interaction, as, for example, expressed by George H. Mead in terms of "taking the role of the other", (b) the differentiation of society or the division of social labour, as Émile Durkheim put it, (c) the relation between knowledge and reality, superstructure and infrastructure, social structure and semantics. The last theme also allows to reflect on the status of sociology - as knowledge about society which exists in, and is made possible by, society.

Literature
Blumer, H. 1969. Symbolic Interactionism. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Bourdieu, P. 1979. La Distinction. Critique Sociale du Jugement. Paris: Minuit. (Dt. Übersetzung: Bourdieu, P. Die feinen Unterschiede. Frankfurt a.M.: Surhkamp; Engl. Übersetzung: Bourdieu, P. 1986. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.).
Coleman, J. 1990. Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Dewey, J. 1981. Experience and Nature. (The Later Works, 1925-1953, Vol. 1). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. (Dt. Übersetzung: Dewey, J. 1995. Erfahrung und Natur. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.)
Douglas, M. 1966. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. London: Penguin. (Dt. Übersetzung: Douglas, M. 1988. Reinheit und Gefährdung. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.)
Douglas, M. 1987. How Institutions Think. New York: Syracuse University Press. (Dt. Übersetzung: Douglas, M. 1991. Wie Institutionen denken. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.)
Durkheim, É. 1930. De la Division du Travail Social. Paris: PUF. (Dt. Übersetzung: Durkheim, É. 1988. Über soziale Arbeitsteilung. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp: Engl. Übersetzung: Durkheim, É. 1972. The Division of Labor in Society. New York: Free Press.)
Elias, N. 1997. Über den Prozeß der Zivilisation. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp (Engl. Übersetzung: Elias, N. 1982. The Civilizing Process. New York: Pantheon.)
Foucault, M. 1975. L?Ordre du Discours. Paris: Gallimard. (Dt. Übersetzung: Foucault, M. Die Ordnung der Dinge. Frankfurt a.M.: Surhkamp; Engl. Übersetzung: Foucault, M. 1977. The Order of Things. London: Tavistock.).
Fuchs, S. 2001. Against Essentialism: A Theory of Culture and Society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Giddens, A. 1991. Modernity and Self-Identity. Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Goffman, E. 1961. Encounters: Two Studies in the Sociology of Interaction. Harmondsworth: Penguin University Books.
Goffman, E. 1975. Frame Analysis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Habermas, J. 1981. Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp. (Engl. Übersetzung: Habermas, J. 1984. Theory of Communicative Action. Boston: Beacon Press.)
Hughes, E. 1971. The Sociological Eye. Chicago: Aldine-Atherton.
Luhmann, N. 1982. The Differentiation of Society. New York: Columbia University Press.
Luhmann, N. 1997. Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.
Mannheim, K. 1985. Ideologie und Utopie. Frankfurt: Klostermann. (Engl. Übersetzung: Mannheim, K. 1976. Ideology and Utopia. London: Routledge.)
Mead, G.H. 1934. Mind, Self, & Society, from the standpoint of a social behaviourist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Mead, G.H. 1980. Gesammelte Aufsätze. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.
Merton, R.K. 1963. Social Theory and Social Structure. Glencoe: Free Press.
Parsons, T. 1966. Societies. Evolutionary and Comparative Perspectives. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. (Dt. Übersetzung: : Parsons, T. 1975. Gesellschaften. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.)
Simmel, G. 1989. Aufsätze 1887-1890. Über soziale Differenzierung. Die Probleme der Geschichtsphilosophie (1892). Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.
Simmel, G. 1992. Soziologie. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.
Stichweh, R. 2000. Die Weltgesellschaft: Soziologische Analysen. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp.
Taylor, Ch. 1989. Sources of the Self. The Making of the Modern Identity. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Weber, M. 1972. Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Tübingen: Mohr. (Engl. Übersetzung: Weber, M. 1978. Economy and Society. Berkeley: University of California Press.)
Weber, M. 1988. Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Religionssoziologie. Tübingen: Mohr.

Handbooks and readers
Berger, J. & Zelditch, M. (Eds.) 2002. New Directions in Contemporary Sociological Theory. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Joas, H. (Ed.) 2001. Lehrbuch der Soziologie. Frankfurt a.M.: Campus.
Kaesler, D. (Ed.) 1999. Klassiker der Soziologie, 2Bde. München: Beck.
Mahoney, J. & Rueschemeyer, D. (Eds.) 2003. Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Parsons, T. et al. (Eds.) 1961. Theories of Society, 2 Vol. New York: Free Press.
Ritzer, G. (Ed.) 2000. The Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists. Oxford: Blackwell.
Schneider, W.L. 2002/2004. Grundlagen der soziologischen Theorie, 3 Bde. Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Turner, B.S. (Ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.