301055 Classical Traditions in Economic Sociology (S) (WiSe 2024/2025)

This seminar is intended for MA students interested in exploring the basics of economic sociology, an expanding subfield within sociology that studies economic behaviour and practices. This seminar will revisit some of the classical works in sociology that have guided the development of economic sociology as a subfield. Offered in English, this seminar is also directed at students who seek to practice and improve their English language skills and advance their academic training in an international linguistic medium.

The seminar is divided into four parts. Part I introduces the history and relevance of economic sociology and discusses its major traditions that have had a strong influence on the growth of the subfield. Part II looks into the basic tenets of economic sociology and discusses the key contributions of Weber in laying out the foundational ideas of the subfield. Part III brings in a variety of perspectives from the sociological trinity—Weber, Durkheim, and Marx—and discusses their key contributions to our understanding of work, contract, class. Part IV takes the conversation forward and discusses the influence of these classical texts in the emergence of ‘new economic sociology’. This course is designed to be sensitive to the politics of knowledge production, encouraging critical thinking among students and helping them better assess contexts and assumptions in classical texts. Understanding the continued relevance of these texts, the students will be encouraged to employ a decolonial lens to better understand intellectual imperialism in social sciences and challenge biases emerging from Eurocentric and androcentric frameworks. Part III of the seminar shall primarily be conducted in a presentation and group discussion format, wherein, followed by a brief lecture, students actively participate in interpreting the assigned texts and discussing the relevance of these contributions in the class.

The grading of the participants will be based on the student’s active participation throughout the semester, the quality of their presentations, and the written presentation outline/summary. For those writing term papers, a term paper of 25-30 pages must be submitted on a topic of choice.