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Soc 402: Sociological Theory

Soc 402: Sociological Theory. Outline for Durkheim Lecture. I. Biography: intellectual caught between liberalism and reactionaries II. Sociological/Theoretical Approach A. Perspective: Conservative 1. pessimistic about human nature 2. optimistic about existing institutions

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Soc 402: Sociological Theory

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  1. Soc 402: Sociological Theory Outline for Durkheim Lecture

  2. I. Biography: intellectual caught between liberalism and reactionaries II. Sociological/Theoretical Approach A. Perspective: Conservative 1. pessimistic about human nature 2. optimistic about existing institutions B. Model: Functional 1. teleological 2. equilibrium 3. structural/systems a. external constraint b. "social facts" c. macro

  3. Functional Model - + Necessary and Desirable Condition Social Structure - external threat

  4. II. Sociological/Theoretical Approach (continued) C. Focus: Culture--moral order versus material life; consensus rather than conflict III. Theory/Explanation of Social Change: Adaptation A. Types of solidarity 1.mechanical: sameness 2.organic: interdependence B. Increasing social density C. Increasing social differentiation

  5. Model of Social Change - + Mechanical Solidarity Sense of Sameness Undifferentiated Economy and Punitive/Coercive Politics - increasing social density

  6. Social Density • Social density is the number of social relations that link members of a population. In simple, traditional society, there was little social density. Lord peasant—wife c1 c2 c3 c4 peasant—wife c1 c2 c3 c4 peasant—wife c1 c2 c3 c4

  7. Social Density (continued) • Relations between households were limited and involved only the patriarchs (the fathers), who arranged marriages. • Even these relations were, in theory at least, indirect, since the lord approved the marriages and ultimately had the right to arrange the marriages himself. • Outside of the peasant households the only routine social relationship was that which linked the peasant patriarch to his lord.

  8. Social Density (continued) • This society had relatively low social density, compared to the modern society, where children go to school and play together, and where men and women work and play outside the home. • If social density increases rapidly and dramatically (through conquest, for example), social institutions may be incapable of adapting. Conflict and social disorganization may result in warfare, rebellion, and anarchy.

  9. IV. Durkheim’s Analysis of Suicide Durkheim’s Types of Suicide Classified by Too Much or Too Little Integration or Regulation Direction of Imbalance Too Little Too Much Source of Integration Egoistic Altruistic Imbalance Regulation Anomic Fatalistic source: George Ritzer, Sociological Theory (McGraw-Hill, 2000), pp. 86-88, who relies on Whitney Pope, Durkheim’s Suicide: A Classic Analyzed (University Chicago Press, 1976, pp. 12-13)

  10. Exploring Purdue with Durkheim V. Durkheim Applied to Purdue University 1. general guidelines 2. beliefs and values 3. how these are sustained by structure a. regulation b. integration 4. consider your experience

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