Weber: April 5 -
May
1
All readings for Weber are found in Max Weber: Sociological Writings unless otherwise indicated.
Thursday, April 5
Weber, pp. 1-13: "The Concept of Social Action," "The Types of Social Action," "The Concept of Social Relationship," "The Concept of Legitimate Order," and "The Bases of Legitimacy of an Order"
Recommended readings
Collins and Makowsky, chap. 7 in The Discovery of Society [available at reserve library only]
Giddens, chaps. 11 in Capitalism and Modern Social Theory [available at reserve library only]
Questions to guide reading1. How does legitimacy stabilize social order and relationships?
2. How does tradition legitimize itself?
Tuesday, April 10
Weber, pp. 28-46 and 107-122: "Legitimacy and the Types of Authority," "Charismatic Authority," "The Routinization of Charisma," and "The Distribution of Power within the Political Community: Classes, Status Groups, Political Parties"
Questions to guide reading1. How is charisma a force for social change?
2. How does ethnicity reflect status?
Thursday, April 12
Nicholas Lehman, "The Kids in the Conference Room" [hand-out]
Questions to guide reading1. What are the functions and contraditions of status for the upper class?
2. Do prestigious colleges like Harvard (or Vassar) promote status or market values?
Tuesday, April 17
Weber, pp. 59-107: "Bureaucratic Authority"
Recommended readings
Giddens, chap. 12 (especially pp. 178-184) in Capitalism and Modern Social Theory [available at reserve library only]
Questions to guide reading1. How does bureaucracy threaten all non-rational forms of social order?
2. Who or what ultimately governs bureaucracy?
Thursday, April 19
Weber, chaps. 1-2 in The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism
Recommended readings
Giddens, chap. 9 (especially pp. 124-132) in Capitalism and Modern Social Theory [available at reserve library only]
Questions to guide reading1. Why are non-Protestant religions antithetical to the capitalist ethos?
2. Why is this historical analysis of capitalism's emergence sociological?
Tuesday, April 24
Weber, chaps. 3-5 The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism
Questions to guide reading1. Is Protestantism a traditional or modern belief system?
2. How do we sustain the capitalist ethos in a secular world?
Thursday, April 26
Exam review: no reading
Tuesday, May 1: Last Day Of Class
Take in-class exam or turn in observation paper.For answer key to Weber exam, click here (formatted for MS Word for the Mac).
