Introduction to sociology
Sciences Po — Campus du Havre
2022—2023
Sociology is, overall, a way of seeing and analysing the world. It is an eclectic field, encompassing multiple—sometimes contradictory—perspectives, theories and methods. But all sociology shares one fundamental idea: we experience the world in the context of relationships with individuals, in groups and communities as well as society writ large. It is through those relationships that we make sense of the world and take action within it. This course helps you to describe, reflect on and perhaps even influence the way that society shapes beliefs, values and action.
The weeks are arranged in two main sections. The first half of the course introduces fundamental sociological concepts such as social construction, norms, identity, deviance, and stratification among others. In the second half of the course, we turn to topical areas in which these concepts are applied: the economy, the family, religion, social movements, the state and so on. The course work is organised into three parts. The lectures introduce the main concepts, theories, and debates in sociology. They offer a broad survey of the key ideas in the field of sociology and are meant to draw connections across various intellectual domains. Bonus sessions follow the lecture each week and are meant to reinforce the ideas presented in the lecture in a more interactive – sometimes also more fun – context.
The weekly seminar discussions are designed to help you actively engage with sociological ideas in more depth. Each week, your seminar instructors will discuss the papers or book chapters that have been assigned and teams of students will be assigned to present one of the assigned readings.
Lecture 1 - Sociological approaches
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Berger, P. (1963). Invitation to sociology. A humanistic perspective. p. 1-24.
- Mills, C.W. (1963). The Sociological Imagination. p. 1-5.
Lecture 2 - The individual in social context
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Durkheim, E. (1897). Suicide: A Study in Sociology. p. 106-110, 123-125, 146-154.
- Douglas, M. (2003). Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo.
Lecture 3 - Norms and deviance
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
- Becker, H. (1963). Outsiders. p. 8-14, 59-78.
Lecture 4 - Stratification and inequality
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Marx, K., and Engels, F. (1848). The Communist Manifesto. p. 61-94.
- Bourdieu, P. (1979). Distinction. A Social Critique of Judgement. p. 114-131.
Lecture 5 - Identity and identification
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins.
- Brubaker, R. (2016). Trans. Gender and Race in an Age of Unsettled Identities. p. 1-39.
Lecture 6 - Urban sociology
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Jacobs, J. (1961). Death and Life of Great American Cities. p. 34-41, 61-73.
- Venkatesh, S. A. and Levitt, S. D. (2000). “Are we a family or a business?”.
Lecture 7 - The family
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Levi-Strauss, C. (1957). The family. In H. Shapiro, Man, Culture and Society. (1971). p.261-285.
- Edin, K. and Kefalas, M. (2005). Promises I Can Keep.
Lecture 8 - Religion
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Weber, M. (2013). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
- Snow, D. and Machalek, R. 1976. “The convert as a social type”.
Lecture 9 - Education
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Bourdieu, P. and Passeron, J.C. (1964). The Inheritors.
- Khan, S.R. (2001). Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St Paul’s School. p. 77-101.
Lecture 10 - Economic sociology
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Granovetter, M. (1995). Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers.
- Esping-Andersen, G. (1997). ‘Hybrid or Unique?: The Japanese welfare state between Europe and America’.
Lecture 11 - Society and the state
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Scott, J. (1998). Cities, People and Language.
- Dubois V. (1999). The bureaucrat and the poor. Encounters in French Welfare Offices. p. 137-139; 150-154; 176-182.
Lecture 12 - Social movements and revolutions
- Material
- Compulsory reading
- Skocpol, T. (1994). “France, Russia, China: A Structural Analysis of Social Revolutions”.
- McAdam, D. (1989). ”The Biographical Consequences of Activism”.