Evolution of sociological thought, Classical sociology

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Bruno Frère

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course on the evolution of sociological thinking questions the notion of social norm. While reflecting on the cultural, political, legal or economic standards which we abide by in our daily life, it traces the history of sociological thinking as far back as the Antiquity. So doing it aims to define how some key authors represented the social world and its possible influence on individual conscience.

After evoking Sophists' relativism, Plato's social idealism, Aristotle's radical empirism and their heritage in medieval social thinking, we try and understand the relevance of some post-renaissance authors to sociology: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau etc.

 We examine the latter's opinion on a major sociological question: what in human behaviour is "human nature" and what is "inherited" from society? The development of democracy as of the French Revolution, along with that of the humanities, could let us think that, by promulgating human rights a.o., people have broken free from the social - and often authoritarian - traditions to which the Old Regime kept them bound.

Citizens freely make up and promulgate their own rights and the norms guiding their actions, Tocqueville thought while engaging the first sociological enquiries in the nascent American democracy. But does this mean that the culture and society these people were born in no longer generate laws likely to "constrain" their thoughts and actions?

No doubt, Comte and Marx wondered about this as the one like the other claimed to think sociologically when studying the extent to which we could respect a set of values, namely economic ones, without even realizing it and with the certainty to be free.   Durkheim as well wondered about this when observing the ways various habits (religious, traditional, etc.) keep influencing our behaviours or worldview when only our "reason" should be used.

Weber indeed questioned this "rational" reason supposedly characterizing human behaviour since the modern era: "what motivates human behaviour and why can a good deal of apparently irrational actions (such as those inspired by religious faith) be explained rationally if only one cares to examine them?  



This line of reasoning was later taken up by more contemporary American interactionists and functionalists, whom we will mention here and there. Rather than explaining the influence that the social world can have on individuals, they preferred to explain how these same individuals collectively construct the social world based on their representations of it.

This is notably the position still held today by authors who follow in the footsteps of Bruno Latour, who has made a habit of positioning himself against another great contemporary sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu. Caught between an attraction to individual freedom and a lucidity regarding the weight that social norms have placed on the shoulders of individuals throughout history, the great authors mentioned above have always developed sophisticated perspectives on our societies. The contemporary sociologists who will be studied in depth in EPS2 are well aware of this and now suggest complex sociological approaches that allow room for individual reflexivity without downplaying the socio-cultural contexts in which human groups evolve.


 

 

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

lectures

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Further information:

Lectures are taught in person. A syllabus of notes is available to students. It may change during the semester.

In addition, this course is supplemented by a rehearsal organized by a student instructor, occasionally assisted by an assistant.

Finally, excerpts from texts by the authors studied will accompany this course. Reading them is strongly recommended.

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Platform(s) used for course materials:
- MyULiège


Further information:

 The syllabus suggested at the beginning of the year will know some deep evolutions. The examination will cover the final version of this syllabus (that will be available after the last lecture).

It is strongly recommended to read read the excerpts from texts that will accompany the teaching of each author. These excerpts will be accessible on Ecampus (the ppt and the syllabus as well). Although they will not be the subject of questions in the exam as such, it should be noted that the teacher will take into account in their marking those who are able to refer to them on this occasion.   

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

oral exam


Further information:

...The oral exam consiste in two questions

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Contacts

Bfrere@ulg.ac.e

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online