THIS SECTION COAS INTENSIVE WRITING SECTION AND ALSO REQUIRES
REGISTRATION IN COAS W333.

The classical sociologists of the 19th century, such as Karl Marx,
Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim, asked fundamental questions about
society and the individual: What keeps societies together? What
produces conflict? What shapes human action and decision-making?
What are the social sources of power? How and why do societies
change? They distinguished themselves from philosophers by pursuing
their answers within the context of the specific social
transformations of their period: the industrialization of work, the
expansion of capitalism, the rise of the bureaucratic organization,
the growth of modern government, and the decline of traditional
religious belief as a source of common values. This course explores
the continuing relevance of how the classical sociologists addressed
these questions during their lifetimes and how we can use their
insights to better understand the social conditions that
characterize our own era, such as globalization, postmodernity,
consumerism, the growth of "flexible work," the rise of
the "information society," and the resurgence of religion in public
life.