ECTS:

5

Code:

ΚΥ0402

Cycle / Level:

Undergraduate

Compulsory / Optional:

Compulsory

Teaching Period:

Spring

Course Content:

This course examines the ways in which classical sociology theorized the construction and the transformation of the society. Particular emphasis is given to the epistemological, methodological, theoretical and conceptual elements of the classical sociological theories which contribute to the understanding of the relationship between individual and society, the evolution of the history, the power relations, the social and political institutions, the social processes and antagonisms. The course is devoted to the study of four classics – founders of sociology (Comte, Durkheim, Weber and Marx) aiming to understand the basic concepts and theoretical tools they introduced. Extensive reference is made in the biography and the sociopolitical environment of the life of each of the above sociologists
Particular, we examine the following topics:
– Key issues of sociology
– Positivism in A. Comte’s sociology
– The role of sociology in the work of A. Comte
– The sociology of E.Durkheim
– Division of labor in the work of E. Durkheim
– The interpretive sociology of M. Weber
– Religion and economy in the theory of M. Weber
– The political sociology of M. Weber
– Socialist ideas before Marx
– The materialist theory of Marx
– History and social classes in Marxian theory
– Marx’s critique of the political economy

By the end of the unit students are expected to be able to: - know the basic questions of the origins of sociology - correlate the work of classical sociologists with their historical environment - know the basic concepts introduced by the classics of sociology - understand the theoretical added value of the classics of sociology - recognize the epistemological differences of the work of classics of sociology