Other scholars have reasonably criticized the content, style, and format of this class and classes like it. We should keep the following criticisms in mind as the course progresses.

This class is bad because it’s missing content! Several people have told me that our course ignores important theorists (e.g., Erving Goffman, Stuart Hall, and Jürgen Habermas). Others say the class is missing important topics (e.g., global warming, science, and media), times (e.g., early 20^th century American sociology), and traditions (e.g., the Chicago School and the Frankfurt School).

This class is bad because it relies too much on dead theory! Some say we shouldn’t waste our time on 19^th century or even early 20^th century texts. Someone complained our syllabus doesn’t list any active “working sociologists.” Some have also questioned the inclusion of certain “classical” theorists (na. I’ve also heard that this course is unfriendly, if not hostile, to “empirically-oriented” sociologists.

This class is bad because there’s not enough sociology! One person noted that most of the assigned theorists are not “actual sociologists” because they weren’t trained in the discipline and they did not produce works explicitly labeled as “sociology.” The syllabus therefore offers a distorted view of the discipline.

This class is bad because it’s too paternalistic! This has less to do with content and more to do with style. Some have told me that the written summaries on the syllabus amount to “spoon feeding” and “handholding.” I imagine a few might say the same thing about the theory maps. And while I’ve not heard this specific criticism, I can imagine someone complaining about how the exams force you to answer specific questions in a specific way.

This class is bad because all social theory classes are bad! I haven’t heard this as a specific critique of our syllabus, but it is an opinion gaining popularity in sociology. Why should you even take a social theory class? There’s no consensus on what to teach, so maybe we should just give up. Plus, “theory” may be dying (or dead) as a specific field of study. Can’t you just get the relevant theory you need in your subfield seminars? Some argue that your time might be better spent taking more methods or professional development courses.