INTRODUCTION
Please read the following essays in preparation of our first meeting. You can find them in the course folder.
SOCIAL THEORY: WHAT, WHO, HOW
Seim. 2022. “Social Theory: What, Who, How.”
This chapter reflects on three questions that all instructors must confront when designing and executing a social theory course. First, what content should be taught? I review and critique text-centric, tradition-centric, and theme-centric answers before defending an approach that mixes features from each. Second, whom should be taught, or rather whose theories should be assigned? This question, which has become increasingly popular, concerns authorship, voice, and definitions of “theorist.” Third, how should theory be taught? I reflect on some promising strategies for augmenting and animating social theory on the one hand and effectively assessing theory students on the other. While I defend some specific answers to all three questions, I ultimately suggest there is no one right way to teach theory. Instead, I argue that taking the questions of what, who, and how seriously is what is most important.
EPISTEMIC EXCLUSION
Go. 2020. “Race, Empire, and Epistemic Exclusion.”
During the second half of our first seminar, we’ll discuss a recent essay published by Julian Go in Sociological Theory. He argues that the imperial roots of academic sociology explain much of the existing patterns of epistemic exclusion in the discipline. He then outlines two methods for challenging said exclusion. First, instead of simply replacing or expanding the sociological canon, Go suggests we treat all social knowledge as provincial (i.e., particularistic and partial). Second, we should rethink what counts as “theory” and who we consider to be a “theorist.” We’ll speculate on how Go might critique this syllabus and consider how his analysis might inspire your excluded theorist projects.
