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Exploring Sociological Theory

Alec McGail

I read some classics in sociological theory, trying to release them from the dusty shelves.

For more, see my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/AlecMcGail/
If you want to see me live, follow me @ https://www.twitch.tv/bergeront

I recommend listening at 1.5x speed

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  • 20 episodes
  • Avg 33 min
  • English

Episodes 20

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  • Oct 13, 2022 · 29 min

    (Fromm) The Illusion of Individuality

    The last chapter of Fromm's analysis of individuality of modern man. Fromm addresses the repressive nature of modern culture and socialization, pointing to helplessless, a lack of automony and freedom, to be fertile ground for authoritarianism, fascism.

  • Dec 5, 2021 · 20 min

    (Tarde) Laws of Sociology

    This is epic. Love his trichotomy, and the discussion he concludes with. I.e. the emergence of the seemingly infinite from the infinitesimal, across all the natural and social sciences. Sounds like a call to the study of the heterogeneous and differentiated, outside the coordinated reduction of similarities (science).

  • Nov 12, 2021 · 29 min

    (Simmel) Fashion

    at times thought-provoking, contradictory, and offensive wish I could've read the rest of the article, but was getting tired of it o.o

  • Oct 13, 2021 · 29 min

    (Comte) The three stages of knowing

    Printed in 1842, Comte's universal law of mental development, and why it provides such a strong impetus for his new idea, "sociology" (translated as social physics in this reading).

  • Oct 7, 2021 · 18 min

    (Giddens) The Adequacy of Explanatory Accounts

    From New Rules of Sociological Method, this section addresses the connection between art and the social sciences, in that they both attempt cross-cultural communication for self-expansion.

  • Jul 19, 2021 · 31 min

    (Douglas) Institutions Remember and Forget

    Great analysis, moving from the mnemonic structures which keep ancestry in the Nuer and the dynamics of remembering and forgetting in scientific discovery.

  • Jul 3, 2021 · 27 min

    (Garfinkel) What is ethnomethodology?

    Garfinkel has a wordy, rather technical-sounding description of the study of the taken-for-granted, the made-practical, the reasonable, etc. It's those unseen practices for making actions, events, etc. normal-ish, that he wants to study. And because it is so normal, and so intentionally ignored, by the 60s it still had not been a subject of rigorous sociological work. It's a classic, but also a headache. Good luck!

  • Jun 1, 2021 · 31 min

    (Knorr Cetina) Epistemic Cultures

    The introductory chapter to the book, published in 1999. It's great, a reassuring & pleasant vision for science studies! The cases sound interesting as well.

  • May 31, 2021 · 1 hr 44 min

    (Friedrichs) The Calling of Sociology

    The last chapter of an epic & forgotten book in sociology. It's a bit wordy, but also a bit epic & deep. Curious if anyone (including me) will ever make it to the end. Enjoy!

  • May 13, 2021 · 39 min

    (Simmel) Sociability

    Sociability refers to different forms of social interaction and human association. The concept, in both descriptive and normative senses, can be found in many branches of study. In sociology the concept occupied a central place in the work of Georg Simmel, who developed and presented it as a sociological ideal type. This was published in AJS in 1949 "The Sociology of Sociability," original from 1910

  • Mar 23, 2021 · 22 min

    (Bernal) The Social Function of Science

    Published in 1939, when this guy was just 38 years old, the book as a whole gives a sweeping defense of science in light of popular critiques at the time. But the last chapter I read here gives a beautiful and comprehensive vision of science as a scaffolding for all future human action, and a program for its merging with culture, history, etc. and its morphing and supporting humanity's quest towards the future. Great read.

  • Jan 9, 2021 · 1 hr 31 min

    (Goffman) The Interaction Order

    Erving Goffman’s posthumously published essay, ‘The interaction order’, which was to have been presented as a presidential address at an annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, is usually taken to be an attempt at a systematic summary by Goffman of his key ideas. (This) address can also be understood as a profoundly personal and deeply scornful critique by Goffman of the varieties of mainstream sociology and the pretensions of its practitioners. Incorporated into that critique is a simulacrum in which Goffman demonstrated what a systematic treatment of his work might look like had he actually been inclined to generate one. In that respect, ‘The interaction order’ transcends the boundaries of what we ordinarily expect to find in an academic address: it is simultaneously an artful display of Goffman’s real vocational commitment to sociology, a contribution to the rhetorical debate in which he engaged with the practitioners of orthodox versions of sociology and a brief but significant demonstration of some aspects he considered distinctive about his own form of sociology. - Michael Rosenberg (2019)

  • Dec 9, 2020 · 13 min

    (Mills) The Sociological Imagination

    One publisher's description The excerpt that follows is from Mills' acclaimed book, The Sociological Imagination. Since its original publication in 1959, this text has been a required reading for most introductory sociology students around the world. Mills' sociological imagination perspective not only cornpels Lhe besl sociological analyses but also enables the sociologist and the individual to distinguish between "personal troubles" and "public issues." By separating these phenomena, we can better comprehend the sources of and solutions to social problems.

  • Sep 24, 2020 · 34 min

    (Tumin) Critique of Davis & Moore

    Tumin challenged the Davis–Moore hypothesis of social stratification with his paper "Some principles of stratification: a critical analysis".[5][6] Tumin took Davis–Moore to imply that social stratification was mostly inevitable and provided a positive function for society. He analyzed the arguments of Davis and Moore and found them wanting in a number of respects.[6] In a reply to Tumin's paper, Davis stated that his ideas seek to explain inequality, rather than justify it. Davis also accused Tumin of a number of errors.[7] Tumin's 1967 book Social Stratification: The Forms and Functions of Inequality was widely used as a textbook and was re-issued in 1985.[1]

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes