California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: March 10, 2001
Latest update: March 22, 2001
jeannecurran@habermas.org

This file is designed to help you review materials on the site for test preparation. It is for your convenience only, and does not necessarily include all material covered in the course. jeanne

Critical Theory

Conceptual linking: We speak of critical and apologetic approaches. The critical approach recognizes that there are unstated assumptions, false premises, and biases in the way we view the world and in our normative expectations of behavior in the world. The critical approach seeks to understand those sections of our society that are not "working" for some, and to make an active effort to eliminate the injustice. The apologetic approach views the world as the best we can do, given the reality with which we have to deal. Perhaps we could best summarize the apologetic approach by the saying: "This is the best of all possible worlds." After which one proceeds to justify the statement. The focus is more on excuses why it can't be better, and justification for going on with a system that is satisfactory for some. As we proceed through theories, remember to ask yourself whether they are critical or apologetic.

• Hardcopy Readings
  • p. 13-17 of Contemporary Social Theory. Anthony Elliott, editor. Blackwell Publishers. 1999. This is hardcopy. You'll need to come by jeanne's office or Pat's office to read it.

• Online Readings
  • Critical Criminology Division of the American Society of Criminology

• Review and Teaching Essays
  • Kemp's Theory on How We See the Problem

• Shared Comments
  • Discussion Questions on Henry and Milovanovic's Constitutive Theory by Robert Binton.

• Discussion Questions
  • Discussion Questions on Henry and Milovanovic's Constitutive Theory by Robert Binton.

• Self Tests
  • Critical Theory and Fellman's Paradigm

School Shootings

Conceptual linking: When reviewing hardcopy and online materials on the school shootings for the theory class, keep in mind Gordon Fellman's theory on our need to shift the paradigm from "adversarialism" to "mutuality." We will examine all theories against Fellman's suggestion that we need this paradigm shift. Then consider how we might consider 21st century reinterpretation of classical theorists in terms of the social issues we are presently discussing. For example, how does Durkheim's perception of social fact affect our understanding of the school shootings?

• Hardcopy Readings
  • Jack Levin and James Alan Fox, Dead Lines: Essays in Murder and Mayhem. Allyn and Bacon. 2001. ISBN: 0-205-33521-7 (pbk. 133pp.) Recommended, but not ordered at bookstore.
  • James Alan Fox and Jack Levin, The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless Murder. Allyn and Bacon. 2001. ISBN: 0-205-31417-1. (pbk. 178 pp.) Recommended, but not ordered at bookstore.

• Online Readings
  • Violent Societies Make Violent Children Book review.

• Review and Teaching Essays

• Shared Comments

• Discussion Questions

• Self Tests

Gordon Fellman's Rambo and the Dalai Lama

• Hardcopy Readings

• Online Readings

  • Index of teaching essays on Fellman's Rambo and the Dalai Lama
  • NY Times article, "Divided, An Airline Stumbles: Employee Ownership Experiment Unravels at United.", Section C, page 1, March 14, 2001.

• Review and Teaching Essays

• Shared Comments
  • Can We Live Without Competition? by Susan Soriano.

• Discussion Questions

  • Gordon Fellman on defining adversarialism and conceptual linking.
  • Can We Live Without Competition? by Susan Soriano.
  • United Airlines, Employee Ownership and Fellman's Call for a Paradigm Shift

• Self Tests

Theorists "You Gotta Know"

We cannot possibly give adequate time in a single course for you to develop a sense of the work of each of these theorists. But if you plan to go on to serious work in sociology, you will need a solid acquaintance with the work of all these theorists. If you wish to take the Graduate Record Exam to pursue graduate level studies in the U.S., you should be well-acquainted this theory. Besides, social theory is exciting! Read them for your own pleasure.

• Theory: The Necessary Evil by Howard S. Becker.

Durkheim

• Hardcopy Readings
  • Social facts - pp.
  • Anomic suicide - pp.

• Online Readings

• Review and Teaching Essays

• Shared Comments

  • Samantha Smith's definition of social fact Theory class.
  • Durkheims' social facts and the Santee School Shooting by Santos Espinoza
  • On Francois Villon's Ballade des Pendus and Fellman's Adversarialism by Santos Espinoza. Theory class.

• Self Tests

Weber

• Hardcopy Readings

• Online Readings

• Review and Teaching Essays

• Shared Comments

• Self Tests

Marx

• Hardcopy Readings

• Online Readings

• Review and Teaching Essays

• Shared Comments

• Self Tests

Becker

• Howie's Home Page
• Theory: The Necessary Evil by Howard S. Becker. Originally published in Theory and Concepts in Qualitative Research: Perspectives from the Field, David J. Flinders and Geoffrey E. Mills, eds., (New York: Teachers College Press, 1993) pp. 218-229.

C. Wright Mills

• Professional Sociology: The Case of C. Wright Mills by Howard S. Becker.