I had the group read two pieces, “Engaging with the Social World,” and then “Soc

I had the group read two pieces, “Engaging with the Social World,” and then “Sociology as Scientific Discourse for SOCY 401.” In that latter piece, I look at Jeffrey Alexander’s 1988 position that the core elements to a social theory
involve (i) the question of order, (ii) a theory of action, (iii) a theory the allocation of resources, and (iv) a theory of
the internalization of values, ideas, etc. So students didn’t have to go back to Alexander or Alexander and Colomy, although they certainly could but I think there is enough in “Sociology as Scientific Discourse” to give students an
idea of what I was looking for in the essay.
So students had two options really:
First, students could take any social theorist whose work interests them and provide an overview of the main ideas in that theorist’s perspective,
perhaps keeping in mind the four core elements that Alexander emphasizes (order, action, allocation,
internalization) and then engage in a more critical assessment of the theorist’s theory with respect to how
adequate the theory of order is in his/her theory, or how adequate is the theory of action? So that in the end,
students would give an overview and then a critical assessment of the theory.
The second option is to simply think about an issue that is of great interest to you and then write about it. That is
really the option that I think you wanted to follow, which gives you a lot of freedom about how you structure your
paper.
Earlier, you had written that for your paper, you would focus on Bourdieu’s reading of the “Paradox of the
Sociologist” and how he highlights how political powers and theories can affect social structures and ideologies.
You said that you would use the other two Bourdieu readings to discuss how his theory affects society and who
they hinder versus benefit. To apply contemporary views while relating them to more course content, you said that you would support your argument with Laslet’s journal on structure, agency and gender. Relating the work to
contemporary views on the mother’s role in family agencies and precarious sexuality.