SOCY 7716 Contemporary Social Theory
Required for graduate students. This seminar is a graduate level introduction to contemporary social theory. It concerns the historical context and development of a wide variety of perspectives used by social theorists to make sense of multiple social worlds. It also concerns the ways in which social theories are themselves sociologically constructed. Theoretical frameworks addressed include: functionalism and cybernetics; symbolic interactionism and pragmatism; exchange, behavioral, and conflict perspectives; feminism; Marxism; phenomenology and ethnomethodology; critical race theory; queer theory; structuralism and poststructuralism; as well as postcolonial and postmodern theories of the subject and power.
Course overview
- Department
- Sociology
- School
- MCAS
- Credits
- 3
- Level
- Graduate
- Offered
- Every Spring
Course evaluations
- Course rating
- 4.56 / 5 · Excellent
- Instructor rating
- 4.80 / 5 · Excellent
- Terms evaluated
- 4
| Term | Instructor | Course overall | Instructor overall | Well organized | Clear learning objectives | Intellectually challenging | Helpful assignments | Applicable beyond course | Attendance necessary | Weekly effort | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2025 | Stephen J Pfohl | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4–6 hrs/week | 3 of 7 |
| Spring 2024 | Stephen J Pfohl | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.9 | — | 8 of 10 |
| Spring 2023 | Joshua Seim | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7–9 hrs/week | 9 of 10 |
| Spring 2022 | Stephen J Pfohl | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 7–9 hrs/week | 5 of 9 |