Because this course is a seminar, all of the participants have an essential role to play in its success. I will not be lecturing. I will begin each class session with a brief introduction to some of the key themes in the readings for the day, but the majority of our time will be spent in discussion. My introduction will not substitute for your own reading and interpretation of the materials (which may differ from mine). Your preparation, therefore, in terms of completing the readings for the day and preparing questions of your own will influence how much you bring to each class session and how much you and others get out of it.

We will be reading several of the most influential works of the 19th and 20th centuries, from classic sources such as Marx and Durkheim, to more contemporary sources such as Arendt and Foucault. We will also read recent work that draws from these sources to address educational issues more directly. Central themes will recur throughout the semester. These themes will include education, of course, but also authority, class, community, social change and stability, the public/private distinction, the nature of the political, and, speaking generally, the nature and purpose of social inquiry itself.

Regular class attendance and preparation for the seminar are expected of everyone.

The writing requirement for the class will be four short essays, approximately 2000 words each. We will be discussing what is distinctive about each author’s approach to social theory, and what is useful about that approach as a perspective on education. Following each section of the course, I want you to write your own assessment of the value of each author’s theory as a way of thinking about education. What issues does it allow us to understand better? What issues does it overlook or obscure? The due dates for these essays will be Oct. 4 (Marx), Oct. 25 (Durkheim), Nov. 15 (Arendt) and Dec. 6 (Foucault).

The four primary texts for the course are available at the Illini Union Bookstore. A packet of additional readings dealing more directly with educational themes will be duplicated and available as well.

Mon. Aug. 30: What is social theory?

Mon. Sept. 6: Labor Day Holiday

Mon. Sept. 13: The "humanistic" Marx

Mon. Sept. 20: The "scientific" Marx

Mon Sept. 27: Marxist perspectives on schooling

Mon. Oct. 4: Toward a science of sociology

Mon. Oct. 11: Religion, education, and secularization

Mon. Oct. 18: Durkheimian perspectives on schooling

Mon. Oct. 25: The public and the private, labor and work

Mon. Nov. 1: Action and the vita activa

Arendt, The Human Condition, pts. V, VI

Mon. Nov. 8: Arendtian perspectives on schooling

Mon. Nov. 15: Punishment and the body

Mon. Nov. 22: Discipline, surveillance, and schooling

Mon. Nov. 29: Foucauldian perspectives on schooling

Mon. Dec. 6: Summary and conclusions