Coordinator: George
Ritzer | (301) 405-6418
| gritzer@socy.umd.edu
The specialty area in
sociological theory at the University of Maryland is
one of only a handful of social theory programs in the
United States. The program’s main foci are: classical
theory, contemporary theory, and cultural theory. We
offer a thorough overview of the classical contributions
to theory as well as recent and current sociological
contributions to theory, such as feminism, intersectional
theory, world systems theory, postmodernism, and theories
of globalization and consumption. We learn, and teach,
how to analyze theory for its logical, interpretive,
and empirical adequacy, how to construct new theory,
and how theories function practically, ideologically,
and discursively in the larger society.
A wide range
of courses is offered by a group of nine faculty members
all of whom are contributors to the literature and several
of whom are national and international leaders in theory.
Members of the theory program believe that theory is
integral to empirical study and, indeed, all are engaged
in applied theoretical work. Collaborative projects
and publications also are regularly undertaken with
advanced graduate students. In addition to offering
a diverse graduate program in sociological theory, the
department has sponsored a number of national and international
conferences in theory. The theory program encompasses
the Journal of Consumer Culture which strongly reflects
its focus on theoretical issues as they relate to culture.
Faculty Interests
The nine faculty members
participating in the program on theory include
Patricia
Hill Collins,
Lory Dance,
William Falk,
Meyer Kestnbaum,
Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz,
Jeffrey Lucas,
Laura Mamo,
George Ritzer, and
David Segal.
Patricia Hill
Collin’s work emphasizes intersectional theory, a theoretical
approach she largely developed in an effort to explore
conceptually the complex ways race, gender, and class
constitute power, inequality, and social meanings. Collins
is the author of such notable books as Black Feminist
Thought, Fighting Words: Black Women and the Search
for Justice, and Black Sexual Politics: African Americans,
Gender, and the New Racism. Dance’s work also focuses
on theories of the intersection of race, class, and
gender, as well as on critical theoretical works that
frame how schools reproduce inequalities pre-existing
in society. She is the author of Tough Fronts: The Impact
of Street Culture on Schooling. Falk has been interested
in the issue of paradigms, the philosophy of science
and most recently in theories of place. He is the author
of Rooted in Place: Family and Belonging in a Southern
Black Community.
Kestnbaum's research focuses on the
relationship between warfare and citizenship, engaging
questions of the nature of the state primarily from
the perspective of institutionalist theory. Korzeniewicz
looks at the relations of democracy and capitalism from
the perspective of world-systems theory. Lucas is interested
in theory testing, generalization and the problem of
external validity. Mamo’s work is situated in the field
of feminist technoscience, and she examines cultural
meanings and practices in the areas of health, illness
and biomedicine in contemporary post-modernity. Her
book, Queering Reproduction was recently
published. Ritzer’s
recent work has moved in a more cultural direction,
focusing on rationalization, postmodernism, theories
of consumption and globalization. He has received world
recognition for his work on The McDonaldization of Society
and, more recently, for his book The Globalization of
Nothing. Ritzer has also edited The Encyclopedia of
Social Theory. Segal is interested in the application
of a range of theoretical ideas to the military.
Academic Program
Ph.D. students in the department
are required to take both classical and contemporary
theory (SOCY 620 and SOCY 621). Students specializing
in theory take these two courses as well as three additional
courses from the following list:
SOCY 699X Major Theories and Theorists
SOCY 699X Postmodern Theory
SOCY 729 Advanced Special Topics in Substantive Theory
SOCY 6-- One specialty area theory course from among
the following: Comparative (SOCY 631); Theories of Social
Psychology (SOCY 660); Stratification (SOCY 661); Feminist Theories (SOCY 699D), if not used
to count toward another specialization.
The Ph.D. exam offered
in sociological theory covers the three main foci of
the program: classical theory, contemporary theory,
and cultural theory.
Graduate
Student Research Opportunities and Employment
Graduate students in theory
develop their skills for the primarily academic jobs
they seek through collaboration with faculty on research
and through teaching assistantships in the department.
Some of our recent graduates in theory are teaching
at institutions such as Temple University and John Carroll University. A large
number of publications have been jointly authored by
faculty and both present and past graduate students.
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