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Dept. Webpage: http://soci.ubc.ca/persons/seth-abrutyn/
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Author Archives: Seth Abrutyn
Teaching Sociological Theory Practically
As I’ve written on the topic of teaching classical theory several times previously (here, here, and here – and spoken a bit here and here), this post is devoted to thinking about teaching theory differently. Moving forward, if you will. … Continue reading
So, You Are Assigned Classical Sociological Theory in the Fall…
My best advice: RUN! Of course, this is tongue-in-cheek. This is the first of two essays I am writing on teaching theory. It’s been some time since I put words to paper on this (here, here, and here), and my … Continue reading
Posted in Musings on Sociological Theory, Teaching
Tagged classical sociology, Sociological Theory, sociology, Teaching, theory
2 Comments
Making Sense of Affective Action, Part 1
Besides Charles Cooley and Emile Durkheim, most classical sociological theorists looked askance at emotions. The Cartesian duality that sees rationality, reason, and logic as masculine and emotion and feeling as feminine was alive and well. I’ve tackled the idea that … Continue reading
Posted in Emotion, Musings on Sociological Theory, Uncategorized
Tagged cognitive, psychology, Sociological Theory, sociology
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Why Not Affectivism?
Sociology is, at least in part, the science of social behavior. Or (just) behavior? From one angle, sociologists look at the mechanisms or forces or dynamics, depending on your persuasion, shaping, constraining, and enabling behavior. We might call this the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged learning, mental health, philosophy, psychology, sociology
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Sociology, Science, Suicide…and Durkheim (Part 2)
Our first step in thinking about how to teach Durkheim to undergrads and graduate students involves discussing and evaluating his descriptive model (see Part 1 for background context on this essay). Admittedly, there will be times where I have to … Continue reading
Posted in Musings on Sociological Theory, Suicide
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Sociology, Science, Suicide…and Durkheim (Part 1)
It has become fashionable, once again, to argue that sociology is an impossible science (perhaps it is a constant feature of sociology and not a fad at all). The logic, despite being cloaked in a wide range of new ideologically-drenched … Continue reading
Posted in Musings on Sociological Theory, Teaching
2 Comments
The Age of Biological or Social Contamination?
For nearly three years, most of the world has been experiencing the ebb and flow of a pandemic. I’ve written previously about sociology and disease, the panic and grief social distancing caused, and, more recently, the reasons for the US’s … Continue reading
Cultural Sociology I: Meaning Making and the Psychological Industrial-Complex
In a previous post, I made the argument that sociology needs to go beyond just incorporating culture into a sociology of suicide. It needs a cultural theory altogether. But, what would that look like? What would be its framework? One … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Suicide, Uncategorized
Tagged cultural sociology, mental health, mental illness, sociology of professions, Suicide
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A Cultural Theory of Suicide?
Sociology has famously studied suicide using Durkheim’s classic structural framework. For the uninitiated or for those needing a refresher, what that means – or at least the common interpretation of what that means – is that (a) the structure of … Continue reading
Sociology and the Good Society
As we spend summer thinking, not thinking, ruminating, not ruminating on classes, sociology, and the good society, I wanted to point to an oddity in the sociological ideology. An ideology is a set of beliefs about what we believe will … Continue reading
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Seth Abrutyn, PhD 