The works included in this book prove that the founders of sociology remain relevant in today’s modern society despite decades of change that came long after their lifetimes. As evidenced by these five essays, the founders’ timeless theoretical frameworks can be successfully applied to contemporary society. Just as how their works helped them to understand the world around them during their lifetime, engaging their works can help us understand the world around us today better. These essays take a critical look at society through the lenses of Weber, Marx, Simmel, and many others to create this text that takes a multi-faceted approach to analyze different sectors of society. This exercise not only served as an opportunity for students to gain a comprehensive understanding of their own topic area, but to engage the work of their peers.
When Trinity was writing her paper and reading her peers’ work, she discovered how useful using classical sociology can be when analyzing contemporary issues. These classical theories still apply to issues like financial literacy, the racial wealth gap and so much more giving us insight into how it may seem like a lot has changed, but even a hundred years later a lot of things also remain the same. She also realized that issues are more complex than the micro individual level in creating change, but you have to look at the macro structures in order to examine why these structures of inequality exist which all of the sociologists this past semester have done in their work. Something as personal as financial literacy, may seem like something you can do on an individual level and should be left up to the individual, but there are so many societal structures that impose on the individual level making it much harder than what it may seem.
Over the course of the semester, Kelsey’s work on this project has redefined her understanding of Pomona and higher education in the U.S. However, reading the works of her peers has also opened her eyes to how many other issues in the world are not as straightforward as they seem, and that many are actually sociological in nature. The application of the classical founders to these diverse contemporary issues has brought forth indispensable insights into many complicated topics. The observations contained in this book will serve to educate not only the individuals in this class, but the wider community of the Claremont Colleges and the public.
Over the course of the semester, learning about these classical founders and researching the topic of single mothers changed how Elise viewed the world and her past to a large extent. Raised by a single mother, this topic was very personal to her, and she was excited to combine two elements of learning and experience that interested her for this final paper. The negative stigma of single motherhood has impacted Elise to a large extent, and writing this paper helped her to understand her own experiences with the topic and grow as both a student and a daughter. She hopes others will read the paper and come to a better understanding of single mothers and their families, and apply a broader lens of thinking to a very subjective issue. Overall, Sociology 154 helped Elise ground her work and learning as a sociology major in the founders of the discipline, and gave her many new perspectives and ideas to take forward as she continues learning throughout her life.
Like the young organizers gathered in Zuccotti Park chanted often, “You can’t evict an idea.” They may have been cleared out of the park eventually, but their ideas lingered, ingraining themselves in national discourse about income inequality. When analyzing the impact of a movement like Occupy Wall Street, one must take a nuanced view that looks beyond its direct impact on policy. Its most indelible effect has been on the social consciousness — it arguably caused a resurgence of populist economics, propelling politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders to the forefront of public discourse. Sociologist Manuel Castells provides a useful framework for understanding where Occupy Wall Street succeeded most: according to Castells, a movement has a responsibility to define itself: its identity, its goals, and its adversary. By positioning itself in clear, unequivocal opposition to the power of the “1 percent,” Occupy Wall Street certainly did so. There was no ambiguity about where its organizers stood or what their ultimate, overarching goals were. It formed a “project identity” for the movement, which in Castellsian terms is a movement focused on transforming societal structures to make them more progressive and equitable. The clarity of its message and goals was a success for Occupy Wall Street — but that is not to say that it was a perfect movement. Indeed, no movement is perfect, and taking a critical look at a movement’s successes and shortcomings helps to lay the groundwork for the success of current movements, including #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, #NoDAPL, March for our Lives, and many more. This is particularly valuable for young college students like ourselves, who are interested in participating in activism that effects tangible change but need a roadmap for doing so. Analyzing Occupy Wall Street provides a blueprint — one that can be taken and improved upon — for effective forms of anti-capitalist, anti-status quo resistance. Understanding the lessons of classical sociology can help create social change today, a takeaway that was key to Lauren’s experience in SOC 154.
Likewise, the history of Indigenous political mobilization in Bolivia also serves as an example of effective resistance against capitalist structures. The cocalero movement beginning in the 1980s was the culmination of a growing leftist movement that would result in the integration of Indigenous people into the Bolivian government, allowing them to implement policies beneficial to their communities and elect the country’s first Indigenous president. Organizers and others wishing to enact social change would benefit from studying Evo Morales. His ability to raise class consciousness and connect various social sectors transformed Bolivian politics. Through writing the final paper, as well as discussions with her peers and Professor Hernández-Medina, Araceli realized the value and continued relevance of applying classical sociological theory to various events across the globe.
All of the authors of these five papers felt as if they grew and learned from writing the chapters within the digital book — and in turn, we believe that the readers of our book can learn something new from our work. Each chapter approaches capital, racism, and equality from a different lens allowing us to see how classical sociology can help us understand so many different types of contemporary issues. Although these sociologists may have lived and written hundreds years prior to our papers, their theories still remain extremely relevant and have helped all five students understand more about the world around them. In order to untangle issues like financial literacy, higher education, stigmas around single motherhood, Occupy Wall Street and finally Indigenous resistance in Bolivia, we must first have a strong sociological foundation — and we are very grateful to this class for helping us build that base of knowledge.