Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber have been named among the “founding fathers” of sociology. Critically discuss the contributions of any two of these theorists to the development of sociology as a discipline.




here is what i have so far.......

According to Mulkey (1993) sociology is a way of finding out why people behave the way they do. With this definition it can be noted that the theories put forward by the ‘founding fathers’ of sociology have all contributed to its existence as a discipline. Although they have been considered as the founding fathers of sociology, they each have their own perspective of society and its function. Emile Durkheim views society from a functionalist perspective. He coined the term ‘social facts’ and made his contribution in areas such as education, methodology, religion and suicide. Whilst Karl Marx, a conflict theorist showed great interest in inequality and social reproduction in the capitalist society. Also Max Weber a social action theorist, as such it can be noted that their contributions therefore are directly influenced by their perspective of the society

Interesting start. You definitely need to flesh this out with more explanation about each sociologist. The second last sentence is not a sentence, and the last sentence makes no sense and sounds like you blended two sentences off some Web site(s).

How long does this have to be?

@ wondergirl it has to be 12 lines

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

@ wondergirl it has to be 12 lines

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Are you IN college? How can you "critically discuss the contributions" of these sociologists in only 12 lines? That's maybe 150 words at most. Do you mean 12 pages?

Is this an ESL essay? If so, what is your native language? That will help me understand a few things.

What have you now written so far? What you posted is unnecessarily wordy. If you want to say something worthwhile, you are going to have to cut out all the extra and fancy words and phrases, and get down to basics.

First, get organized. List each man you want to discuss (you said the assignment is to write about two of them -- maybe Durkheim and Weber?). Then list several important things each did and beliefs he had as he developed a sociological theory.

You have been asked to critically discuss the contributions of any two of these theorists,while your opening introduction is good,with only 12 lines to discuss theorists,the first 3 lines are wasted on an introduction better suited to an assignment.

My suggestion is to pick the key elements related to two of the theorists,and discuss their contributions.

The key words in the question are Critically discuss..

What you have is more of brief introduction to four theorists.

You will need a topic sentence that introduces the two chosen theorists, then about four or five sentences about each man's theories. Those sentences should also briefly compare and contrast them (that's the "critically discuss" part).

Just to add one more thing,be sure to give a brief conclusion at the end.

A discussion should have a conclusion.

@ wonder girl and redhed35... sorry about that I have to do the intro first... the intro needs to be 12 line. Then I do the body.

@ wondergirl... yes its a college essay... whats an ESL essay... Iam from the Caribbean... my native language is english

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

@ wondergirl ...yes its a college essay...whats an ESL essay...Iam from the Caribbean...my native language is english

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ESL = English as a Second Language

Do you have an introduction written yet? Which two men have you chosen?

I decided to start the introduction talking about all three and was thinking of chosin the two in the body.. So u think its better if I chose the two in the introduction

Sociology is a way of finding out why people behave the way they do. With this definition it can be noted that the theories put forward by the 'founding fathers' of sociology have all contributed to its existence as a discipline. Although they have been considered as the founding fathers of sociology, they each have their own perspective of society and its function. Emile Durkheim views society from a functionalist perspective. He coined the term 'social facts' and made his contribution in areas such as education, religion and suicide. Whilst Karl Marx, a conflict theorist showed great interest in inequality and social reproduction in the capitalist society, and lastly Max Weber who was a social action theorist focused on the (internal) meanings behind human behavior. It can be noted that the contributions of the founding fathers are directly influenced by their perspective or views of the society. This essay focuses on Emile Durkhiem and Karl marx o well established social thinkers

Here is my second draft

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

i decided to start the introduction talkin bout all three n was thinkin of chosin the two in the body.. So u think its better if i chose the two in the introduction

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The assignment says to pick two, so talk about only two in the whole essay.

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

Sociology is a way of finding out why people behave the way they do. With this definition it can be noted that the theories put forward by the 'founding fathers' of sociology have all contributed to its existence as a discipline. Although they have been considered as the founding fathers of sociology, they each have their own perspective of society and its function. Emile Durkheim views society from a functionalist perspective. He coined the term 'social facts' and made his contribution in areas such as education, religion and suicide. Whilst Karl Marx, a conflict theorist showed great interest in inequality and social reproduction in the capitalist society, and lastly Max Weber who was a social action theorist focused on the (internal) meanings behind human behavior. It can be noted that the contributions of the founding fathers are directly influenced by their perspective or views of the society. This essay focuses on Emile Durkhiem and Karl marx o well established social thinkers

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You are really not introducing them. Start about founding fathers and tell what that means. Mention each man and his general area of interest in developing his theory.

How long does the entire essay have to be?

She didn't say just to prepare the intro to be marked then after the body to be marked seperatelyn but iamm guessin 200-300 words. IIll Do another draft

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

she didnt say just to prepare the intro to be marked then after the body to be marked seperatelyn but iamm guessin 200-300 words. iIll Do another draft

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Pick Durkheim and Marx. They are easy to describe, compare, and contrast. Weber is too weird.

Many sociologists emerged in the 1800's, which we today refer to as founding fathers of sociology. According to encyclopedia.com a founding father is a person who starts or helps to start a movement or institution. With this definition it can be noted that the theories put forward by the 'founding fathers' of sociology have all contributed to its existence as a discipline. Although they have been considered as the founding fathers of sociology, they each have their own perspective of society and its function. Emile Durkheim views society from a functionalist perspective. He coined the term 'social facts' and made his contribution in areas such as education, religion and suicide. Whilst Karl Marx, a conflict theorist showed great interest in inequality and social reproduction in the capitalist society, and lastly Max Weber who was a who was a social action theorist focused on the (internal) meanings behind human behavior. It can be noted that the contributions of the founding fathers are directly influenced by their perspective or views of the society. This essay focuses on Emile Durkhiem and Karl Marx two well established social thinkers

Question: was wondering if the definition I placed for socioloy was not relevant to the essay. Would the definition for founding fathers be more relevant

@ wondergirl... u said mention each man and his general area... Is what I am saying about them not sufficient

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

question: was wonderin if the definition i placed for socioloy was not relevant to the essay. Would the definition for foundin fathers be more relevant

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Yes. The essay is about two of the founding fathers of sociology, not about sociology itself. We want to know what is a founding father -- why that term, and which two you chose.

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

@ wondergirl ....u said mention each man and his general area......... Is what iam sayin about them not sufficient

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You go around and around in circles and don't really say anything.

Let me think a minute and write an introduction to a different subject to show you.

OK thanks. Iam going to choose durkheim and marx

Okay -- here's a very quick writing of an introduction to an essay about Moses and Jesus as lawgivers.

The Bible tells us important information about two lawgivers. One lived during Old Testament times, and we find the other living during the time of the New Testament. Moses. The Old Testament lawgiver, brought the young nation of Israel out of Egypt and on a forty-year journey to the Promised Land, the land that God had promised to them through their patriarch Abraham. Along the way, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments that Moses, in turn, presented to and taught the Israelites as rules for daily living. In the New Testament, Jesus took those Ten Commandments and condensed them into only two which he called the Two Greatest Commandments. Jesus spent his entire life explaining how those two rules were a summary of the original ten and how they could be applied to everyday life.

First, notice the topic sentence. Then, notice how I wrote generally about each man and told a tiny bit about what each did.

OK I still don't get it a but I am I going to work on something an post the draft in the morning.. Thanks much for your help.

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

ok I still dont get it a but iam i gonna work on something an post the draft in the morning.. Thanks much for your help.

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To get ready to write the body of the essay, write down each man's name and several different areas that he influenced or was concerned about -- maybe religion, secularization, division of labor, complexity.

OK

Many sociologists emerged in the 1800’s, which we today refer to as founding fathers of sociology, particularly Karl Marx and Emile Durkhiem. According to encyclopedia.com a founding father is a person who starts or helps to start a movement or institution. With this definition it can be noted that the theories put forward by these men have contributed to its existence as a discipline. Although they have been considered as the founding fathers of sociology, they each have their own perspective of society and its function. Emile Durkheim views society from a functionalist perspective, attempting to show how institutions making up the social system can affect social behavior. He spoke also on solidarity and its ability to maintain order in the society, but failing to make reference of the conflict in society. Whilst Karl Marx, a conflict theorist showed great interest in inequality under capitalism. However he made no mention of social unity. Lastly Max Weber who was a social action theorist focused on the meanings behind human behavior.

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

Lastly Max Weber who was a social action theorist focused on the meanings behind human behavior.

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Why did you throw in Max at the last minute?

My proofreading and editing --

According to encyclopedia.com, a founding father is a person who starts, or helps to start, a movement or institution. Several sociologists, whom we today refer to as founding fathers, emerged during the 1800s. Two in particular were Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim. Because of their work and the theories they developed, sociology became established as a discipline in its own right. As two of sociology's founding fathers, each had his own perspective of society and its function. Emile Durkheim viewed society from a functionalist perspective and attempted to show how institutions making up the social system can affect social behavior. He also theorized on solidarity and its ability to maintain order in the society, but failed to make reference to the conflict in society. On the other hand, Karl Marx, a conflict theorist, showed great interest in inequality under capitalism, but made no mention of social unity.

OK thanks for proof reading... but should I add Max Weber and speak about him or totally delete him

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Originally Posted by danerjnbaptiste

ok thanks for proof reading...but should i add Max Weber and speak about him or totally delete him

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Isn't the assignment to write about two men? Why put him in?

OK thanks

Hi I have chosen max weber and karl marx here and the problem that Im having is that I can't find a conclusion for my introduction. I really don't know what to say.

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Originally Posted by sherms

Hi I have chosen max weber and karl marx here and the problem that Im having is that I can't find a conclusion for my introduction. I really dont know what to say.

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Your conclusion ties together the main points of the essay and says something about those two men being true founding fathers because of their accomplishments in the field of sociology.