Spring 2027

Classical Sociological Theory

Classical Sociological Theory covers Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and other important classical theorists and schools of thought.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Nicholas Pedriana

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Anna Paretskaya

The reviewer reported a ton of difficult readings that were hard to understand, making the course feel very challenging.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Critically analyze the foundational works of classical sociologists including but not limited to Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx, demonstrating an understanding of their core theoretical contributions.

  • Compare and contrast classical sociological theories in terms of their assumptions about society, modernity, social order, and change.

  • Apply classical theoretical frameworks to contemporary social phenomena, demonstrating the enduring relevance and limitations of these theories.

  • Evaluate the historical and intellectual contexts in which classical sociological theories emerged, including their relationships to Enlightenment thought, industrialization, and capitalism.

  • Synthesize key concepts (e.g., social facts, class struggle, rationalization) across different theorists to construct coherent theoretical arguments.

  • Engage in scholarly debate by articulating well-supported positions on theoretical disputes and their implications for sociological research.

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing or (SOC 181,SOC/​C&E SOC 140, 210, or 211)

C&ESOC/SOC 475

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 3.36 GPA, 69.4% A/AB (n=36 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.45 GPA, 64.3% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.42 GPA, 64.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ADAM HAYES is recorded teaching in Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ANNA PARETSKAYA is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CAMERON MACDONALD is recorded teaching in Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CHAD GOLDBERG is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2008, Spring 2013, Spring 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2022, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KRISTINN ARSAELSSON is recorded teaching in Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MIN HEIN is recorded teaching in Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MUSTAFA EMIRBAYER is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Fall 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

NICHOLAS PEDRIANA is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ORIOL MIROSA is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PETER KERR BRINSON is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2009. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RAHUL MAHAJAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2013, Spring 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 400
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 400

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Chad Goldberg

The course involved lots of reading, which the reviewer found mostly intriguing for a sociology student, though it required buying many books.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.80 GPA, 32.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.23 GPA, 60.4% A/AB (n=48 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.27 GPA, 63.8% A/AB (n=47 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Anna Paretskaya

The reviewer reported a ton of difficult readings that were hard to understand, making the course feel very challenging.

Past student reviews · Rahul Mahajan

Although the instructor was tough on grading, they provided a generous curve and thorough feedback, helping the student learn a lot.

Topics

  • Foundational works of Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and other classical theorists.
  • Historical and intellectual contexts including Enlightenment thought, industrialization, and capitalism.

Skills

  • Critical analysis of foundational sociological works and synthesis of theoretical concepts into coherent arguments.

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
C&ESOC/SOC 475 · Spring 2027

Classical Sociological Theory

Recorded 2026-10-14
C&ESOC/SOC 475 · Spring 2027

Classical Sociological Theory

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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    "title": "Classical Sociological Theory",
    "credits_min": 3,
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    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
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    "offering_id": "1274:900:017590",
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    "credits_min": 3,
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Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
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  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "0f9b27402e3a7971f9188dd530885f70556071a3403d93ab843041dad5e0e86f",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}