This course explores the foundational ideas of classical sociological theory, examining the works of key thinkers like Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel. Students will analyze how these theorists addressed important sociological topics like inequality, power, religion, and modernity, as they made sense of the major societal transformations of the 19th and early 20th-century. By engaging with primary texts and applying theoretical concepts to real-world phenomena, students will not only develop a deeper understanding of sociology’s intellectual roots, but also acquire a rich set of analytical tools that sociologists still use today.