Learning Objectives

• discuss the key elements of Weber's methodology, including the roles of history and sociology, verstehen, his conception of causality, the role and construction of ideal types, and the role of values in sociological inquiry;
• identify the tension between micro-sociology and macro-sociology in Weber's work;
• discuss Weber's definition of sociology, as well its advantages and disadvantages;
• compare and contrast the four types of social action;
• compare and contrast the three types of legitimate domination or authority, as well as the forms of organization and administration that correspond to each;
• identify and discuss the conundrum of the routinization of charisma;
• discuss class, status, and party, and explain how Weber's conception of stratification and power differs from that of other theorists (e.g., Karl Marx);
• discuss the four ideal types of rationality and the process of rationalization in various spheres (e.g., the economy, religion, law, the polity, the arts, and the city);
• give a broad overview of the connection between religion and the rise of modern capitalism, including a discussion of why some religions erect barriers to the rise of modern capitalism; and
• identify some of the shortcomings of Weber's sociological theory.