Right-leaning sociologist says class like this is rare
Princeton University will offer a fall course titled “The Conservative Tradition in Sociological Thought,” which has drawn some praise from a right-leaning sociologist.
The course, co-taught by Professors Craig Calhoun and Shamus Khan, says it will explore the “intellectual tradition” of conservatism rather than “conservative movements.”
Khan (pictured, right) provided further comments to The College Fix in response to questions about the selection of authors, many of whom lean to the political left.
“We won’t be teaching conservative social movements (tea party, Trump, etc.) in part because it’s not my expertise. I’m also not interested in teaching conservatism as an identity (people who identify as conservative or not),” Professor Khan told The Fix in an email. “Instead the aim is to show that there are conservative ideas at the center of a lot of sociology, and to trace those.”
The course will focus on themes such as legitimate hierarchy, nature, family, and traditionalism—concepts he says reflect conservative ideas, whether or not the thinkers expressing them identify as conservative.
However, the preliminary reading list, which includes names such as Hannah Arendt, Karl Polanyi, Daniel Bell, and Kenneth Clark, leans heavily toward figures critical of capitalism or not widely associated with conservative thought. Some, like the late Princeton sociologist Sarah McLanahan, warned about the harms from single parenthood, however.
Khan said the syllabus is still under development, calling the current reading list a “space holder” and adding that “there will be a lot of other readings.”
According to the course description, the course will examine five key themes: “(1) Conservatism within the classical sociological tradition; (2) a focus on the case of ‘The Ghetto’ and the experiences of Black Americans in urban America; (3) the conservative embrace of and concerns about capitalism; (4) the sociology of the family; (5) religion in social life.”
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One conservative sociology professor said the course might be beneficial.
“It’s hard to say much about this without seeing the full reading list,” Professor Alexander Riley, a conservative sociology professor at Bucknell University, told The Fix in an email when asked about the course’s description. “But even on their sample of readings, there are useful sources for a course like this—Lewis, Bell, McLanahan.”
Riley called the course’s presence at Princeton “surprising and positive,” even if its framing risks a left-leaning interpretation.
“It’s possible that the course will be spun from the left and the conservative views of the texts submitted to withering critiques, of course, but just the fact that they are presenting these views to students at all is refreshing in my view,” Riley said. “In most sociology classes, students never get a hint that there might be smart, reasonable conservative perspectives on the relevant sociological issues.”
Khan, one of the professors, has previously suggested that Brett Kavanaugh’s privileged background meant he likely lied during his confirmation process for an open Supreme Court seat.
“He writes on culture, inequality, gender, and elites,” according to his faculty bio.
Calhoun (pictured, left), the other professor, is visiting from Arizona State University.
He previously served as the president of the London School of Economics and writes about capitalism and class issues, according to his bio.
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Professors Craig Calhoun and Shamus Khan; Princeton University