This course explores the work of four foundational thinkers in the field of sociology: Karl Marx (1818-1883), Max Weber (1864-1920), Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), and W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963). Though these theorists lived and wrote over a hundred years ago, they addressed issues of continuing relevance today including capitalism, power, inequality, exploitation, labour, class, race, and social change. The course has two central goals. The first is to read the works of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Du Bois in their historical context and on their own terms, focusing on how to understand and engage complex theoretical arguments. Secondly, we will examine the uses and limitations of the theorists’ ideas for addressing contemporary social problems.