Robert Fiala, Spring, 2002

COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY

Sociology 506

Course Description

A review of the field of macro/comparative sociology, and of major features in the development of human societies and the current world system of societies.

The course is situated within Nolan and Lenski's introduction to macro/comparative sociology, and their effort to proved a coherent portrait of macro level features of the evolution of human societies and the world system of societies. Within that framework the course reviews methodological and theoretical issues frequently considered in comparative sociology, and examines major institutional complexes in a variety of human societies and the world system.

While the course reviews a considerable amount of material, many important works are not represented. This includes such important authors as Theda Skocpol, Charles Tilly, Michael Mann, and Samuel Huntington. Brief reviews of some important material will be provided by the instructor during class sessions.

The course will be a standard seminar format with most class time spent discussing course readings and related issues. Students are expected to attend all class sessions and participate in all classes. The amount of reading is substantial, and at times difficult. Thus, it will not be anticipated that students know all readings extremely well. However, it will be expected that students be quite familiar with at least one or more readings, and have examined the remaining readings. PLEASE DO NOT FAIL TO BE FAMILIAR WITH THE READINGS. Discussions that have little to do with readings, and that reflect idiosyncratic and ideological concerns of students are not welcome.

Office: Room 1058, Sociology Department. Phone: 277 2725.

Office hours: 2:00 - 3:00 T, Th, and when available. e-mail: rfiala@unm.edu.

Books:

Patrick Nolan and Gerhard Lenski. 1999.

Human Societies: An Introduction to Macrosociology, Eigth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill.

Stephen K. Sanderson. 1995.

Sociological Worlds: Comparative and Historical Readings on Society. Lanham Maryland: Roman & Littlefield.

Peter Evans. 1995.

Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.

R. Scott Appleby. 1999.

The Ambivalence of the Sacred. Lanham, Maryland: Roman & Littlefield.

Course Requirements

The main requirement of the course is that students read the assigned material before coming to class. For those class sessions with quite a bit of difficult reading, the instructor will inform students the week before which articles deserve the greatest attention. It is quite possible that some students may be asked to focus on one group of articles, while others will be asked to focus on another group. This will insure informed coverage of class material. Once again, do not fail to be familiar with course readings. The major emphasis in this course is on knowing what the reading material is about. Consistent neglect of course readings will not be tolerated.

To facilitate class discussion students should come to each class with a short statement concerning at least one of the following:

1. An aspect of the evening's readings that is difficult, ambiguous, or confusing.

2. An aspect of the evening's readings that is especially interesting, informative, or of little value.

3. Some possible lines of future theoretical and empirical work.

Aside from class participation, the course requires:

1. A short take-home midterm exam. This will be graded on a adequate/ less than adequate basis. Students will be asked to redo the exam if their score is less than adequate. The exam will be due on March 21.

2. A final take-home exam.

3. A research proposal.

The research proposal will include:

A statement of an area in macro/comparative sociology that the student wishes to investigate.
A brief literature review of salient theoretical and empirical work in the area.
A discussion of how the proposed research will fit in with existing research.
Summary of the results that are anticipated (i.e. hypotheses).
Discussion of the method of data collection.
An estimate of the time needed to complete the project. The estimate should have some detail on how long each phase of the project will take.

It is estimated that the research proposal will be about ten pages in length.

The final exam and research paper will be due on May 9, 2002.

SUMMARY OUTLINE OF COURSE

SPACE, TIME AND GENERALIZATION IN COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY

SUBSTANCE, THEORY AND METHOD IN COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY

PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES

RELIGION

INDUSTRIAL AND INDUSTRIALIZING SOCIETIES

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INDUSTRIALIZATION IN DEVELOPING SOCIETIES

THE DEPENDENCY DEBATE

WORLD CULTURE AND WORLD SOCIETY

REGIMES AND REGIME CHANGE

EDUCATION

RACE AND ETHNICITY

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY

CONCLUSION

DETAILED OUTLINE AND READING LIST

Numbers indicate chapters in Nolan and Lenski, or the number of the reading in Sanderson.

1/24 Dates indicate the beginning of readings and topics for a specific week. For example, the readings for January 24, begin at this point and go through the readings listed for Part I of Nolan and Lenski.

SPACE, TIME AND GENERALIZATION IN COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY

[A brief introduction to the character of what is frequently called comparative sociology, yet is likely better termed macrosociology. Introduction to the notion of comparing societies through time and across space, and the issue of developing generalizations regarding human societies and the world system of societies.]

SUBSTANCE, THEORY AND METHOD IN COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY

[The readings from Sanderson are classic examples of three theoretical traditions in comparative sociology: modernization, dependency, and world-systems.]

* Sanderson, Sociological Worlds

11. WW. Rastow, "The Stages of Economic Growth."

12. Andre Gunder Frank, "The Development of Underdevelopment."

5. Immanuel Wallerstein, "The Rise and Future Demise of the Capitalist World-Economy."

6. Thomas Hall, "Incorporation into the World-System."

[Part I of Nolan and Lenski provides a single coherent theoretical framework for the understanding the character and evolution of human society on Earth. It may prove useful to consider the manner in which this framework incorporates the theoretical traditions above or vice-versa.]

Nolan and Lenski. Part I: Theoretical Foundations, chapters 3-4, pp. 3-86

The Human Situation, 3-23
Human Societies as Sociocultural Systems, 24-49
The Evolution of Human Societies, 50-71
Types of Human Societies, 72-86

1/31

PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES

[A consideration of the character and dynamics of a variety of types of pre-industrial societies. Nolan and Lenski provide a general assessment, while the readings from Sanderson are once again near classic readings on more specific aspects of some types of pre-industrial societies.]

Nolan and Lenski. Part II: Preindustrial Societies, chapters 5-8, pp 87-210.

Hunting and Gathering Societies, 87-118
Horticultural Societies, 119-152.
Agrarian Societies, 153-195.
Some Evoutionary Bypaths and a Brief Review, 196-210.

From Sanderson:

1. Marshall Sahlins, "The Original Affluent Society."

2. Allen Johnson, "Horticulturalists: Economic Behavior in Tribes."

3. Eric R. Wolf, "Peasants."

4. Frances F. Berdan, "Trade and Market in Precapitalist States."

2/7 and 2/14

RELIGION

[The worlds major religions were born before the advent of industrialization and the modern world system. They continue to exert a major impact on human societies and individuals, and at times may come in conflict with aspects of the modern world. This illustrates the salience of cultural and religious factors in shaping human societies, and cautions against an overly materialistic interpretation of societal dynamics and evolution. Appleby notes how the conflict between religion and the modern world is, in part, associated with what he calls the ambivalence of the sacred.]

R. Scott Appleby. 1999. The Ambivalence of the Sacred.

2/21

INDUSTRIAL AND INDUSTRIALIZING SOCIETIES

[The industrial revolution, and the subsequent industrialization of many societies, has been associated with an array of important changes in individual lives, human societies, and the world system of societies. The readings in the sections that follow try to come to grips with these changes. The section begins with a consideration of the industrial revolution, moves to examine some aspects of the political economy of industrialization, and then looks at salient characteristics of industrial and industrializing societies. Because many institutional changes in societies and the world system appear to be dramatically associated with industrialization, the industrial era, and economic expansion, this section provides some detailed consideration of major institutional sectors of industrial and industrializaing societies, and the world system.]

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Nolan and Lenski, The Industrial Revolution, 211-239.
Nolan and Lenski, Industrial Societies: Technologies and Economies, 240-261

From Sanderson:

7. Charles Tilly, "Protoindustrialization in Europe."

8. Eric R. Wolf. "The Emergence and Expansion of Industrial Capitalism."

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INDUSTRIALIZATION IN DEVELOPING SOCIETIES

14. Nolan and Lenski, Industrializing Societies, 330-362.

Peter Evans and John Stephens. 1988. "Development and the World Economy." Pp. 739-773 in Handbook of Sociology, edited by Neil Smelser.

2/28, 3/7

Peter Evans. 1995. Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation.

Miguel Korzeniewicz. 1994. "Commodity Chains and Marketing Strategies: Nike and the Global Athletic Footwear Industry." Pp. 247-263 in Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism, edited by G. Gereffi and M. Korzeniewicz. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.

Robert Fiala. 1992. "The International System, Labor Force Structure, and the Growth and Distribution of Income, 1950-1980. Sociological Perspectives 35:249-282.

3/21

THE DEPENDENCY DEBATE

Glenn Fierbaugh and Frank Beck 1994. "Does Economic Growth Benefit the Masses? Growth, Dependence, and Welfare in the Third World." American Sociological Review 59: 631-653.

William Dixon and Terry Boswell. 1996. "Dependency, Disartidculation, and Denominator Effects: Another Look at Foreign Capital Penetration." American Journal of Sociology 102: 543-562.

Glenn Firebaugh. 1996. "Does Foreign Capital Harm Poor Nations? New Estimates Based on "Dixon and Boswell's Measures of Capital Penetration." American Journal of Sociology 102: 563-575. Also see the reply to Firebaugh by Dixon and Bosswell. AJS 102: 576-584.

WORLD CULTURE AND WORLD SOCIETY

John Meyer, John Boli, George Thomas, Fransicso Ramirez. 1997. "World Society and the Nation-State." American Sociological Review 103:144-181.

3/28

REGIMES AND REGIME CHANGE

Nolan and Lenski, Ideologies and Polities, 262- 286.

Seymour Lipset. 1994. "The Social Requisites of Democracy Revisited." American Sociological Review. 59: 1-22.

From Sanderson

23. Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Evelyn Huber Stephens, and John D. Stephens, "Capitalist Development and Democracy.

10. Krishan Kumar. "The Revolution of 1989: Socialism, Capitalism, Democracy."

24. Jack Goldstone, "State Breakdowns in the Early Modern World."

Michael Kimmel. 1990. "Motivation and Mobilization: A Structural Social Psychology of Revolution. Chapter 7 of Revolution: A Sociological Interpretation. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

4/4

EDUCATION

From Sanderson:

32. Randall Collins, "Some Comparative Principles of Educational Stratification."

33. John Boli, Francisco Ramirez, and John W. Meyer, "Explaining the Origins and Expansion of Mass Education."

34. Ronald Dore, "Educational Qualificationism and the Late-Development Effect."

Randall Collins. 2000. "Comparative and Historical Patterns of Education." Pp. 213-240 in Handbook of Sociology of Education, edited by Marureen T. Hallinan. NY: Kluwar Academic.

Colette Chabbott and Francisco O. Ramirez. 2000. "Development and Education." Pp. 163-188 in Handbook of Sociology of Education.

Elizabeth H. McEneaney and John Meyer. 2000. "The Content of the Curriculum: An Institutionalist Perspective." Pp. 189-212 in Handbook of Sociology of Education.

Susan Rippenberger et al.; Sydney R. Grant; Betty Dorsey. 1992. "Nicaragua;" "Peru;" "Zimbabwe." Pp. 387-401, 417-428, and 523-541 in International Handbook of Educational Reform, edited by P. Cookson, Alan Sadovnik, and S. Semel. NY: Greenwood.

4/11

RACE AND ETHNICITY

From Sanderson:

25. Eric Williams, "Capitalism and Slavery."

26. Pierre van den Berghe. "A Typology of Race Relations."

27. Siyabonga Ndabezitha and Stephen K. Sanderson. "The Origins of apartheid in South Africa."

28. Anthony D. Smith. "The Ethnic Revival in the Modern World."

4/18

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

Nolan and Lenski, "Population, the Family, and Leisure."

From Sanderson:

29. M. Kay Martin and Barbara Voorhies, "The Status of Women in Agrarian Societies."

30. Janet Thomas, "Women and Capitalism: Oppression or Emancipation?"

31. Rae Lesser Blumberg, "A General Theory of Gender Stratification."

Robert Fiala and Susan Tiano. 1991. "Export Processing Workers in Northern Mexico: A Study of Women, Consciousness, and the New International Division of Labor. Studies in Comparative International Development 26: 3-27.

4/25

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Nolan and Lenski, Social Stratification, 287-304.

Richard Coughlin. "Welfare Myths and Stereotypes." Pp. 60-95 in Reforming Welfare: Lessons, Limits, and Choices. NM: Univ. of NM Press.

World Bank. 2001. "World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty." Chapters 1-3, pp. 1-59.

Section on Criminology is Optional

COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY

Tedd Robert Gurr. 1981. "Comparative Crimes in Historical Perspective: A Comparative Study of London, Stockholm and Sydney." Pp. 103-109 in Comparative Criminology, edited by Louise Shelly. Southern Illinois University Press.

Charles Tilly. 1984. "War Making and Stte Making as Organized Crime." Pp. 169-191 in Bringing the State Back In, edited by P. Evans, D. Rueschemeyer and T. Skocpol. NY: Cambridge University Press.

Chris Birkbeck, Luis Gabaldon and Gary LaFree. 1993. "The Decision to Call the Police: A Comparative Study of the United States and Venezuela." Internatiional Criminal Justice Review 3: 25-43.

Rosemary Gartner. 1990. "The Victims of Homicide." American Sociological Review 55:92-106.

5/2

CONCLUSION

Nolan and Lenski, Chapters 15-16:

15. Major Social Experiments of the Twentieth Century, 362-380.

16. Retrospect and Prospect, 381-406.

Robert Fiala. 2000. "Postindustrial Society." Pp. 2195-2205 in Edgar F. Borgatta and Rhonda J.V. Montgomery, Encyclopedia of Sociology, second edition. NY: Macmillan.