The Graduate Center, Tuesdays, 6:30 PM, Room: TBA, 3 Credits

This course studies approaches to large-scale social change and development. It explores contemporary and historical perspectives, with a major focus on issues posed by globalization. The early part of the seminar concentrates on conceptualizations and approaches to globalization and development. The seminar then studies historical waves of development, including "late" and "late late" industrialization, and contemporary development in the context of globalization. We then spend a few weeks on key aspects of global social change and development: state formation; democracy and democratization; civil society; collective action and contention; welfare and social development; cultural change and national integration.

The last part of the semester concentrates on globalization. Depending on student interest, the seminar will discuss such themes as global crises and failed states as well as specific areas of state action: revolutionary and socialist models, sustainable development, infrastructure and others. This seminar will appeal in particular to students with an interest on social transformations in relation to global and political processes, as well as to those planning or conducting research in this field. This semester we give special attention to the changing roles of the state as well as to the politics of development. We will touch on classic and contemporary approaches from Marx and Weber to Tilly, Moore, Skocpol, Evans and other authors that represent the comparative historical, political economic, institutionalist, rational choice, globalization, and other theoretical perspectives.

Mondays, 4:15-6:15 PM, Room : TBA, 3 Credits

This seminar probes main authors and works linking collective action, political processes, and large-scale transformations – including revolutions, reforms, and transitions. This year we focus on Charles Tilly. Author of fifty books and numerous articles, he is a leading world social scientist and one of the most influential contemporary sociologists. While many of Tilly’s works revolve around the theme of "contentious politics," he has made major contributions in several disciplines—sociology, history, political science, political economy, anthropology, economics. He has provided major leadership in efforts to link history and social science to better understand processes of large-scale social change. If mostly focused on European societies, he and his students have made major contributions to broader forms of comparative and global analysis.

For about 12 weeks, we will read and assess major works by Tilly, including recent books—Why? (2006), Democracy (2007), Trust and Rule (2005), Contentious Politics (2007), Regimes and Repertoires (2006), Social Movements (2004), Contention and Democracy in Europe, 1650-2000 (2004), The Politics of Collective Violence (2003)—and major earlier statements such as From Mobilization to Revolution; Big Structures, Large Processes, Huge Comparisons; Coercion, Capital, and European States, A.D. 990-1992; European Revolutions; Durable Inequality; Dynamics of Contention (with McAdam and Tarrow). We will also read a few essays published in academic journals. During the last part of the term, the seminar probes contemporary processes of large-scale social change, relying heavily on works inspired in the Tillian perspective and research by students. We expect some guest speakers, including Charles Tilly himself. We will also consider works by close associates such as Tarrow's Transnational Activism and the growing literature on transnational or global collective action.

Mondays, 4:15 - 6:15 p.m. Room TBA, 3 credits

Globalization can be viewed as a set of processes linking the world into a shared social space. The study of globalization focuses on the characteristics, origins, and consequences of these complex processes. The sociology of globalization calls for a broad social science approach that integrates economic (and technological), political, cultural, and social dimensions. In this sense, this course explores: (a) the movement toward and against global economic integration (trade, finance, production) and global economic realignment; (b) processes of democratization, shifts in power and governance, including state reform, and their implications in terms of human rights; (c) transnational collective action and civil society; (d) cross-border migration and transnational communities; (f) illegal networks. The course probes main components, actors, and consequences of globalization in terms of a “political economic” approach that highlights the interactions (or dialectical relations) between economic, political, and social-cultural factors. The “political economic” perspective is compared with other approaches.

One of our challenges is to effectively link global and national levels of analysis. The social sciences still rely on models of social organization and change centered on national societies ("countries") or nation states. Globalization challenges these state and society-centered models. The emergent challenge is how to combine the two levels of analysis—theoretically, empirically, and in terms of policy and advocacy. Globalists insist on a fully planetary or global perspective. Still, contemporary transformations, transitions, and reforms do take place within the framework of nation states, even if there is increasing evidence of the role of transnational processes, actors, networks, institutions, and ideas. Resistance to globalization and liberalizing reforms has come not only from traditional communities, but also from advocates of alternative views on social change often operating transnationally. In exploring the broader historical and theoretical context of globalization processes, transitions, and reforms, we pay considerable attention to the creation of transnational networks of actors, including business, labor, and the new civil society.

We use the term "political economic" broadly to mean an interdisciplinary approach that bridges the gaps between sociology and the other social sciences, particularly economics and political science (but also history and anthropology). The emphasis is on interactions between political, economic, and social actors, institutions, and policies. The main focus is on how collective action and political phenomena, in interaction with economic interests and processes, shape policies, the allocation of resources in society, the workings of markets, and hence economic outcomes. These were the concerns of a long list of scholars that stretches back into the 18th century: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Jean Paul Rosseau, Karl Marx, Thomas Malthus, Max Weber, Thorstein Veblen, Friederich. Hayek, and John M. Keynes. In the latter part of the twentieth century, many other names need to be included. The list of sociologists broadly focused on large-scale transnational transformations and development processes includes F.H. Cardoso, E. Wallerstein, Ralph Miliband, Giovanni Arrighi, Fred Block, Jürgen Habermas, Barrington Moore Jr., Charles Tilly, Theda Skocpol, Peter Evans, Alejandro Portes, Saskia Sassen, Manuel Castells, Phillip McMichael, Anthony Giddens.

Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 PM

In recent decades, profound and accelerating social transformations have brought the peoples of the world in closer contact than at any other time in human history. Together, these processes are creating or altering actors and institutions, structural dynamics and policy issues, and patterns of cooperation, conflict and change. Economic and cultural globalization often receive the most attention. In this context, this course focuses on emergent forms of transnationalism -- cross-border contact, interaction, coalition-building, and related processes of social organization involving people, primary groups, various non-state organizations, and firms. These phenomena are important in themselves and are also leading to new perspectives about broader forms of social change, international development, and globalization. To put grassroots transnationalism in context, the course considers the broader framework of globalization and development, inter-state or transnational governance, and global policy. The role of transnationalism with regard to social and general development receives considerable attention in this seminar. We place emphasis on its impact on human development (education, health, income), human rights and democracy, and issues of social equity (inequality and poverty). As they address these broad areas, students will be able to develop a particular focus on such diverse topics as trade and integration agreements, immigrant civil society and politics, local development, the environment, epistemic or scientific networks, transnational social movements, global religious activism, or other issues related to labor, gender, race or ethnicity.

Sociology 84600

This course provides an approach to the study of globalization from a political economy perspective. It probes the main approaches, dimensions/components, actors, and dilemmas of globalization. To put the social transformations of the current age of globalization in perspective, twenty-first century political economy is contrasted with earlier approaches and paradigms. This perspective establishes the broader historical and theoretical context of reforms, transitions, and new development strategies. The seminar studies increasingly globalized networks of actors, including business, labor, women, environmentalists, advocates/critics of new trade regimes, urbanites and agrarian/rural groups.

Globalization challenges state and society-centered models of social change and development. It has been seen as the causal agent of transitions and reforms (structural, political, economic, and social) at the heart of the political economy of the new world order. Still, reforms, transitions, and other transformations take place within the framework of nation states, even if there is increasing evidence of the role of transnational processes, actors, networks, institutions, and ideas. Resistance to globalization and liberalizing reforms has come not only from traditional communities, but also from advocates of alternative views on social change-often operating themselves as transnational actors.

This seminar explores the relative role of global and national factors in the sociology of reform, transitions, and social transformation. Liberalizing reforms – their characteristics, sources, context, impact, and responses – have attracted and continue to attract intellectual and academic attention comparable to previous great transformations in human society. As we overview this field, the course pays particular attention to social policy reform and social development, state reform, democratization and the expansion of human rights, economic and trade liberalization, state reform and privatization, sustainable development, agrarian reform, integration, the new civil society, and the role of ideas and intellectuals. The readings emphasize the Western Hemisphere, but other regions will be considered.

Sociology 85200

This course provides an overview of the sociology of social change and development. It focuses on concepts and theoretical perspectives, actors and institutions, development trajectories and strategies, and the multiple components of development. It builds on historical-comparative and global contexts. It seeks to familiarize students with the key ideas in the field and to enhance their capacity to use and evaluate them.

The main questions about social change and development proper have to do with their presence or absence, characteristics, causes, consequences, and impediments. The first part of the course overviews the concepts of social change and development, as well as the main approaches to development and underdevelopment-including modernization, dependency, world system, political economy and postmodern paradigms. We then explore the paths, trajectories, transitions, and large-scale transformation shaping contemporary social life. The seminar considers the relationship between demographic change, urbanization and migration, cultural change, and class formation in terms of the policy issues they pose. The fourth and largest part of the course focuses on the relationship between development and democratization, economic liberalization, and political change in the framework of globalization. Throughout we explore the interplay between internal social agents, structures and dynamics, and international/global forces. The readings and lectures discuss development paths/trajectories in diverse places and historical times.

Sociology 84001

This seminar probes the wave of structural, political, economic, and social reforms adopted since 1980 nearly worldwide. These reforms are altering patterns of development and social organization in several continents, even if they remain incomplete and far from consensual. This wave of reform has been accompanied by large-scale technological and organizational changes associated with globalization. Resistance has come not only from traditional communities, but also from advocates of alternatives views on social change, often seeing themselves as transnational actors. Globalism poses a challenge to diverse state and society-centered models of reform and social change. This seminar explores the balance between global and national factors in the political sociology of reform and social transformation. The readings tend to emphasize Latin America and Western Hemisphere dynamics, though other regions and cases will be discussed.

The course probes the development of global perspectives in theories of political sociology, the state, and development. It pays particular attention to macro social change, the role of social movements and NGOs in reform, business political behavior and policy, social policy, processes of democratization and the expansion of human rights, sustainable development, the place of ideas and intellectuals in shaping reform and development. Reforms, institution-building, social movements and many other aspects of social change take place in the framework of nation states, yet there is increasing evidence of transnational links among ideas, actors and institutions. One of the goals of this course is to introduce the emergence of transnational networks of actors and their impact on policy.