Sociology 243k, Social Change: Global Perspectives

Spring 2011                                                                                          Tuesday 4-7

College Building South- Map Room                                                    C. Chase-Dunn

 

v. 3-15-11

This graduate seminar focuses on theories and research on human sociocultural evolution with attention to the world historical development of normative, political and economic institutions. The world historical evolution of socio-cultural systems includes comparative and historical sociology, global political economy, and studies of contemporary global social change in comparative and long-term perspective.

 

 

Requirements: Grades will be based on attendance, participation in discussion, a short-answer essay take-home midterm and a five-page essay.

Books available in the Campus Store are:

Christopher Chase-Dunn and Salvatore Babones (eds.) Global Social Change. (Johns Hopkins University Press 2006)

Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending The 10,000 Year Explosion (Basic

          Books 2009)

William K. Carroll  The Making of a Transnational Capitalist Class: Corporate Power in the 21st Century (Zed 2010)

Charles Lindholm and Jose Pedro Zuquete  The Struggle for the World: Liberation Movements for the 21st Century (Stanford 2010)
Reading Schedule:

Asterisked (*) readings are required. Others are recommended. Required readings should be read prior to the class meeting under which they are listed.

March 29 : Overview of the course. If you are unfamiliar with the world-systems perpective read Thomas R. Shannon’s An Introduction to the World-System Perspective and Chapter 3 in Global Social Change.

March 30 (Wednesday, 12:30 IROWS, Map Room: Lecture by Christian Suter, “Global Debt Crises and Global Governance: Historical Evolution and Future Prospects”

April 5: *Chase-Dunn and Babones, Global Social Change, Intro-Chapter 9

            C. Chase-Dunn and T. D. Hall, Rise and Demise

April 12: * Chase-Dunn and Babones, Global Social Change, Chapters 10-16.

            I. Wallerstein, The Modern World-System, Vols 1-3

            Giovanni Arrighi, The Long Twentieth Century

            C. Chase-Dunn, Global Formation

April 19:  * Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending The 10,000 Year Explosion Chapters 1-4

Jonathan Turner and Aleksandra Maryanski, On the Origins of Human     Societies  

April 26: questions for Take-home Midterm will be handed out in class

* Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending The 10,000 Year Explosion Chapters 5-7, Conclusion

May 3: Take-home Midterm is Due

*William K. Carroll  The Making of a Transnational Capitalist Class: Corporate Power in the 21st Century: Introduction and Chapters 1-3

Leslie Sklair, The Transnational Capitalist Class

May 10 * William K. Carroll  The Making of a Transnational Capitalist Class: Corporate Power in the 21st Century: Chapters 4-6

William Robinson, A Theory of Global Capitalism

May 17 * William K. Carroll  The Making of a Transnational Capitalist Class: Corporate Power in the 21st Century: Chapters 7-9, Conclusion

May 24: * Charles Lindholm and Jose Pedro Zuquete  The Struggle for the World: Liberation Movements for the 21st Century

Christopher Chase-Dunn and Bruce Lerro “Democratizing Global Governance: Strategy 

               and Tactics in Evolutionary Perspective”

May 31: five-page essay is Due

*Charles Lindholm and Jose Pedro Zuquete  The Struggle for the World: Liberation Movements for the 21st Century

C. Chase-Dunn, “The World Revolution of 20xx”