In this seminar we will read key texts in comparative sociology. The topics covered are cross-national sociology, comparative national development, comparing world-systems, the modern world-system, and globalization and social movements. We will begin with an examination of issues of comparison in social science. Grades are based on participation in class discussion, a ten page paper comparing two of the books we have read, and a midterm exam. Readings marked with an asterisk (*) are required. Others are suggested. All required reading is on reserve in the MSE library.

Books available in the Barnes and Noble Book Store are:

Janet Abu-Lughod , Before European Hegemony

Giovanni Arrighi, The Long Twentieth Century

Giovanni Arrighi and Beverly Silver, Chaos and Governance in the Modern World-

System

Fernand Braudel, The Perspective of the World, Volume 3 of Capitalism and Material Life

Christopher Chase-Dunn and Thomas D. Hall, Rise and Demise

Barrington Moore, Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy

William I Robinson, Promoting Polyarchy

Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World-System, Volume 1

September 20: Issues of comparison

*Philip Abrams, "Explaining events: a problem of method" (on reserve).

The following three articles are in Alex Inkeles and Masamichi Sasaki (eds.) Comparing Nations and Cultures (Prentice-Hall 1996) which is on reserve.

*Stein Rokkan, "Cross-cultural, cross-societal and cross-national research"

*Melvin Kohn, "Cross-national research as an analytic strategy"

*Charles Ragin, "The distinctiveness of comparative social science"

Charles Tilly, Big Structures, Large Processes, Huge Comparisons

Terence K. Hopkins and Immanuel Wallerstein, "The comparative study of national societies," in Amitai Etzioni and Frederic Dubow (eds.) Comparative Perspectives: Theories and Methods

C. Chase-Dunn, Global Formation, Chapter 15, "Research Methods".

Larry Griffin "Narrative, event structure analysis and causal interpretation in historical sociology" American Journal of Sociology 98:1094-133, 1993.

*Melvin L Kohn and Kazimierz Slomczynski,
Social Structure and Self- Direction

Melvin Kohn (ed.) Cross-National Research in Sociology

October 4: *Barrington Moore, Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy

October 11: *William I Robinson, Promoting Polyarchy

Theda Skocpol, States and Social Revolutions

Volker Bornschier and Christopher Chase-Dunn, Transnational

Corporations and Underdevelopment

Dietrich Rueschmeyer, Evelyne Huber Stephens and John D. Stephens,

Capitalist Development and Democracy

Peter Evans, Embedded Autonomy

October 25: *Christopher Chase-Dunn and Thomas D. Hall, Rise and Demise

November 1: *Janet Abu-Lughod , Before European Hegemony

Andre Gunder Frank and Barry Gills, The World System: 500 or 5000 Years?

Stephen Sanderson, Social Transformations

Michael Mann, The Sources of Social Power, Volume 1

November 8: Midterm Exam

November 15: *Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World-System, Volume 1

November 22: *Fernand Braudel, The Perspective of the World

November 29: *Giovanni Arrighi, The Long Twentieth Century

Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation

Christopher Chase-Dunn, Global Formation

Charles Tilly, Coercion, Capital and European States, AD 990-1990

George Modelski and William R. Thompson, Leading Sectors and World Powers

December 6: Globalization and Social Movements

*Giovanni Arrighi and Beverly Silver, Chaos and Governance in the Modern World-System

Maria Mies, Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale

Robin Blackburn, The Overthrow of Colonial Slavery

David Harvey, Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference

Terry Boswell and Christopher Chase-Dunn, The Spiral of Capitalism and Socialism: Toward Global Democracy

December 13: Paper is due.