Seminar on Modernization
Professor Karen A. Woodrow-Lafield
Spring 1997 and Spring 2001 (Mississippi State University)
Class Timings
Wed, 2:00 to 4:50 pm
Class Location
Hilbun Hall 152
Contact Info
Office: 214 Bowen Hall, Phone: 601-325-7888,
email: Woodrow_Lafield@Soc.MsState.Edu (currently WoodrowLafield@cs.com )
Website: http://www2.msstate.edu/~karen/ (currently http://home.comcast.net/~karenwoodrowlafield )
Office Hours
Tu Th, 9:00 am to 11:30 am or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
“Structural, institutional and behavioral factors and processes affecting the modernization of traditional societies. Evaluation of causal factors and theoretical perspectives.”
This course combines sociological and economic perspectives in review and consideration of underdevelopment, including modernization theory, dependency theory or world systems theory, and the current situations of Third World countries. We explore three historical and contemporary foci. One is the demographic homogenization of most European countries over 1870-1960 and the salience of ‘nation’ for Europeans. Second, we explore the role of population growth in state crises in the historical contexts of England, France, China, and Europe. Third, we examine theoretical frameworks for understanding causes and continuation of international migration. Population change and migration remain important contexts as to economic, social, political, and cultural changes into the 21st century.
TEXTBOOKS:
* American Sociological Association. 2000. “Looking Forward, Looking Back: Continuity and Change at the Turn of the Millennium,” American Sociological Review (Special Issue) (Required)
* Harrison, David H. 1988. The Sociology of Modernization and Development. New York: Routledge. (Required) (ISBN 0-415-07870-0) (pbk)
* Goldstone, Jack A. 1991. Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World. University of California Press. (Required) (ISBN 0-520-08267-2) (pbk)
* Isbister, John. 1995. Promises Not Kept: The Betrayal of Social Change in the Third World. West Hartford: Kumarian Press. (Required) (ISBN 1-56549-045-2) (pbk)
* Massey, Douglas S., Joaquin Arango, Graeme Hugo, Ali Kouaouci, Adela Pellegrino, and J. Edward Taylor. 1998. Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium, Oxford: Clarendon University Press. (Required) (ISBN 0-19-829442-5) (hbk)
* Watkins, Susan Cotts. 1991. From Provinces into Nations. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (Suggested) (ISBN 0-691-09451-9) (hbk)
* United Nations. Human Development Report 2000. Oxford University Press. (Required) (ISBN 0-19-521678-4) (pbk)
REQUIREMENTS:
* Annotated bibliography including all course readings
* Annotated bibliography including individual research program
* Research paper of journal-article length and quality
* Successful completion of one examination, administered on a take home basis
OTHER READINGS:
Other readings are as listed below or distributed or identified throughout the semester. Independent reading is necessary for research papers.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
There will be one take-home examination, consisting of three or four questions, at least two of which will be standard for all students. Each student may design two or more questions related to particular interest areas from which one or two will be included on his or her take-home examination.
A research paper on a topic related to modernization and development is due May 7. You should submit a one-page outline and meet with me to discuss your plans by late February. You will make a brief presentation about your research in mid-April and distribute an annotated bibliography (typed) to other class participants. Submitted papers should be typed (in MS Word or Corel WordPerfect) and the format should follow journal submission guidelines (Demography or American Sociological Review). You should strive to produce a paper having potential for publication or presentation at a conference.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Available through the Bowen/Sociology server are the following databases:
Women’s Indicators and Statistics—international statistics on gender, population, and social development for 206 countries
The Demographic Yearbook, Historical Supplement 1948-1997—demographic statistics for all countries and areas of the world
The Human Development Report—United Nations Human Development Reports from 1990 through 1999 and the 1999 Human Development Database containing 300 indicators for 174 countries
Agenda:
January 8-12 Beginning
January 16-19 Part I and II
January 22-26 Part II and III
Jan. 29-February 2 Part III
February 5-9 Part IV and V
February 12-16 Part V and VI
Selection of research topic and submission of one-page outline.
February 19-23 Part VI and VII
Selection of research topic and submission of one-page outline.
February 26-March 2 Part VIII
March 5- 9 SPRING BREAK
March 12-16 Part VIII
Submission of 2 or 3 questions to be considered for individual exams.
March 19-23 Part IX
March 23-April 4 Take-Home Examination will be distributed March 23 and due April 4.
April 7-11 Part IX
April 14-18 Part IX, Individual presentations to class and discussion
(Submissions of drafts are encouraged.)
April 21-25 Part IX, Individual presentations to class and discussion
April 28-May 2 Recapitulation -- Part X
May 7 Final papers are due.
I. Introduction: Continuing Themes in the Sociology of Modernization and Development
Harrison, Pp. 175-183
Heilbrunn, Jacob. 1996. “The News From Everywhere: Does Global Thinking Threaten Local Knowledge? The Social Science Research Council Debates the Future of Area Studies.” Lingua Franca May/June: 49-56.
II. Tradition, Social Change, Poverty and Wellbeing
Isbister, Pp. 1-32
Horton, Hayward Derrick, Beverlyn Lundy Allen, Cedric Herring, and Melvin E. Thomas. 2000. “Lost in the Storm: The Sociology of the Black Working Class, 1850-1990.” American Sociological Review 65 (February, 1): 128-137.
Roush, Wade. 1996. “Live Long and Prosper?” Science 273 (July 5): 42-46.
Human Development Report 2000. 2000. Oxford University Press.
III. Explanations of Underdevelopment
Modernization Theories:
Harrison, Pp. 1-61, Pp. 157-162
Isbister, Pp. 33-45
Inglehart, Ronald and Wayne E. Baker. 2000. “Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values.” American Sociological Review 65 (February, 1): 19-51.
Dependency Theory and World Systems Theory, Marxism and Capitalism:
Isbister, Pp. 45-68
Harrison, Pp. 62-99; Pp. 100-148; Pp. 149-153
Chase-Dunn, Christopher, Yukio Kawano, and Benjamin D. Brewer. 2000. “Trade Globalization Since 1795: Waves of Integration in the World-System.” American Sociological Review 65 (February, 1): 77-95.
IV. Imperialism
Isbister, Pp. 69-104
Harrison, Pp. 63-69
V. Nationalism and Independence
Isbister, Pp. 105-148
VI. Economic Development: Sustainable Development, Inequality, Population Growth, Debt Crises and “Structural Adjustment”
Isbister, Pp. 99-102; Pp. 149-190
Human Development Report 2000. 2000. Oxford University Press.
McNicoll, Geoffrey. 1995. “On Population Growth and Revisionism: Further Questions.” Population and Development Review, 21: 307-340.
National Research Council. Population Growth and Economic Development: Policy Questions.
VII. Foreign Policy and International Relations
Isbister, Pp. 191-232
VIII. Retrospective: Focus on Western Europe
Watkins, Susan Cotts. 1991. From Provinces into Nations: Demographic Integration in Western Europe, 1870-1960. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Goldstone, Jack A. 1991. Evolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
IX. The Future: Promising or Bleak?
Isbister, pp. 233--244
Massey et al. 1998, Worlds in Motion
Frank, David John, Ann Hironaka, and Evan Schofer. 2000. “The Nation-State and the Natural Environment over the Twentieth Century.” American Sociological Review 65 (February, 1): 96-117.
X. Conclusions about Modernization, Development, and Migration
Harrison, Pp. 149-183
Massey et al. 1998, Worlds in Motion, Chapter 10, Conclusions for the Next Century
Portes, Alejandro. 2000. “The Hidden Abode: Sociology as Analysis of the Unexpected,”
American Sociological Review 65 (February, 1): 1-18.
Barrett, Richard E. and Martin King Whyte. 1982. Dependency Theory and Taiwan: Analysis of a Deviant Case. American Journal of Sociology, 87: 1064-1089.
Boserup, Esther. 1996. “Development Theory: An Analytical Framework and Selected Applications.” Population and Development Review 22:505-516.
Bradshaw, York W. 1987. Urbanization and Underdevelopment: A Global Study of Modernization, Urban Bias, and Economic Dependency. American Sociological Review, 52: 224-239.
Bradshaw, York W. 1988. Reassessing Economic Dependency and Uneven Development: the Kenyan Experience. American Sociological Review, 53: 693-708.
Dixon, William J. and Terry Boswell. 1996. “Dependency, Disarticulation, and Denominator Effects: Another Look at Foreign Capital Penetration.” American Journal of Sociology, 102: 543-562.
Harkavy, Oscar. 1995. Curbing Population Growth: An Insider’s Perspective on the Population Movement. London and New York: Plenum Press.
Holden, Constance. 1996. “New Populations of Old Add to Poor Nations’ Burdens.” Science 273 (July 5): 46-48.
Huntington, Samuel P. 1993. The Clash of Civilizations? Foreign Affairs, Summer.
King, Timothy and Allen C. Kelley. 1985. The New Population Debate: Two Views on Population Growth and Economic Development. Population Trends and Public Policy Paper, No. 7. Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau, Inc.
Massey, Douglas S. 1996. “The Age of Extremes: Concentrated Affluence and Poverty in the Twenty-First Century.” Demography, 33:395-413.
Portes, Alejandro and A. Douglas Kincaid. 1989. Sociology and Development in the 1900s: Critical Challenges and Empirical Trends. Sociological Forum, 4: 479-503.
Van Rossem, Ronan. 1996. “The World System Paradigm as General Theory of Development: A Cross-National Test.” American Sociological Review, 61: 508-527.