Philip Groth, Ph.D.
Associate
Professor of Sociology
Department of Anthropology and Sociology
University
of Wisconsin Colleges
UW-Rock County
2909 Kellogg Avenue
Janesville,
WI 53546
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This statement further explains what is covered by the introductory sections of the annotated bibliography. I explain why I think there is a need for a collection of articles to use in conjunction with texts that have global, scientific, and critical thinking aims. In the UW Colleges, we have proficiency requirements, which seem foreign to some of our faculty. The collection can be used to enhance proficiencies that are highlighted in educational assessment, like reading with critical perception, distinguishing knowledge from values and cogently analyzing data. The bibliography took shape in response to quite varied inspirations for introducing sociology, as discussed in Teaching Sociology and other professional forums. I report what significant contributions to forums on introducing sociology have said about the challenge of introducing the field. I respond to the key points. Leaders of the critical thinking educational reform movement stress that educators should develop working definitions of their fields which orient students well, and help professors convey and examine the main lessons of the fields in a logical and enlightening manner. I compile a number of working definitions in the introduction to this bibliography.
Appendix These pages contain an update of the readings. In the future, I may add citations of news clippings that should prove particularly helpful in introducing sociology.
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Three decades ago, American college professors used both readers and Bobbs Merrill reprints to supplement texts in social science courses. Today, Bobbs-Merrill reprints are defunct. We substitute commercial readers or custom course packs containing articles for which copyright clearances have been obtained. College publishers produce short, in depth books on topics of importance, and provide articles from news media for course packs. This change is associated with serious costs. Instructors and teaching assistants no longer have a readily available series of articles which summarizes advanced scholarly thinking about the subjects they address.
The most common type of supplementary material now available for course packs is news items. This material can be used both to exemplify and also to challenge concepts and theories commonly presented in sociology. However, if professors, instructors, and teaching assistants rely mostly on mass media to supplement sociology texts, we risk degrading college social science courses to journalism. That is one key reason I have independently gathered supplementary material for introducing sociology, drawing mostly from academic sources.
At the same time during which informational technologies are used to develop course packs for teaching college students, the introductory sociology texts are diversifying. Texts with a global twist are now being marketed. As assessors demand "critical thinking" components in undergraduate education, and as part of programs to evaluate college teaching, editors and authors have introduced critical thinking exercises into the texts. These materials fall far short of standards that are set by leaders in the critical thinking movement like Richard Paul. As a professor, I had experimented with integrating critical thinking into courses before the current assessment movement began. I have used social problems texts that in part (Horton, Leslie, Larson) or wholely (Baker, Anderson, and Dorn) represented a critical thinking outlook on the course. Presently, I use a global sociology text. These circumstances make me hyperaware whether there are global sociology readers, or ones specially suited to critical thinking as a central theme of higher education. There are not.
To fill the gaps, I collect dozens of articles in which introductory sociology topics are treated in a critical or global manner. I try to keep certain of the articles "up to date." Not that recency of publication of an article is necessarily a good measure of its truth value or its pedagogical value. Students should look back at articles in retrospect, to see how seasoned thinkers and social scientists can assess their value. Assessment is concerned with rational evaluation of the quality of arguments about social issues. To show how responsible assessment is done, I collect groups of articles in which experts judiciously assess one another's ideas.
To summarize, here are the main reasons I offer for having collected this set of articles, chapters of books, and news items:
a) Sociology lacks readers tailored specifically to today's assessment objectives.
b) Sociology lacks introductory global readers that match global texts.
c) Whereas sociology readers begin with selections like C. Wright Mills "The Promise" or excerpts from Peter Berger's Invitation to Sociology, many articles are not oriented by, nor do they measure up to, the standards of sociology that these leaders held out. I selected the articles deliberately to fulfill the promises that sociological figures like Mills, Lundberg, Durkheim, Sorokin, Berger, etc., held out to those who were first contacting the field.
Thus, in line with various grand visions and plans for sociology, I have selected articles which examine how new classes rise and fall in world history and how their prospects and morale improve or sag as time marches on. My selection of readings takes into account and tries to meet certain criticisms of sociology and teaching as usual in sociology. According to Peter Berger, much current sociology is tragically mistaken. Sociologists often betray ignorance and incomprehension of the world outside their computer labs and outside the political groups to whom they owe allegiance. Agreeing with Berger that sociology should be "robustly empirical," I selected articles that inform students broadly.
Students cannot make the judicious judgements about social issues for which the assessment movement calls if they remain "culturally illiterate"--i.e., insufficiently informed to judge whether the propositions about issues that we dispute in global sociology are factually and theoretically correct. Other critics of introductory texts like Prof. Friedman of California State complain about sociology which unnecessariliy demeans non-sociological insights into the social world, and about how ideologically predictable and biased toward the left and liberalism sociology tends to be. I believe there is a large grain of truth in Friedman's criticism; therefore, the collection contains readings that certain sociologists might classify, stereotype, and or stigmatize as conservative or neo-conservative. Hopefully, in the 21st century, social scientists will desist from the sterile forms of politics which marred the last thirty years of twentieth century and demonstrate interest in the keeness of social analyses rather than the political labels which could be attached.
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Allan
Spector. Reviewing "Introductory Sociology: A Collection of Readings,"
Teaching Sociology 15 (October): 429-30.
"Most instructors who regularly teach introductory sociology have their own imaginary work book of supplementary readings that would complement their main text. Those who use books of supplementary readings know there is no perfect collection, and, as a result, try to make available to the students readings from a variety of sources that best fulfill the instructor's plans. It is difficult to criticize a collection of readings for including works that reflect the editor's perspective rather than the reviewer's. On the other hand, it is appropriate to suggest that many important issues and perspectives may not be covered adequately, especially in a work that purports to underscore the diversity of sociology rather than a work that admittedly emphasizes a particular perspective."
This statement justifies faculty collecting articles that suit their own purposes in introducing sociology. But should we collect articles independently without seeing the fruits of one another's efforts? By offering this collection as a stimulus, a collector can show what may happen when sociologists independently think over the challenges of introducing sociology and also encourage other teachers do do likewise. No collection can cover all the possible bases. This collection covers scientific, intellectually critical, and global sociologies.
Miram
Mariampolski. "Thoughts About Reasonable Goals for Introducing
Sociology," Teaching Sociology 5 (January): 141-151.
"These are the four basic intellectual goals that are built into my course. A humanistic orientation educates the manner in which they are developed. The paper will outline these objectives : a) understanding social determinism; b) relativizing culture; c) instilling a sense of social realism; d) developing skills in critical evaluation.
It is important through the course to encourage students to understand social causation. .. to view our normative system, our socializing agencies, and our social control mechanisms as forces which exert pressure to conform to basic behavioral patterns through the process of internalization, both conscious and subconscious. Members of the class instructed perpetuate these patterns and enforce their viability. Yet we must not overextend our deterministic vision. Once established, we must give our students an appreciation of its limitations and recognize the essential reality of human volition and freedom."
The above game plan for humanistic sociology contains mysteries and logical contradictions. In intellectually critical sociology, we point these out. We ask whether people, in fact, "subconsciously" internalize demands for conformity. Only if we can specify operationally what that means can we demonstrate whether people subconsciously internalize such demands. The deterministic and free will visions of human behavior are at odds. One cannot be added to the other. Can one correct the excesses of the other? For example, can it show that freely willed acts can be punished, and that people can be deterred from acting in accordance with their free wills by various sanctions and fears of sanctions?
As for relativizing cultures, one might ask relative to what? Relative to the georgraphic or historic challenges faced by a people? Relative to an ideal culture or political mechanism for resolving differences of cultural opinion? Should we judge all cultures, for example, by whether they incorporate human rights promised by the United Nations? Should we judge all cultures by whether they have low infant mortality rates, or equality between the sexes? Looking at actual works of reform minded sociology today, I do not think that sociologists really intend to relativize all cultures. A much better case could be made that they judge cultures by the ethnocentric standards of people in their stratum (the professional) of American society and of their religious and political groups. It makes no sense to relativize science if it proves more capable of helping humans find out truths and principles of nature than novels, for example.
G.
Edward Stephan, Douglas Massey. 1982. "The Undergraduate Curriculum
in Sociology," Teaching Sociology 9 (July): 423-434.
"The article begins and ends with the view that sociology is science, and that as such it should share certain traits in common with other sciences, particularly in its methods of research and in its presentation of knowledge. It is illustrative of one of the points we wish to make that many sociologists will find this statement to be provocative, that many do in fact believe that sociology should not be a science, or at least that it should be different from other sciences.
In the last two decades, sociology professionals have shown a tendency to move toward a more scientific orientation. Witness the increased use of quantitative methods and concepts, the greater appreciation of higher mathematics, and the closer integration between theory and research. These changes are self evident in the content of the major sociological journals. After surveying the way other scientific disciplines introduce themselves to interested students, we propose a reformulation of the sociology curriculum intended to augment and strengthen its status as a true science of society.
We believe that a major part of the explanation of painful fluctuations in the fortunes of sociology lies in the description of the problem itself. Sociology is in or out of fashion largely because it is--in the minds of most students and the public--little more than a reflection of what is fashionable. The general perception of both students and the public seems to be that sociology contains no sustaining corpus of knowledge central to society in between crises, no body of information to which specialists should be expected to contribute routinely regardless of changing fashion, external conditions, or mood of the country.
The only claim to specialization at the introductory level seems to be the peculiar jargon of sociology, as evidenced in the degree to which introductory examinations concern themselves with identifying, defining, and exemplifying concepts. Many of the concepts themselves are expressed by ordinary words; their specialization is only a matter of restricting the word to peculiar definitions (status or norm) or even simply a particular foreign language (verstehen, anomie). Other disciplines, of course, employ specialized vocabularies: "isopropylbutanol" or "eigenvalue" are not part of people's everyday language. But neither are the referents of their words part of most people's everyday direct experience. The boundary that distinguishes sociology from the general public becomes increasingly blurred at the verbal level."
This statement says that sociology is scientific, but also that critics say it should not be scientific. Thus, there are tensions both among ideals of what sociology should be and between what it is and what it might be. Logically, sociology cannot become scientific if the practice and teaching of sociology are left in the hands of sociologists who deny that it should be scientific.
My criteria for deciding whether an article is properly scientific is NOT whether it uses technical language or pivots on high powered mathematics. I draw on journals like Science and New England Journal of Medicine to show that scientific articles need not have elaborate mathematics or arcane terminology. Some prestigious sociology departments like the University of Wisconsin Madison's presently hire qualitative methodologists to overcome the excesses of mathematical sociology. C.Wright Mills and Pitirim Sorokin insisted that we should write and calculate in as plain a language and staightforward a set of mathematical terms as are possible. We should be more concerned with whether sociological insights are valuable than whether they are couched in forms that reassure insecure sociologists that they have earned a standing in the sciences equal to biologists, physicists, or chemists.
The statement leaves this reader somewhat mystified as to what faculty should teach as sociology to lower division undergraduates. It cannot be the highly mathematized sociology published by specialists. Undergraduate teachers of introductory sociology must address what is of general educational value in the field. I therefore have selected articles which demonstrate intellectual discipline, for example, of logically and factually testing beliefs about societies. The tests include natural experiments, tests of consistency of logic of arguments, etc.
Can we enhance the prestige of sociology? America presently teems with politicians, publishers, and media personalities who act as "spin doctors," putting over the lessons that their group in the media or their political group draws from the latest events and trends. Scholarship and science naturally have low prestige in fashionable, spin-doctor society. Even highly developed natural sciences suffer status pangs in the U.S.. Who listens to chemists, physicists, ecologists, and biologists estimating how harmful is asbestos, gauging the comparative dangers of cocaine and crack, or proposing how to reduce reliance upon Mid East oil and thereby to avoid international conflicts, for example? Perhaps if we join forces with natural sciences, particularly those like public health and ecology, we together can overcome the low status of science in American society and among American students.
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Gerhard
Lenski. 1983. "Rethinking the Introductory Course," Teaching
Sociology 10 (January): 153-168.
"So far as I can judge, not a lot of thought has been given to the basic aims and objectives of the introductory course in most departments. Insofar as they have been considered, it is usually assumed that the chief aims are (1) to acquaint students with the field of sociology and (2) to prepare them for further courses. In practice, this usually translates into a succession of brief, and necessarily superficial treatments of material from most of the specialized subdivisions of the discipline, plus a heavy dose of terminology. Sometimes a few sermons on the scientific method are thrown in for good measure.
My thesis is that the course needs to be conceived as an entity in its own right and one that provides a substantial intellectual challenge and payoff for hundreds of thousands of students who enroll in it but never take another course in sociology.
The trick is to start with a clearly defined set of issues of obvious importance and broad interest like those with which the founders once wrestled. These include questions about the nature of man, the nature of society, the relation between society and the individual, concerning histrorical transformations of societies, theory and practice of capitalism, and revolutionary socialism, about third world societies and the causes of their ills.
Top priority in macrosociology should be to help students escape the limitations imposed by the episodic, short term view of change propagated by mass media. Instructors should encourage students to look beyond their own society and beyond their own brief life span. They discover not only that the modern social and cultural revolution is worldwide but also that it is merely the latest phase in a process that began more than 10,000 years ago."
Lenski did not adequately justify returning to the issues with which the founders of the field wrestled. Is no progress being made? Are we stuck debating capitalism and socialism over and over again? Has no one come up with any better ideas? Though the statement seems stuck in the Cold War era, it makes a good case for global and historical sociology. The statement challenges us to consider how scientific methods should be introduced in introductory sociology, if not by heavy doses of jargon, and forced marches through specializations of sociology. At the end of this section, I present several working (teaching and learning) definitions of sociology around which introductory courses could be oriented.
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James
Davis 1983. "Five Well Established Research Results," Teaching
Sociology (January): 186-209.
"The average introductory course is superficial, unscientific, unduly eclectic, moralistic, thin in substance, boringly focused on antiquated concepts. I'm really glad I don't have to teach it."
This statement serves as a counter-inspiration for my collection. Davis is a privileged Harvard professor. Writing and speaking from that perch, Davis need not face up to the challenges of remedying the problems of which he complains. Kitchen crew sociologists at Slippery Rock A&M must face up to these challenges. Perhaps if lowly sociologists demonstrate they can do well at introducing sociology, Harvard sociologists will desist from putting on airs, and acknowledge that by introducing a field one may gain good ideas how to improve it.
Robert
Wood. 1983. "Conflict Theory as Pedagogy: A Critique from the Left,"
Teaching Sociology 10 (July): 463-485.
"In the last few years there has been a welcome shift in sociology texts away from the pretension of paradigm unity in sociology to a recognition -- and sometimes an embrace -- of paradigm diversity. However, much of the promise of the shift has been vitiated by the manner in which sociology texts characterize this diversity.
The result has come about by collapsing Marxism, the major critical alternative paradigm into an ultimately meaningless category -- that of conflict theory. A direct confrontation with Marx and the Marxian tradition constitutes a much superior pedagogical approach to paradigm diversity in sociology.
The chief arguments of the paper are: (1) the use of the conflict theory concept misinforms students about the nature of existing scholarly communities and the process by which theoretical and empirical work in sociology takes place; (2) conflict theory as defined by the textbooks does not show sufficient theoretical coherence to be called paradigm; (3) despite its claim to incorporate the legacy of Marx, the concept of conflict theory domesticates the critical thrust of Marxist theory; (4) viewing the challenge to mainstream sociology through the prism of conflict theory artificially separates intellectual developments in sociology from those in other social sciences; and (5) the historic irrelevance of the conflict theory concept bypasses opportunities to explore the interrelationships between social theory and social change."
This statement reveals how strongly some sociologists believe in the value of Marxism. None dare dilute its critical edge, or its humanistic splendor by treating it as if it is only one of many theories of its general type. Intellectually critical sociologists should inquire whether the views of the arch critic of capitalism, Marx are valid. They also should be concerned whether the Marxist ideas themselves are criticized in courses which feature Marxist or conflict theory. Does Marxist help explain the growth of professions and the so-called service industry in Western societies? Does it take into proper account the roles and powers of people as consumers, in contrast to producers of goods and services? Do Marxist sociologists pay attention to class dynamics of socialist societies, exploring whether people benefited on the whole from socialist revolutions, or suffered needless deaths and privations? Wood touts paradigm diversity in sociology. But what form of paradigm diversity is needed? What if more and more groups, following the general guidelines of conflict theory, claim to be oppressed peoples and that their perspective on society must be given academic credibility? Will sociology become more and more accurate, or more and more absurd?
I posit that class conflict politics and sociologies should be judged by their accuracy, and their fruits: a) for instance, do chapters regarding age stratification make a invalid case that older Americans suffer great deprivations at this juncture of history? do the chapters propose ways of resolving the tensions between the old and young, the social security dependants and the providers, or otherwise bringing age strata into greater harmony? b) whereas women and minorities have been taking advantage of affirmative action, is it true that all women and all minorities have suffered harms of reasonably equal magnitude, in history? by comparison, for example, with harms experienced by the males of particularly belligerent tribes and nations? c) when strife over abortion is portrayed politically as strife between men and women, will support for legalized abortion decline? Should one anticipate fanaticization of the abortion movements who quarrel over it? d) if contraceptive research concentrates almost entirely on female oriented contraception, will the anticipated consequences be epidemics of sexually transmitted diseases like Herpes? e) when families are made out to be mediums par excellence of class oppression, will this view of families destabilize the family institution? Will sociologists and others who condemn so called patriarchal families offer substitutes which are superior?
Suffice it to say that the sociology represented in this collection is NOT guided by the notion that either Marxists or exponents of other forms of class conflict theory have produced an impressive philosophy or a reliable body of knowledge with which to markedly improve the institutions of modern societies. Sociology should encourage people to visualize better alternatives but also require that the alternatives be evaluated in a cogent manner. I close with a quote from The Black Book of Communism, only one of several works which endeavors to explain why aggressive, uncompromising applications of Marxism, and class conflict theories in general have been very lethal in case after case:
"The manipulation of language was one of the most salient characteristics of Leninism, particularly in the decoupling of words from the reality they were supposed to represent, as part of an abstract vision of society in which people lost their real weight and presence and were treated as no more than pieces in a social and historical erector set. It was not human beings who were being killed, but "the bourgeois," "capitalists," or "enemies of the people."
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G.
Echel Mack. 1985. "Great Dead Sociologists and Felicity's Condition,"
Teaching Sociology (October): 61-69.
According to Mack, these are the central questions of sociology's founders, of interest today:
"(1) Why doesn't society fall apart? (2) Why history? (3) Why do people do as they are told? (4) Why did modern social order arise in Western Europe and not somewhere else?"
Intellectually critical sociologists ask whether societies do or do not fall apart. They do not assume there is a natural tendency to fall apart. We would take interest in other questions, parallel to the above: Do the civil wars which abounded in the post World War II era confirm that many societies are on the verge of collapse? Do those civil wars merely prove that nations borne of decolonization have poor prospects of survival? Intellectually critical sociologists should ask whether the question "why history?" is meaningful. They should balk at equating the social order which arose in Western Europe since 1700 with modernity. Is Canada not a modern social order? Or Japan? What should we make of civilizations that do not strive to modernize in the Western sense? Or that resist Western modernization?
Closing point: Judging from the quotations above and my commentary, sociologists disagree on many key points. They disagree whether the field should be scientific, whether it should strive to incorporate or determine limits of class conflict perspectives, whether it has value as an academic specialization or as a counterpoint to intellectual overspecialization, whether the leading figures in sociology advance ideas that warp or open human minds. This collection is intended to recognize scientific achievements and to provoke better scientific thought by instilling confidence that even sociology, with its poorly prepared undergraduates and tendencies to introduce pretentious and obscurantist jargon, can become a genuine social science of history.
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At the 1998 international conference on critical thinking at Sonoma State University, conference organizer Dr. Richard Paul suggested that educators develop working definitions of their fields for teaching purposes. The following are working definitions of sociology that were considered in the social science workshop at the conference, and that I collected thereafter. They contain key ideas around which, following Lenski's advice, we could build introductory sociology courses. As such, they can be themes of presentations, exams, and assignments.
a) Sociology is the disciplined observation and interpretation of varying patterns of human relations, events, and organizational structure for the purpose of understanding the origins of these patterns and anticipating and documenting their consequences.
b) Sociology is a study of the three R's of society: how relationships, roles, and rules shape human behavior.
I modify this definition to say sociology is the study of the five R's of society: how rankings, relationships, rituals or rivalries, roles, and rules shape human behavior.
c) Sociology is a discipline which assesses theoretical claims about society in light of scientific standards of logical and empirical validity. Sociologists study whether group ties and ideologies limit people's appreciation of their options, and of practical steps which could help them to attain worthwhile goals.
d) Sociology is systematic refinement of common sense and ideological beliefs about society to a point where they meet scientific standards.
e) Sociology is systematic comparison of the customs and organizations of civilizations for the purposes of understanding the socio-cultural nature of human behavior and placing the customs and organizations on a more rational and humane plane.
f) Sociology is the best means of addressing, and the best set of answers so far developed in response to the central questions of the field. In C. Wright Mills' judgement, these questions include: What is the structure of this society and how is it changing? What classes are emerging, what classes are fading, and how are people being liberated and suppressed by transformations in the structures of societies?
g) Sociology is continuing inquiry into issues of social significance. We inquire into issues of fact, interpretation, cause, responsibility, priority, etc.
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Wilson,
Everett K. Sociology: Scholarly Discipline or Profession? (Personal copy
held by Groth).
Wilson has helped lead the movement in sociology to revitalize college and university teaching. He co-authored Passing on Sociology. In this statement Wilson sets out how research and teaching can be tied together in general education programs.
Berger,
Peter. Sociology as a Passion to Understand (Personal copy held by Groth).
This selection from Invitation to Sociology (New York: Doubleday, 1963) has been reprinted many times in readers for introductory sociology courses. It promises that these courses will be adventuresome, demanding, and rewarding.
Berger,
Peter. 1992. "Sociology: a Disinvitation?" Society
(November/December): 12-18.
Though his Invitation to Sociology has been reprinted many times in introductory sociology readers, Peter Berger has become disillusioned with the field. In this article, Berger affirms the value of sociology well done, but challenges sociologists to reconsider the direction that the field has taken. Is sociology's political character, and the agenda of investigation permitted and rewarded in the field of scientific, intellectual and cultural value?
Mills,
C. Wright. 1956. The Sociological Imagination. Section entitled "The
Promise."
This selection has been featured in many introductory sociology readers. One pivotal theme is that sociology is a superior means of making public issues out of personal troubles.
Lundberg,
George. 1979. "Prescientific Thoughtways," From, Can Science
Save Us?
Initially published in 1946, after World War II, this chapter calls for developing social sciences parallel to natural sciences. The World Wars, genocides, and revolutions of the 20th century had proven that science could be used in odious ways. Theoretically, carnage of the type seen during this century might cease if humanity developed and adopted the logical, and empirical ways of thought that characterize good science, in connection with political and economic issues. Would Jews have been scapegoated for the German defeat in WWI and for Germany's economic tribulations in the 1920s, if Germans had objectively studied and honestly examined the causes of those events?
Ruggiero,
Vincent Ryan. 1996. A Guide to Sociological Thinking. Thousand
Oaks: Sage. Chapters 1 and 3.
One of the stated objectives of many college programs is to foster critical thinking, or to improve proficiency in thinking. Ideally, sociology courses would contribute to this goal. In these chapters, Ruggiero states how good sociology can improve our thinking about issues of fact, interpretation, cause, responsibility, effect, ethics, and priorities. Many of the articles presented below address those issues either directly, or in passing.
Epstein,
Helen. 1998. "Life and Death on the Social Ladder," New York
Review of Books (July 16): 26-30.
One working definition of sociology is a study of how rankings, relationships, rituals and rivalries,les, and rules shape human behavior and prospects. This article illustrates how markedly social class affects our prospects of health and illness, and for full lives.
Krull,
Catherine, and Frank Travato. 1994. "The Quiet Revolution and the Sex
Differential in Quebec's Suicide Rates: 1931-1986," Social Forces
72 (4): 1121-1147.
Many introductory sociology texts introduce figures who pioneered the field and/or launched it in universities. Emile Durkheim is an example. Through study of suicide, he demonstrated that even apparently solitary and anti-social behaviors have distinctive social patterns and social explanations. In reinventing sociology, we examine whether patterns similar to those demonstrated by the founders occur today. This article is a very good illustration of how late 20th century sociologists build on the insights of the founders. It would have to be simplified for undergraduate use.
Clarke,
Ronald and Pat Mayhew. 1989. "Crime as Opportunity: A Note on
Domestic Gas Suicide in Britain and the Netherlands," British
Journal of Criminology 29 (Winter): 35-46.
This article uses less difficult mathematics than Krull's and Trovato's; yet it concisely illustrates how sociologists refine the work of the founders. The article is based on case studies of effects of detoxification of the domestic gas supplies in England, Scotland, and the Netherlands upon suicide rates. Residents of the three areas adjusted to this same environmental change in distinct ways--some curtailing suicide, some committing it in a different mix of ways. In the Netherlands, the rates went up after this form of suicide was eliminated through detoxification.
McDougall,
Walter. 1996. "What Johnny Still Won't Know About History," Commentary
(July): 32-36.
One common definition of sociology is: the science of history. Whatever their prior preparations in history, American students are better prepared to study sociology if they are informed how the lessons they have been taught about history are chosen by authors and textbook selection committees, and how the lessons may change. McDougall's article reflects an ongoing debate among American historians and other well educated Americans about what American history should be written for instructing students. By following this debate students learn what we do and do not learn about history, due to the editorializing of opinion leaders and commercial publishers.
Harvard
Study Team. 1994. "The Effect of the Gulf War on the Children of
Iraq," New England Journal of Medicine 325: 977-981.
In general education courses, students should know how fields relate to one another. Sociologists share the humanitarian interests and outlook of people in other fields, and take interest in their reports. In this statement, humanitarian physicians report the impact of use of high technological weapons in the 1991 Gulf War.
Amnesty
International. Historical Aspects of Torture. in Radzinowicz and Wolfgang,
Crime and Justice. Vol. 2. 2nd edition. New York: Basic Books.
In a presidential address 20 years ago, sociologist William Goode called upon sociologists to pay more attention to how violence is used to enforce political and economic order. In some cases, torture is used. This article covers the ways in which people are vulnerable to torture, and how those vulnerabilites are exploited.
Wilson,
K. B. "Refugees, Displaced Persons, and Returnees in South Africa,"
from Cambridge World Survey of Migration, edited by Robin Cohen.
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
This article addresses issues of homelessness on a global plane. By comparison to these problems, is American homelessness a very serious problem? Judging from this work,what might sociologists mean when they say people are creatures of their societies?
Geertz,
Clifford. 1997. "The New Psychology," New York Review of
Books XLIV (April 10): 22-24.
The article shows how social science fields develop and change. At present, fields change as leading members become enthusiastic about this or that trend in academic and political thought and philosophy. These trends percolate down from universities where prestigious academics work, and down the administrative hierarchies of universities. This review is particularly useful to sociologists who would like to show that the behavior of psychologists, who concentrate on individual behavior, can be shaped by such social trends and enthusiasms.
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Douglas,
Jack. 1992. "Betraying Scientific Truth," Society
(November/December): 78-82. Do scientists rally to the cause of truth,
when the chips are down?
Ruggiero,
Vincent Ryan. 1996. A Guide to Sociological Thinking. Thousand
Oaks: Sage. Chapters 1 and 3.
Although this item is mentioned above in section I, it bears repeating in a set of readings that cover outlooks and methods of sociology. According to many college assessment programs today, college education should improve students' thinking skills, in every field of study. How does this maxim apply in sociology? The selections from Ruggiero set out in a concise and pointed manner how good sociological thinking differs from everyday thinking about social issues.
Ash,
Timothy Garton. 1998. "The Truth about Dictatorship," New
York Review of Books (February 19): 35-40.
Ash discusses what has been found in the files of dictatorial governments after they have disintegrated. It shows how reluctant scholars and opinion makers may be to investigate and to disclose the grimmer aspects of dictatorship and thought control. Reading the article might motivate citizens of democratic societies to inquire whether organizations with which they are affiliated engage in dictatorial behavior. They might also inquire into what personnel files, credit files, law enforcment files, medical files, etc., contain. Posing such questions should open up many issues about how information should be gathered and used in an information rich society.
Gibbs,
W. Wayt. 1996. "The Price of Silence," Scientific American
(November): 15-16.
Interesting discussion of whether customs of private enterprise interefere with scientific development. The article states that openess and sharing of ideas are very important scientific norms, whilst secrecy is a central norm of private enterprise. This article sheds somewhat novel light on present debates about the connections between science, social structure, and ethical norms.
Rothman,
David. 1998. "The New International Organ Traffic," New York
Review of Books (March 26, 1998): 14-17.
Chapters of introductory textbooks concerning methods advise us to use so called traces to discover and document social patterns. Several interesting and alarming patterns of inequality are revealed by investigations of trade in human organs, which may rely on trace evidence.
Braun,
Stephen. 1996. " New Experiments Underscore Warnings on Maternal
Drinking," Science 273 (9 August): 738-739.
During the 1950s through 1970s, social scientists worked hard at developing scales of opinions, attitudes, and behaviors. These are used by non social scientists to measure problematic behavior. But are the scales genuine scientific instruments? Based on field experiences, would we use the scales of alcoholic beverage consumption on which these investigators rely? Have the scales any room for group behavior, symbolic meanings of drinking, and other social dimensions of use of alcoholic beverages? This article can be used to prompt inquiry into what forms of scales might be used to measure use of alcohol in social contexts: competitive uses, uses to express solidarity, etc..
Butler,
W.E. 1992. "Crime in the Soviet Union," British Journal of
Criminology 32 (Spring): 144-159.
According to the abstract of this article: "In the late 1980s the Soviet Union published official statistics on crime for the first time in six decades." Information that is gathered about social issues may not be released to the public. In the U.S., private security organizations and their corporate employers may refuse to disclose incidents of crime. This article shows how and why leaders of a Marxian state refused to divulge information about criminality. What did we learn when the information became available, in conjunction with an anti-communist revolution? What might other changes of power, in other societies, reveal about government criminality and criminality among citizens?
Hyman,
Steven. 1996. "Shaking Out the Cause of Addiction," Science
273 (2 August): 611- 612.
Good discussion of the meaning and causes of addictions. It shows how operational definitions come into play in natural and social science investigations.
Sarvis,
Betty, and Hyman Rodman. "Partisan Psychiatry." From The
Abortion Controversy. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1974).
Often, groups complain about biases and incompetence in interpretation of human behavior. In this chapter, Sarvis and Rodman track down biases in psychiatric theories of the psychic consequences of abortion.
Davis,
L.J. 1997. "The Encyclopedia of Insanity," Harper's
(February): 61-66.
Since 1915, the number of behaviors classified as mental disorders has grown by leaps and bounds. Is this expansion of psychology and psychiatry based upon firm logical and scientific foundations? Davis' article is an irreverant critique of clinical diagnoses of human behavior by psychologists and psychiatrists. When we judge the behaviors from the standpoint of cultural values and norms of varius civilizations, are they really so bizarre, or frightening?
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Gilbert,
Neil. 1994. "Miscounting Social Ills," Society
(March/April): 18-26.
Many social movements complain about defects in official statistics of social problems, so generate alternative measures. These alternatives measures help them dramatize political grievances with laws, regulations, enforcement policies, etc.. This article contains searching criticism of the portraits social scientists have drawn of a variety of social issues through unofficial surveys and studies.
Dertouzos,
Michael, Rich Lester, and Robert Solow. 1989. Made in America.
Cambridge: MIT Press. Chapters: Emerging Patterns of Best Industrial
Practice, The Automobile Industry.
Certain sociologists concentrate attention upon the corporate, organized behavior of humanity. In this article, a team of natural and social scientists compares how industrial production is organized in different countries; the article shows how sophisticated social scientists use data in building pictures of how organizations operate.
Fallows,
James. "What is an Economy For?" Atlantic Monthly
(January 1994)
Sociology has been playing "catch up" with economics, trying to develop social indicators of well being that match those produced in economic analyses. Nevertheless, sociology students should ask how good are the economic indicators. The first step in the quest for good measures of economic performance is examining what purposes economies, etc. should serve. Fallows' is a well-written examination of this subject.
Smil,
Vaclav. "How Rich Is China?" Current History
(September): 265-269.
Doing social science research may mean piecing together fragments of information about a subject into a bigger picture. In this article, an expert deciphers evidence of wealth and poverty in the world's largest nation.
Henderson,
Hazel. 1996. "What's Next in the Great Debate about Measuring Wealth
and Progress?" Challenge (November/December): 50-57.
The title of this article pinpoints the subject. The article summarizes the thinking of a contemporary expert on measuring wealth and progress.
Cobb,
Clifford, Ted Halstead, Johnathan Rowe. 1995. "If the GDP is Up, Why
is America Down?" Atlantic Monthly (October): 59-78.
This article addresses many of the same issues as Henderson's; it was written for a larger audience. Students might compare the two to determine if, how much these experts agree. Thus could they execute key steps in review of a literature.
Miringhoff,
Marc and Marque-Louisa Miringhoff. 1995. "America's Social Health:
The Nation's Need to Know," Challenge (September/October):
19-24.
The authors appraise America's social health using non economic indicators of well being. Thus, their work is an interesting application of socio-economic indexes, one key product of the development of social sciences.
Katz,
Jay. 1996. "The Nuremburg Trial: A Reappraisal," Journal of
the American Medical Association (November 27): 1662-1666.
Most chapters of introductory sociology textbooks concerning social science methodology touch on ethics of social science research. U.S. federal efforts to promote better research ethics in clinical and social sciences have been counter-inspired by the mad science practiced by German scientists under Hitler, and by various forms of abuse of subjects by American, Japanese, and Soviet scientists. In this article, a noted ethicist questions whether ethical standards developed to prevent a reoccurence of mad science improve the ethics of scientists today.
Editorials.
1997. "The Ethics of Clinical Research in the Third World," New
England Journal of Medicine 337: 847-851.
This discussion covers studies of treatments of AIDS in Africa. If any, what treatments should be made offered to the control, or comparison group? As "beneficence" is an ethical principle in treatment of human subjects, this study may be judged by whether it genuinely benefited the subjects.
Espanshade,
Thomas. 1995. "Unauthorized Immigration to the United States,"
Annual Review of Sociology 21: 195-216.
Through good scientific studies, knowledge about policy issues should cumulate. This implies that as social scientists appraise the rationale and effect of the policies from various theoretical standpoints, national policies should improve. Is this model applied, and working in connection with unauthorized immigration?
Etzioni,
Amatai. 1999. "Identification Cards in America," Society
36 (July/August): 70-76.
A scientific and communitarian society may be one in which people openly share information about themselves in the interest of building mutual confidence. Are identification cards used in that manner in the U.S.? Big Questions and Concepts in Sociology: Structure, Interaction, Rationalization, Development, Market, Culture
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Wiarda,
Howard. 1987. "Ethnocentrism and Third World Development," Society
(September/October): 55-64.
We understand both the meaning and the limits of cultural practices of different societies by observing what happens when one nation tries to spread its culture to others. Wiarda examines whether other nations would benefit from the introduction of such American practices as organized family planning, and resolving disputes through lawsuits.
Harris,
Marvin. 1974. "Explaining the Pig Taboo," and "India's
Sacred Cow" from Harris' Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches. New
York: Random House.
A leading anthropologist traces the shrouded origins of various dietary taboos. He proposes ecological and functional theories of those taboos.
Sowell,
Thomas. 1991. "A World View of Cultural Diversity," Society
(November/December): 37-44.
Multiculturalism and cultural diversity are the most commonly used terms in modern discussions of differences among civilizations. Please explore these "diversities" through the eyes of an American iconoclast.
Notzon,
Frances. 1990. "International Differences in Obstetric Interventions,"
Journal of the American Medical Association 263 (June 27):
3286-3291.
This is a well-researched article on why obstetric practices may change drastically in a few decades, and why nations differ widely in obstetric practices.
Norberg-Hodge,
Helena. 1996. "Break up the Monoculture," The Nation
(July 15/22, 1996).
A concise and incisive critique of present efforts by multinational corporations and enthusiasts of globalization in effect to create a homogenized world.
Lovins,
Amory, and L. Hunter Lovins. 1995. "Reinventing the Wheels,"
Atlantic Monthly (January)): 75-86.
This article envisions how a new culture of transportation, which respects limits of fossil fuels and other natural resources, might arise and evolve.
Clifton,
James. 1990. "Inventing Indians," Society 27 (May/June):
19-28.
Clifton prods us to consider whether our images of American natives are products of realistic inquiry into the behavior and organization of native societies. Are these images of natives myths that satisfy 20th century American political and cultural needs?
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These articles address an important component of the culture of civilizations--how people feed themselves. Historically, humans have devoted a great deal of their time and effort to this task. A great many of the people of the world remain heavily involved in the task of feeding themselves. Sociologists of the last two centuries consider what happens when humans, whose cultures developed over centuries of exploiting the natural environment move to cities where people constitute a greater part of the "environment" of social activity.
Harlan,
Jack. 1976. "The Plants and Animals that Nourish Man," Scientific
American 235 (September): 88-97.
One key concept in the study of culture is "channelization of drives." This article reflects how different peoples channeled their hunger drive. Perhaps as civilizations evolve they become overly dependent upon relatively few foods. The restriction of food production and consumption can be explained in terms of several socio-economic theories.
Powledge,
Fred. 1995. "The Food Supply's Safety Net," Bioscience
45 (April): 235-243.
Powledge shows how bioscientists try to offset the tendencies of civilizations to reduce biodiversity by oversimplifying diets and food production.
Tuxill,
John. 2000. "The Biodiversity that People Made," World-Watch
(May-June): 25-35.
This article follows up Harlan's and Powledge's above, presenting interesting details about domestication of crops worldwide, the history of efforts to ensure biodiversity among plants humans use for food, and current threats to biodiversity of the food plants.
Eberstadt,
Nick. 1979. "Has China Failed?" New York Review of Books.
(April 5, 1979).
During the 20th century, China has had several revolutions. Agrarian reforms were a central part of the Maoist revolution. This article examined whether the Maoist agrarian reforms succeeded in reducing the ancient scourge of hunger.
Prosterman,
Roy et al. 1996. "Can China Feed Itself?" Scientific
American (November): 80-96.
This article follows up Eberstadt's. Now that China's leadership is decidedly non- Maoist, have the Chinese better prospects of conquering hunger?
Lane,
Sylvia. 1995. "The United States Food Policy," American
Journal of Agricultural Economics 77 (December): 1096-1109.
Lane assesses the coverage and quality of U.S. food programs: food stamps, school nutrition, etc.. Reading the article could spark further inquiry into why a nation with a large GNP and a historic cheap food production policy would have so many hungry and poorly nourished people.
Caswell,
Julie A. 1992. "Current Information Levels on Food Labels," American
Journal of Agricultural Economics 74 (December): 1196-1201.
This article presents a concise overview of food labelling standards in an era of highly commercialized food production. How have the standards evolved? Are the standards observed in markets for food?
Marshall,
Eliot. "USDA Food Survey Riddled with Flaws," Science
(20 September 1991).
In this news item, Marshall reports how social scientists join hands with nutritionists in evaluating Americans' diets. What do we and do we not find out about Americans' diets through social science studies?
Bray,
Francesca. 1994. "Agriculture for Developing Nations," Scientific
American (July): 30-37.
This article shows that non Western agricultural practices might prove very valuable in meeting tomorrow's challenges of feeding the world's hungry people.
1993
UN World Economic Survey Famine. Section VI.
This section discusses what famines reveal about reasons for malnutrition, and about solutions to problems of chronic malnutrition.
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Watson,
James. 1992. "Hemorrhage or Godsend," Ceres 137: 32-37.
In Western nations, development has meant abandonment of farming, and mass movement to cities. This article and the following group explore what happens to rural life when nations largely abandon peasant farming in the name of socio-economic development.
Gillman,
John and Thomas Pawlick. 1992. "Not Exactly Nirvana," Ceres
137: 25-27.
Patera, Virginia. 1992. "A Stillness in the Fields," Ceres 137: 27-31.
The above two articles trace consequences of the mechanization of agriculture and other reforms which reduce the agricultural population in the name of human progress.
Maurer-Fazio,
Margaret. 1995. "Building a Labor Market in China," Current
History (September): 285-289.
The authors show that new classes are emerging in China, now that it has taken a capitalist path of development. Is the transition from collective farm brigade laborers, to privatized farmers, or itinerant manufacturing and construction laborers any more or less painful than parallel transitions that took place in other nations?
Koo,
Hagan. 1990. "From Farm to Factory: Proletarianization in Korea,"
American Sociological Review 55 (October): 669-681.
Koo's is a thorough sociological study of how vast numbers of South Koreans proletarianized in recent history and how they respond to the experience.
Martin,
Philip and Alan Olmstead. 1985. "The Agricultural Mechanization
Controversy," Science 227 (8 February): 601-606.
The authors appraise sociological criticism of one western model of agricultural development--mechanization. Granted that mechanization may mean elimination of stoop labor, what else does it mean?
Krebs,
A.V. 1992. The Corporate Reapers. Washington D.C.: Essentials
Books.
Excerpts of this book contain scathing indictments of American food policy. The title itself suggests that taxpayers and government are farmed to provide financial support for a system that does not effectively deliver food to people.
Lappe,
Frances and Joseph Collins. 1977. Food First. New York:
Ballantine.
This is one of several works in which Lappe and/or Collins challenge common ideas about food, like that production would have to be expanded to better meet the needs of hungry people. This work makes especially stimulating reading in an era in which presidents and pundits alike call for expanding world trade. If the hungry people of the world are to be fed, do we instead need land reform and production of food for local farmer's markets?
Data
Sheets. FAO reports on imports and exports.
Who produces and who buys food? These reports follow up themes of the previous section. They address whether globalization of food trade will benefit the most needy peoples of the world.
Critzer,
Greg. 2000. "Let Them Eat Fat," Harper's (March): 41-47.
This is a harsh but stimulating critique of fast food in America. Critzer asks who constitutes the market for fast food, and who therefore suffers from its shortcomings.
Brown,
Lester. 1999. "Feeding Nine Billion," Chapter 9, State of
the World 1999. New York: W.W. Norton.
This is a concise overview by a noted environmentalist of the challenges of feeding the people of the 21st Century It addresses the potential of the green and blue revolutions to meet demands for food.
McGinn,
Anne Platt. 1998. "Promoting Sustainable Fisheries," Chapter 4,
State of the World 1998. New York: W.W. Norton.
Between 1950 and 1985, world fish catch increased roughly fourfold. The chapter covers concerns about resource depletion, access to fishing grounds, and historic conflicts between open access ideals and exclusive rights to fish as exercised by ecologically responsible fishing groups.
Stonich,
Susan and Conner Bailey. 2000. "Resisting the Blue Revolution:
Contending Coalitions Surrounding Industrial Shrimp Farming," Human
Organization (Spring): 23- 36.
According to the authors, shrimp aquaculture is the fastest growing form of aquaculture, and is a next step in the blue revolution. Will this revolution benefit the better off, at the expense of those whose diets most need improvement? This article covers how international Organizations build industrial shrimping.
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World
Development Report 1996. From Plan to Market.
Ch. 4 Property Rights and Enterprise Reform.
Ch. 5 Legal Institutions and the Rule of Law.
These chapters use social science concepts to trace what specific changes are introduced as societies strive for prosperity by following capitalist paths of development. Developing free markets involves far more than preaching the virtues of allowing supplies of products to adjust to demand and vice versa, using price mechanisms. Developing markets means developing legal institutions, etc., through which contracts are arranged and enforced.
Pempel,
T.J. 1998. "Japan's Search for a New Path," Current History
(December): 431-436.
For almost a decade, Paul Kennedy's "Preparing for the 21st Century" was featured as the lead article in Global Studies readers. When Japan faltered the article was dropped. The failure to continue publishing the article demonstrates a lack of appreciation of what may be gained from articles that mispredict history. Yes, Kennedy treated Japan as an economic leader and model for the Asian tigers. This article examines why Japan faltered. Using the article, we may discover why Kennedy's predictions of a bright Asian future were not fulfilled.
Wade,
Robert. 1998. "The Asian Crisis and the Global Economy: Causes,
Consequences, and Cure," Current History (November): 361-363.
The article is a good companion to Wade's. Wade offers a second opinion about causes of the economic crisis in Asia. Through the article, we can see whether experts offer reliable diagnoses of such problems. We can also see and imagine how they would evaluate articles like Paul Kennedy's, mentioned above.
Binyan,
Liu and Perry Link. 1998. "A Great Leap Backward," New York
Review of Books (October 8): 19-23.
One of the more interesting political and economic patterns of the late twentieth century has been the adoption of capitalist models of development by nations presently or formerly ruled by communist parties. The article covers what kind of socio-economic changes were introduced in China, and the long term prospects of success.
Nader,
Ralph. 1976. (Excerpts) Taming the Giant Corporation. New York:
Norton. Ch. VII. Corporate Monopoly: Failure in the Market Place.
This chapter applies social science concepts in analyzing the nature and dangers of corporate organization of the American economy.
1990
UN Economic Survey. The International Oil Market.
This report applies social science concepts in analyzing trade in the single most important fuel of the modern age. How did nations respond to the vast increases and decreases of oil prices between 1972 and 1987?
Chalabi,
Fadhil. 1997-98. "OPEC: An Obituary," Foreign Policy
(Winter) 126-140.
This is an account of the rise and fall of the OPEC cartel, which was only the latest in a series of international associations that has sought to control oil production and pricing. OPEC oil revenues fell to $77 billion in 1986 from $283 billion in 1980. How did this drastic drop come about?
Weidenbaum,
Murray. 1996. "American Isolationism versus the Global Economy,"
Society (May/June): 54-58.
By an influential American economist, this article advocates getting aboard the trend toward global manufacturing and trade in goods and services. By reading it, sociologists identify who supports this trend, for what reasons. Clearly written, it lends itself to critique and counter-argument.
Mander,
Jerry. 1996. "The Dark Side of Globalism," The Nation
(July 15-22): 8-14.
The writer is not nearly as enthusiastic about globalism as Mr. Weidenbaum's. Clearly written also, Mander's argument lends itself to critique and counter-argument.
Knor,
Martin. 1996. "Colonialism Redux," The Nation (July
15-22): 18-20.
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Many of the nations that are being urged to join the global economy were colonies of European countries only 50 years ago. Will globalism be a form of neo-colonialism?
Davis,
David. 1996 "At the Heart of Slavery," The New York Review
of Books (October 17): 51-54.
Whereas many sociologists anticipate that economic development will entail proletarianization, many nations and regions have developed historically by using slave labor (Brazil, Trinidad, Cuba, the southern states of the U.S., etc.). The article fills gaps in theories of development that concentrate upon European industrialization.
Ide,
Thomas and Arthur Cordell. 1994. "Automating Work," Society
(September/October): 65-71.
What is meant by automation? Who pushes for it, with what consequences for the work forces?
Katz,
Lawrence. 1994. Interview: Labor's Past and Future, Challenge
(September/October): 18-25.
This article discusses how the U.S. union movement rose and fell.
Lipset,
S. M. 1986. Unions in Transition. (San Francisco: Institute for
Contemporary Studies Press). Ch. 4 Leo Troy.
Robert Michels coined the term the "iron law of oligarchy" in explaining why groups of labor leaders captured, held, and passed on leadership among themselves. After decades of struggle, American unions are far more democratic than they were in the hey day of John L. Lewis. Do unions surive, or flourish after democratizing?
Berger,
Suzanne et al. 1989. "Toward a New Industrial America," Scientific
American (June): 39-47.
Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, wrote that the U.S. blue collar labor force is doomed to extinction. Not so, argues a distinguised team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology scholars. While American manufacturing and construction may be re engineered, it is unlikely to fade away. Whose theory of the economic future of developed nations is more plausible?
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In this section, the citations cover subjects which at first glance may not seem to hang together. I include materials concerning AIDS because that is the topic that is covered in Ferrante's chapter on interaction in her Introductory Sociology text.
Castles,
Stephen. Contract Labor Migration. From The Cambridge Survey of World
Migration, mentioned above.
This article shows how international markets for labor can be organized. It presents details of how the labor market functions that are most unlikely to be found in the theoretical writings, and mathematical equations that are published in today's journals of professional economics.
Ehrenberg,
Ronald G. 1994. Labor Markets and Integrating National Economies.
Washington: Brookings Intitute. Chapters 4 and 6, concerning standards of
employment.
This article presents concise accounts how nations try to maintain labor standards despite powerful globalizing forces that erode the ability of any nation or any labor movement that is based in one country to establish labor standards.
Abella,
Manolo. "Asian Migrants and Contract Workers in the Middle East,"
also from The Cambridge Survey of World Migration.
Abella shows how the oil super powers contract with Asian workers to operate oil fields and to provide comforts of life to oil wealthy peoples.
Krugman,
Paul. 1993. "The Strategic Traders," ch. 10 of Peddling
Prosperity.
Krugman critiques arguments and proposals for broadening international trade.
Anderson,
Sarah, et al. 1996. "NAFTA: Trinational Fiasco," The Nation
(July 15-22)
This is a case study of the origins and consequences of a trade agreement.
Fishman,
Ted. 1997. "The Joys of Global Investment," Harper's
(February): 35-42.
Fishman examines what happens to citizens when nations adopt new market models of development. These are promoted by "not only the U.S. government, but all those institutions and networks of opinion leaders centered in the world's de facto capital--the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, think tanks, politically sophisticated investment bankers, world finance ministers."
"The
Sobering Geography of AIDS," Science 252 (19 April 1991):
372-373.
Ferrante's Global Sociology text features a discussion of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. This article places the epidemic in broader context, indicating also how serious it had become in different nations.
"Uncertainties
and Excesses," Science 242: 232-234. Review of Fumento's The
Myth of Heterosexual AIDS.
As witness Randy Shilts' And The Band Played On, the American AIDS epidemic has brought forth many new politics of illness. In an effort to ward off further condemnation of homosexual males and intravenous drug users, certain health authorities have aggressively promoted the idea that American heterosexuals are quite vulnerable, also, to AIDS. Others treat this idea as part of a delusive campaign of "AIDSPEAK" which prevents objective assessment of the risks of the disease. This article shows how one member of the scientific community, selected to review the book by a prestigious journal of science, responds to the complaint that the threat of AIDS to American heterosexuals has been trumped up politically.
Johnson,
Diane, and John Murray. 1988. "AIDS Without End," New York
Review of Books (August 18).
This is a review of two highly competent works on the American AIDS epidemic. Since Ferrante argues that the African AIDS epidemic or epidemics reflect a breakdown in African society, one might ask whether the same theory holds true for American society.
Mann,
Johnathan et al. 1992. AIDS in the World. Chapter 13, "AIDS
and Human Rights."
This chapter contains a very determined argument that all nations should adopt a human rights approach to the AIDS epidemic, modifying traditional public health approaches. Regretably, it does not discuss whether all nations have the capacity to mount much of a public health response. By utilizing this excellent compendium of rules about AIDS in different societies, students of the late 1990s and early 2000s should be able to tell if the seriousness of the toll of AIDS has been affected by whether contact tracing, and other public health efforts to contain transmission of the disease were effective, bycomparison to policies which stressed human rights.
Caldwell,
John C. 2000. "Rethinking the AIDS epidemic in Africa," Population
and Development Review 26 (March): 117-125.
This is an overview of anthropological and sociological studies, and also good news reporting on the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
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Reich,
Robert. 1992. The Work of Nations. Three Jobs of the Future. The
New Web of Enterprise. New York: Vintage Books.
Reich's is an ambitious book. Its title parallels The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith. Reich argues that new forms of corporate organization of work are emerging. Who will play what roles in this new economy? Reading between the lines, one might conclude that the new globalized corporate leaders will be graduates of Harvard schools of business and law. They will collaborate with computer technologists in engineering, etc.. Is Reich's vision of connecting the legal, managerial, and symbolic analytic talent of Americans with the inexpensive labor of peoples of Mexico, Brazil, India, China, etc., brilliantly inspired, or exploitative and warped?
Cohen,
Stephen and John Zysman. 1987. "The Myth of a Post-Industrial
Economy," Technology Review (February-March): 55-60, 62.
This article anticipated, and also challenges Reich's thesis. Perhaps the production of quality products cannot be parcelled out among nations as Prof. Reich writes.
1991
World Economic Survey. New York: United Nations. "Some Economic
Aspects of Military Expenditure."
This article revisits and updates work on military industrial complexes. Does spending on international security warp development, and throttle needed change?
Marshall,
Eliot and Joseph Palca. 1992. Science News. "Cracks in the
Ivory Tower," Science 257 (28 August): 1196-1201.
How do university based scientists adjust to changes in federal funding priorities? This article shows what forces drive the research priorities of modern higher education. In that regard, universities have helped to drive military and economic reform.
Kennedy,
Paul. "Preparing for the 21st Century: Winners and Losers." from
Global Issues.
This article has been reprinted in several consecutive editions of Global Issues, the Annual Editions series for global studies. Kennedy presents and interprets much information about 20th century changes in the socio-economic ranks of nations in global society.
Henderson,
David. 1995. "Economic 'Miracles,'" Society
(September/October): 59-67.
Henderson compares neighboring countries that did and did not succeed at socio-economic development. Do the case studies back Kennedy's theory of development?
Holm,
John. 1994. "Botswana: One African Success Story," Current
History (May): 199-202.
If most other Sub Saharan African nations have faltered, why does this one succeed? Does Botswana's exeptional success confirm Kennedy's theory?
Ritzer,
George. 1996. The McDonaldization of Society. Thousand Oaks, CA.:
Pine Forge Press. Ch. 5, "Predictability," and Ch. 7, "The
Irrationality of Rationality."
In chapter after chapter, Ritzer questions the model of rationality which underlies much socio-economic development of enterprise in the United States.
Zuboff,
Shoshana. 1988. In the Age of the Smart Machine. New York: Basic
Books. Chapter entitled New Worlds of Computer Mediated Work.
While many American wax enthusiastic about the computer mediated work world of the future, Zuboff patiently explored what computer mediated work means to workers whose jobs have become computer mediated, and whether computer mediation really helps produce better and more saleable services and products.
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Stevenson,
Harold. 1992. "Learning from Asian Schools," Scientific
American (December): 70-76.
Could American youth do as well or better in school than Japanese or Taiwanese youth? Stevenson presents an interesting theory why American students tend not to do as well as their Asian counterparts on standardized tests of achievement.
Dertouzos
et al. 1989. Made in America. Cambridge: MIT Press. Chapter
entitled "Neglect of Human Resources."
MIT authors show how nations other than the United States train and retrain their work forces, with a variety of blends of private and public education.
Finn,
Chester. 1997. "Learning Free Zones," Policy Review
(September/October): 34ff.
This article continues a series in which Mr. Finn criticizes American education for its "mediocrity" and for being "awash in faddish innovations that regularly sweep through the profession like tropical storms." It is a revealing expression of discontent with both politics and pedagogy as usual in America's educational system.
Oppenheimer,
Todd. 1997. "Computer Delusions," The Atlantic Monthly
(July).
The article could be contrasted with Finn's "Learning Free Zones." The current educational fad of computer instruction has been funded to the tune of $50 billion during the 1990s? Will any more come of this enthusiasm than of previous enthusiasms for improving American education through the use of technology?
Nisbet,
Robert. 1971. "The Future of the University," Commentary
(February): 62-71.
This article contains a revealing structural-functionalist analysis of American universities as they passed through the 1960s/1970s period of student and faculty discontent. The article remains a good stimulus for inquiry into the functions of modern universities and how they relate to other institutions. Where are liberal arts and general education among the priorities of American colleges and universities?
Bernstein,
Richard. 1995. The Dictatorship of Virtue. Chapter 9 "The
Battle of Texas," New York: Vintage.
Provides backing to some Americans' complaints about "political correctness" in modern higher education. Have we academic freedom only to agree with professors who think they have a corner on virtue?
"Michael
Milken has Lessons to Teach." New York Times article
(10/16/93).
This article covers the courses Mr. Milken (once severely fined and imprisoned for financial manipulation of stock markets) has taught for the UCLA School of Business. Reading this article might prompt us to question whether professors teach economically "incorrect" ideas, and if students of business courses earnestly desire to be taught how to become rich by a figure who has repeatedly been convicted of frauds. It could be usedas a case study in how criminal behavior is learned, in parallel to non-criminal behavior.
Press,
Eyal and Jennifer Washburn. 2000. "The Kept University," The
Atlantic Monthly (March): 39-54.
This article is a very sharp and incisive critique of trends in financing universities, and the implications of private financing of university research. The central thesis is that the more universities adopt corporate models of organization, and seek financing from corporations, the less freedom there will be for scientists to exchange ideas and thereby make scientific and intellectual progress.
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Fishman,
Ted C. 1998. "Up in Smoke," Harper's (November): 37-46.
Sociologists promise to keep abreast of emerging forms of deviance. This article covers deviance which accompanied the great bull market on Wall Street, during which the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased more than ten fold. Have irresponsible, high pressure sales tactics figured in this boom?
Godson,
Roy, and William Olson. 1995. "International Organized Crime,"
Society (January/ February): 18-29.
This article is based on thorough investigation of the nature and functions of organized crime in various nations, and of the globalization of organized crime.
Leiken,
Robert S. 1996-97. "Controlling the Global Corruption Epidemic,"
Foreign Policy 105 (Winter): 55-73.
As pressures grow to globalize manufacturing and service industry through free trade, etc., questions arise whether new ground rules are needed for international trade. This article covers political payoffs to permit or expedite commerce. Are such payoffs, and demands for such payoffs endemic in any of the economies among which enthusiasts of global integration hope to establish commercial ties?
Bolton,
John R. 1999. "The Global Prosecutors," Foreign Policy
(January/February): 157-164.
Interesting article by a former high level state department official about prosecuting war criminals. The author attacks the idea of world courts for war crimes as utopian, and argues that international criminal laws lack a constitutional framework which defines governmental authority, and political accountability including popular control of the creation and interpretation of laws and law enforcement policy. The author's objective evidently was to stonewall the idea politically, whether or not Americans had put it into practice after WWII.
Ignatieff,
Michael. 1999. "Human Rights in Midlife Crisis," New York
Review of Books (May 20): 58-62.
This article is somewhat skeptical of human rights arguments, but present a much more subtle argument than Bolton's about the origins and prospects of building and enforcing international criminal law, including war crimes law.
Manning,
Michael. 1998. "The Blue Revolution," New York Review of
Books (November 19): 32-36.
Sociologists have doubted that law enforcement reduces criminality. This article examines whether law enforcement policies account for the reduction in homicide which is being reported in New York and other large American cities. What other hypotheses could account for the change?
Buruma,
Ian. 1998. "Down and Out in East Tokyo," New York Review of
Books (June 25): 9-14.
The title leads readers into an interesting account of who constitutes the underclass of Japanese society. and why. Also featured is an interesting recent history of the debate over the legality of prostitution in Japan. Have eastern cultures a different outlook on this activity than others? Can we explain the differences cogently?
Szasz,
Thomas. 1977. The Manufacture of Madness. Preface, Introduction,
and Ch. 12.
This is a very harsh critique of the mental health movement, and the use of mental health concepts to deal with deviant behaviors. Ordinarily, introductory readers feature "Being Sane in Insane Places." That study is illuminating, and also of worth in teaching critical thinking. Szasz's chapters offer more varied examples and contain subtle, in depth analyses of mental problems and problems of living.
Grob,
Gerald. 1996. "The Paradox of Deinstitutionalization," Society
(July/August): 51-59.
This article raises many interesting questions about the recent deinstitutionalization of mental patients in the United States. Whereas Szasz and his followers might have welcomed deinstitutionalization, had Americans good ideas how to cope with the behavior of physically ill and/or mentally disordered people outside asylum walls?
McCarthy,
Fiona. 1996. "The Power of Chastity," The New York Review of
Books (December 19): 31-33.
This is a brief, incisive review of symbolic meanings of chastity in Western civilizations, and of how commitment to chastity may tie to power and social control.
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Ferleger,
Louis, and Jay Mandle. 1991. "America's Hostility to Taxes,"
Challenge (July/August): 53-55.
The authors claim that Americans' hostility to taxation, as expressed in politics, in advice how to minimize our tax obligations, etc., is somewhat paradoxical. This hostility does not arise in a nation where there are particularly high rates of taxation. So what are the other hypotheses for hostility to taxation?
Clarke,
James. 1996. "Black on Black Homicide," Society
(July-August): 46-50.
Criminologists have documented that there are high homicide and homicide victimization rates among African Americans. These rates are not stable over time, however. The authors try to explain the fluctuations.
Andelman,
David. 1994. "The Drug Money Maze," Foreign Affairs 73
(July-August): 94-108.
This article shows how illegal activities are intertwined with legal enterprise. It shows how drug monies can be laundered through banks, especially those located in countries where dollars are the currency, or where foreign currencies have high value compared to the local.
Inciardi,
James. 1986. "The Drugs-Crime Connection," Ch. 4 in The Drug
Wars. 1st edition. Palo Alto: Mayfield.
This chapter examines the results of many social scientific studies if, how violent crimes, and property crimes, etc., are related to trade in illegal drugs.
Falco,
Mathea. 1996. "U.S. Drug Policy: Addicted to Failure," Foreign
Policy 102 (Spring): 120-133.
Falco provides another incisive article in a series of Foreign Policy articles which question the wisdom of American drug wars, especially in Latin America.
Zirnite,
Peter. 1998. "The Militarization of the Drug War in Latin America,"
Current History (April): 166-173.
This is an interesting account of how the U.S. militarized the drug war, and of the consequences that ensued.
de
Waal, Alex, and Rakiya Omar. 1995. "The Genocide in Rwanda and the
International Response," Current History (April): 156-161.
There have been several genocides and democides during the 20th century. The authors address under what circumstances genocides occur, what contingencies determine whether particular nations or the United nations try to stop the genocides, and whether countermeasures are apt to succeed.
Black,
Robert. 1995. "The Madness of General Mladic," The New York
Review of Books (October 5): 7-9.
This article sketches the character of a general who bears much responsibility for the mass killing that took place in the 1990s in the Balkans. It shows how such figures can ward off condemnation for mayhem.
Danner,
Mark. 1997. "America and the Bosnian Genocide," New York
Review of Books (December 4): 55-65.
This is a gory account of the Bosnian genocide, but also offers keen analyses why the genocide went on without a stern response from outside.
Danner,
Mark. 1997. "The U.S. and the Yugoslav Catastrophe," New
York Review of Books (November): 56-64.
The article reveals whether and how the U.S. government responded to early warning signs of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Yugoslavia. The article can be used to illustrate what sociologists mean when they say no hard and fast principles govern what standards of behavior will prevail in a society, or whether anyone will be sanctioned for violations of human rights.
The following two articles reveal that the departments of state, and elected officials of democratic nations may resist democratization of governments elsewhere in the world. They charge that rival parties, in this case Islamic, will refuse to permit democratic elections once they have been elected to office. Meanwhile, the governments our state department supports may refuse to hold elections at all. The New York Times has carried several stories recently about violence in Algeria. These stories relate to the debate below about who can be trusted to be democratic and undemocratic.
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Appleby,
Scott. 1992. "Democratization in the Mid East Does Not Threaten the
West," from The Christian Century (February 19, 1992).
Paris,
Johnathan. 1993. "Rapid Democratization in the Middle East Could
Threaten the West," from When to Worry in the Middle East,
Orbis (Fall).
Mosher,
Stephen. 1991. "Chinese Prison Labor," Society
(November/December): 49-59.
This article could serve as an excellent companion to Joan Ferrante's chapter on social control and deviance. It focuses upon deviance in the People's Republic of China. Her chapter does not dwell very much on the punishments which may be meted out in China. Mosher's article fills the gap. It also can be of use in appraising studies of the punitiveness of democratically elected and authoritarian governments toward deviants.
Orlans,
Harold. 1988. "Confronting Deafness in an Unstilled World," Society
25 (May/June).
This article should be particularly stimulating for sociological students of deviance. To what extent are problems of hearing-impaired people inherent in their hearing loss, and to what extent correctable by technical means? Could societies be re-organized so as to help these people participate more fully in society?
Bufe,
Charles. 1991. "How Effective is A.A.?" in Alcholics
Anonymous: Cult or Cure? San Francisco: Sharp Press.
Many Americans worry about abuse of alcohol. Small wonder; roughly one third of American arrests on criminal charges directly rate to alcohol use: drunkeness, operating while intoxicated, violation of liquor laws, etc.. Besides, many Americans have been identified as alcoholics. The best known U.S. "self help" group is AA. Several other self help groups have been modelled on A.A.. Bufe addresses whether the AA ideology is convincing logically, whether the A.A. tolerates scientific evaluations, and whether such studies of the effectiveness of A.A. as have been done back the tenets of the A.A. and kindred movements.
Buvinic,
Mayra and Andrew Morrison. 2000. "Living in a More Violent World,"
Foreign Policy #118 (Spring): 58-72.
This is an unsettling account of how globalization affects rates of violence.
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McNeill,
William. 1998. "How the West was Won," New York Review of
Books (April 23): 37-39.
By an eminent historian, this review covers David Landes' The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. The review offers a needed antidote to the ethnocentric and individualistic explanations of wealth and poverty that are politically popular today, and that have even crept into sociology texts.
Gross,
Edward. 1998. "Lawyers and Their Discontents," Society
36 (November/December): 26-31.
According to C. Wright Mills, sociologists should examine how social classes emerge and grow, and whether the human potentials of members of these classes are shrunken or expanded by the process. Sociologists definitely should pay attention to the growth of such new classes as professionals in the service industry. Are lawyers themselves pleased by the growth of their profession? Are they satisfied by the degree of influence law has on American society?
Fallow,
James. 1999. "Billion Dollar Babies," New York Review of Books
(December 16): 9-16.
An account of the ways in which inventors of internet software became Midas-rich.
Jencks,
Christopher. 1993. Rethinking Social Policy. New York: Harper
Collins. Ch. 6, "The Underclass."
Is there a growing underclass of impoverished Americans, mired at the bottom of society, often a menace to the overall population? This article carefully analyses which Americans have least income, least education, etc., and surveys studies which show whether Americans with one disadvantageous trait have all the disadvantageous traits.
Crystal,
Graef. 1991. In Search of Excess. (New York: W.W. Norton) Chapters
entitled "Everyone Makes It," and "Look Across the Waters."
Whereas some studies of inequality focus primarily on the plight of those at the bottom of the heap economically and socially, sociologists like Ferdinand Lundberg have advised us to pay more attention to the behaviors and pretenses of those atop the heap. These chapters examine how corporate leaders achieve the top positions in different nations, and how they are compensated.
Larabee,
J. Whitfield. 1996. "Black Holes," The Humanist
(May/June): 9-15.
Many sociology texts say that societies are stratified internally, and among themselves in terms of income, power, and prestige. These chapters tend not to follow up by showing who wields military power in and among nations, or how much prestige military leaders have as such. This article partially fills that gap in our studies by showing how large are the arsenals, and military industrial complexes built up in connection with World War II and the Cold War. If after the Cold War nations begin to dismantle arsenals, and the industrial complexes that built munitions and delivery systems, how far will they go?
Adepoju,
Aderanti. "The Politics of International Migration in Post Colonial
Africa," from Cambridge Survey of World Migration.
Though African nations gained political sovereignty after World War II, many traces remain of political economic colonization. This article documents what roles Africans play in the international economy. Is it being drawers of water and hewers of wood?
Castenada,
Jorge. 1995. "Ferocious Differences," The Atlantic Monthly
(July): 68-76.
This article shows that neighboring societies may differ in how they are stratified. Under the circumstances, how deadly and elevating can the social hierarchies be? Famous economist Joseph Schumpeter characterized the American economy as creatively destructive. The following articles show directly and indirectly what is created and destroyed in American economics, and how creative destruction is justified by sophisticated thinkers.
Adams,
Walter, and James Brock. 1990. "Mergeritis," Challenge
(May/June): 47-49.
In this article, two harsh critics of giant corporations sound an alarm about the growth of corporate giants through merger and acquisition. In 1997, the gross value of sales of American corporations through merger and acquisition topped $1 Trillion. So Adam's and Brock's article remains very relevant to the current scene, and also in social science evaluation of the history of corporate mergers an