Political Sociology

Sociology 403 Alan P. Rudy Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Central Michigan University Fall 2006
Office Hours: M&W 1-2 and by appt Email: rudy1a@cmich.edu Phone: 517-881-6319

Introduction:
Political Sociology can be taught many different ways. It can be taught in terms of social movements but there is another course in the department on that topic. It can be taught in terms of theories of the state but that would be getting ahead of ourselves. I can be taught in terms of organizational theory but students taking political sociology are more interested in power and politics than the workings of bureaucracies. It can be taught in terms of power elites and we will do some of that. It can be taught along the lines of contemporary political constellations and we will do some of that. It can be taught at a national level of analysis, which is where the majority of this course will operate, or at the level of urban growth machines or international relations. It can be extended into post-structural and feminist analyses of the microphysics of power, the politics of the body, identity politics and discourse analysis, and we will explore each of these a little. This course focuses on three or four aspects of the field. The first relates to the different general approaches to relations between politics and society advanced by Marx, Weber and Durkheim. The second relates to the history of political struggles and institutions in the United States. The third relates to the sociological and political scientific theorization of power and two studies based on two of these approaches one by Bill Domhoff focused on power elites (who will be here at CMU giving the keynote address at the Michigan Sociological Meetings in October) and another by John Gaventa focused on explaining the political quiescence of oppressed working class communities in Appalachia. The last aspect of the course will focus on a polemical analysis, in Thomas Franks book, Whats The Matter with Kansas, of the contradictions between the neoliberal and neoconservative terms we will define in the second part of the course elements of the Reagan-Bush-Gingerich-Bush II right.

Expectations and Assignments:

EXPECTATIONS: For this course to work, students must do the reading before class. Each session will start with an open discussion about contemporary politics, political issues raised in other classes and the questions students have about the readings. While I will have an agenda for each class, and powerpoint presentations for many, my preference is for these open discussions to bleed into the

Alan P. Rudy

Political Sociology

CMU Fall 2006

course materials in an organic manner. Relatedly, when I lecture I will do so in a Socratic form driven by questions to and probes of the students about the course materials. I have long found that the more students express their understanding in their own words and the more they address one another in class the better they come to understand the material. Attendence: I expect students to come to class but will not take attendance unless it becomes a problem. Students in the course are juniors and senior majors in the social sciences and responsible for themselves in ways freshmen, sophomores and non-majors in lower division and general education courses are not. I despise pop quizzes in courses such as this but they may be introduced if students are regularly unprepared. ASSIGNMENTS: Tests: There are four essay exams in the course. The first allows students to select the conceptual or historical point most important to them to that point in the course, explain it, explain why it is important and use it to illuminate a moment in contemporary politics. The second will as students to apply what they learned from Bill Domhoffs presentation at the Michigan Sociological Association meetings to the independent research project (explained below) they are working on for the class. The third exam asks students to apply the work Gaventa has done elaborating Lukes three dimensional view of power with that done by Frank on the history and contradictions of the dominant form of conservative economic and cultural policy. This exam is predicated on a gradual independent reading of Franks book across the previous weeks of the course. The last exam will ask for a focused review of two texts or two main points from the course in light of the last chapter in the revised edition of Lukes book, Power: A Radical View. Research: This course is one of the newly mandated, research intensive upper division courses in Sociology, Anthropology and Social work. Each student will prepare a research project, singly or in collaboration with fellow students, which they will execute during the course of the semester. Starting in the third or fourth week of the class, we will dedicate increasing amounts of time on Fridays reviewing the progress and problems students are making. Much of the point here is to expose all of us to the kinds of opportunities and difficulties researchers experience in the process of generating intellectually interesting research. There are very few conceptual or methodological constraints on the kinds of research students may execute beyond the fact that students must generate a significant proportion, but not necessarily all, of the data they use in their project. The primary constraint on student projects is that they be executable during the semester. I will expect, but not stress, literature and methodological reviews in the projects but am most interested in the development of coherent problem statements and well-reasoned, systematic and fair data analysis and conclusions. All of this will be worked out together as the course progresses. Depending on how things develop, the last week of and exam day for the class will be dedicated to collaborative work on the projects or student presentations of their research

Grades
Each test will account for 15 percent, the final project will account for 30 percent and class participation and engagement with the materials will comprise 10 percent of students grades.

Alan P. Rudy

Political Sociology

CMU Fall 2006

Academic Integrity:
I assume that you know and follow Central Michigan Universitys policies with respect to Academic Integrity found at: http://academicsenate.cmich.edu/NonCad/ACADEMIC_INTEGRITY_POLICY.pdf

Sections of the Course and Weekly/Daily Readings:

1. Section One The Sociology of Politics WEEK ONE Thinking about Politics Sociologically I a. Mon., August 28th: Introduction You, me, the topic and the syllabus b. Wed., August 30th: Lecture: Sociology, science opposed to Political philosophy c. Fri., Sept. 1st: Lecture: Marx on Politics, Ideology and Class i. Read and be ready to discuss in the second half: Lars-Erik Nelson. 2000 Watch Out, Democrats! New York Review of Books 47(12). WEEK TWO Thinking about Politics Sociologically II d. Wed., Sept. 6th: Lecture: Weber on the State, Bureaucracy and Rationalization i. Read and be ready to discuss: Alan Ryan. 1998. The L-Word. New York Review of Books. 45(14) e. Fri., Sept. 8th: Lecture: Durkheim the Functionalist Progressive i. Read and be ready to explore: Carl Boggs. 1997. The Great Retreat: Decline of the Public Sphere in Late Twentieth-Century America. Theory and Society 26: 741-780. WEEK THREE A Little History f. Mon., Sept. 11th: William Appleman Williams on the 19th C i. Read and be ready to discuss my notes on Williams 1969 book, The Roots of the Modern American Empire. g. Wed., Sept. 13th: Samuel P. Hays on Progressivism i. Read and be ready to discuss: Hays, Samuel P. (1964). The Politics of Reform in Municipal Government in the Progressive Era. Pacific Northwest Quarterly 55(4): 157-169. h. Fri., Sept. 15th: Foster on Fordism i. Read and be ready to discuss: John Bellamy Foster. 1988. The Fetish of Fordism. Monthly Review, 39(10): 14-33. WEEK FOUR i. Mon., Sept. 18th: The New Deal and Great Society i. Lecture on the growth and limits of the liberal/progressive state. j. Wed., Sept. 20th: NSM, the New Right and Neoliberalism i. Review my Notes on Claus Offe (1985). New Social Movements: Challenging the Boundaries of Institutional Politics. Social Research 52(4): 817-868. k. Fri., Sept. 22nd: Exam I: What is the most important thing you have learned about the history of politics and the state, why, and how would you apply it to a contemporary political issue to which you are committed?

Alan P. Rudy

Political Sociology

CMU Fall 2006

2. Section Three Power and the Power Elite WEEK FIVE Lukes, Chapter One: Power: A Radical View, pp. 14-59 a. Mon., Sept. 25th: Pluralism and Overt Conflict b. Wed., Sept. 27th: Non-decision-making and Covert/Potential Conflict c. Fri., Sept. 29th: Ideology WEEK SIX Domhoff, Who Rules America d. Mon., Oct. 2nd: Domhoff, Ch.1, pp.1-20 e. Wed., Oct. 4th: Domhoff, Ch.2, pp.21-48 f. Fri., Oct. 6th: Domhoff, Ch.3, pp.49-76 WEEK SEVEN g. Mon., Oct. 9th: NO CLASS Thanks for Attending Domhoffs lecture h. Wed., Oct. 11th: Domhoff, Ch.5, pp.109-134 i. Fri., Oct. 13th: Domhoff, Ch.6, pp.135-160 WEEK EIGHT j. Mon., Oct. 16th: Donhoff Ch.7, pp.161-198 k. Wed., Oct. 18th: Domhoff Ch.8, pp.199-216 l. Fri., Oct. 20th: DISCUSSION PREPARING FOR TAKE-HOME EXAM on the relationship between your research project and Domhoffs lecture. 3. SECTION THREE Contemporary Debates and Cases WEEK NINE Lukes Ch.2: Power, Freedom and Reason, pp. 14-59 a. Mon., Oct. 23rd: Disagreements with Lukes b. Wed., Oct. 25th: Foucault c. Fri., Oct. 27th: Review WEEK TEN Gaventa, Parts I & II d. Mon., Oct. 30th: Chs.1 & 2, pp.1-44 e. Wed., Nov. 1st: Ch.3, pp. 47-83 f. Fri., Nov. 3rd: Ch.4, pp.84-121 WEEK ELEVEN Gaventa, Part III g. Mon., Nov. 6th: Ch.5, pp.125-236 h. Wed., Nov. 8th: Ch.6, pp.137-164 i. Fri., Nov. 10th: Ch.7, pp.165-203 Take Home Exam III, due next Friday, will ask you to compare and contrast the historical and sociological analyses of political and social ideology that Gaventa and Frank develop in their respective books. WEEK TWELVE Gaventa, Part IV j. Mon., Nov. 13th: Ch.8, pp.205-226 k. Wed., Nov. 15th: Ch.9, pp.227-251 l. Fri., Nov. 17th: Ch.10, pp.252-261 WEEK THIRTEEN Lukes, Ch.3, Three Dimensional Power m. Mon., Nov. 20th: Contestedness n. Wed., Nov. 22nd: Defending the Third Dimension o. Friday,: Nov. 24th: Adaptability

Alan P. Rudy

Political Sociology

CMU Fall 2006

WEEK FOURTEEN p. Mon., Nov. 27th: Exam IV: In class, an essay looking back on two texts form different sections of the course in the course in light of the last chapter of Lukes book. q. Wed., Nov. 29th: Lecture: The Approach I take on Political Sociology, Political Economy and Political Ecology. WEEK FIFTEEN AND THE EXAM PERIOD FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS r. Mon., Dec. 4th: s. Wed., Dec. 6th: t. Fri., Dec. 8th: u. Wed., Dec. 13