Contemporary Social Theory and Trans-nationalism. CRN STSH Thursday 10:00 12:50PM Sage Lab 5711

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1 Contemporary Social Theory and Trans-nationalism CRN STSH Thursday 10:00 12:50PM Sage Lab 5711 Professor Office: Sage Lab Office Hours: Monday 11-2 or by appointment Course Description This course offers an introduction to contemporary sociological theory for graduate students aspiring to lead a life of research in the social sciences. The first and primary goal is to provide guidelines for a reflection on the role of theory in sociological research. We will examine questions such as: What is theory? How is it to be evaluated? How can we build on available theories in constructing new ones? Our second goal will be to understand how theories are shaped by the context in which they are produced. We will also discuss how the embeddedness of social theory affects its explanatory capacity, and the ability to generalize to other social contexts. A third objective will be to provide students with a theoretical understanding needed for achieving a decent level of intellectual literacy within the field of sociology. Finally, we will complete the course with an introduction to contemporary theory that seeks to explain trans-national social relations. Required Texts: Basch, L., Glick Schiller, N. and C. Szanton Blanc Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postcolonial Predicaments, and Deterritorialized Nation-states. New York: Routledge. Michel Foucault Discipline and Punish. New York: Pantheon. Antonio Gramsci Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers. Jürgen Habermas Legitimation Crisis. Boston: Beacon Press. Sandra G. Harding (ed.) The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader. New York: Routledge. David Harvey The Condition of Postmodernity. New York: Blackwell. David Harvey A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. James O'Connor The Fiscal Crisis of the State, 2nd Ed. Somerset, NJ: Transaction Publishers. You might seriously consider: Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno Dialectic of Enlightenment. New York: Continuum. Karl Polanyi The Great Transformation. Boston: Beacon Press.

2 Most books will be placed in the bookcase in the seminar room for use. Additional References There are two wonderful tools that students can (and given the demands of this seminar, and grad school in general) and should access for suggested reading and public presentations strategies available from Paul Edwards at the School of Information at the University of Michigan. How to Read a Book ( (which also works for sets of articles) and How to Give a Talk ( %7Epne/PDF/howtotalk.pdf) (which can also work for seminar participation) are excellent guides to ease, facilitate, and accelerate these two activities of some apparent importance for academic work, I recommend them highly. Grading Scheme Percent Conversion Scale Grade Points Letter Grade A A B B B C C C D D F Instructor s Expectation and Policies Written work must be submitted to me directly. In exceptional circumstances, assignments and papers may be submitted online or to the assignment drop-box. Students must discuss this with me, preferably before the due date. Make copies of your assignments: on disk, hard drive and hard copy. Test deferrals and extensions on assignments are granted for legitimate reasons (medical or compassionate) only. Students must contact me as close to the test or due date as possible and provide supporting evidence: a doctor s note indicating the nature and date of an illness or a family member s death certificate. Students who feel they have legitimate reasons that do not fall into either of these categories should contact me and I will assess the case based on the evidence provided. Note that in all other cases: - 5 % per day will be deducted from the student s total grade for each day after the due date. - No assignment will be accepted later than one week after the due date. - A grade of zero will be given for tests or presentations for failure to attend on the scheduled date. - In-class group work and homework for participation marks will not be accepted late. All students are expected to foster a healthy, enjoyable, and productive

3 academic environment. This means behaving in a professional and courteous manner, making meaningful contributions to discussions, listening attentively to others, being open to new ideas, and treating each other as equals. Requirements and Grades First, depending on enrolment each student will lead one or two class room discussions during the semester. Second, the final paper can take several forms: first you may wish to complete a literature review on contemporary social theory and trans-nationalism. The review can address an area that has been under-theorized or can form the review for a particular research question that interests you. You cannot do well in this class unless you are actively engaged in the seminar. Nevertheless, I am fully cognizant that some folks participate orally more than others do. For those who speak less often in the seminar, your written work will be of additional importance. Your grades will come from discussant leader (30%), the research paper (40%), and seminar participation (30%). Academic Dishonesty Definition: Cheating, which includes plagiarism, occurs when a student or group of students uses or attempts to use, unauthorized aids, assistance, materials or methods. Cheating is a serious educational offense. Plagiarism occurs where a student represents the work or ideas of another person as his or her own. Examples of plagiarism include: Borrowing the ideas, theories, illustrations, lab data, or language of others, in whole or in part, without properly quoting and citing the source within the text of the paper; Substantially paraphrasing without acknowledging the source, even though you have used your own words; Combining your words with substantial phrases from a source that is either not cited or under cited; Using synonyms to change words within a phrase or sentence derived from another source and then treating the phrase or sentence as if it was your own; Failing to cite the correct source of a quotation; Submitting an assignment that does not acknowledge the contribution of co-authors where such acknowledgement would be appropriate; Submitting an assignment, in whole or in part, that was previously graded in another course, whether or not the other course was taught at RPI; Submitting an assignment, in whole or in part, which was purchased from another source.

4 RPI Policy Intellectual integrity and credibility are the foundation of all academic work. Academic dishonesty is, by definition, considered a flagrant offense to the educational process. It is taken seriously by students, faculty, and Rensselaer and will be addressed in an effective manner (The Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities : 14). Please refer to the Handbook for more detail regarding this and other matters regarding student rights and responsibilities ( Tentative Course Schedule Note: The course schedule is subject to revision. You will receive, however, abundant notice. Week One: Ideology and Ideological State Apparatus Althusser, Louis Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. London: Monthly Review Press. (Optional but very much recommended) Read up to On Ideology. Week Two: The Enlightenment and Modernity M. Horkheimer & T. Adorno The Concept of Enlightenment. Pp in Dialectic of Enlightenment. Continuum. D. Harvey Modernity and Modernism. Pp in The Condition of Postmodernity. Blackwell. Week Three: Hegemony and Fordism A. Gramsci Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Q. Hoare & G. Smith (eds.) International Publishers. The Modern Prince, pp State and Civil Society, pp Americanism and Fordism, pp Critical Notes... Popular Sociology, pp J.B. Foster The Fetish of Fordism. Monthly Review. 39(10): March. Week Four: Commodification, Embeddedness and Forms of Capital K. Polanyi The Great Transformation. Beacon Press. Habituation -- fictitious commodities, pp Markets - impaired, pp M. Granovetter Economic Action and Social Structure. American Journal of Sociology 91(3): P. Bourdieu The Forms of Capital. Pp in Granovetter & Swedberg (eds.) The Sociology of Economic Life. Westview Press. C. Calhoun Habitus, Field of Power and Capital, Pp in Calhoun,

5 LiPuma and Postone (eds.) Bourdieu: Critical Perspectives. U of Chicago Press. Week Five: Discipline and Modernity M. Foucault Discipline and Punish. Pantheon Books. Week Six: Legitimation Crisis J. Habermas Legitimation Crisis. Beacon Press. Week Seven: Fiscal Crisis J. O'Connor The Fiscal Crisis of the State, 2nd Ed. Transaction. Week Eight: Postmodern Materialism D. Harvey The Condition of Postmodernity. Blackwell. Week Nine: Feminist Standpoint Theory In Sandra G Harding (ed.) The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader: Intellectual and Political Controversies. Routledge. 2. D.E. Smith. Women's Perspective as a Radical Critique of Sociology. 3. N. Hartsock. The Feminist Standpoint: Developing the Ground for a Specifically Feminist Historical Materialism. 4. H. Rose. Hand, Brain, and Heart: A Feminist Epistemology for the Natural Sciences. 5. D. Haraway. Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective. P.H. Collins. Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought. Week Ten: Feminist Standpoint Theory In Sandra G Harding (ed.) The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader: Intellectual and Political Controversies. Routledge. S. Harding. Rethinking Standpoint Epistemology: What is Strong Objectivity? b. hooks. Choosing the Margin as a Space of Radical Openness. C.A. MacKinnon. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence. C. Sandoval. U.S. Third World Feminism: The Theory and Method of Differential Oppositional Consciousness. D. Pels. Strange Standpoints, or How to Define the Situation for Situated Knowledge. J. Rouse. Feminism and the Social Construction of Scientific Knowledge. Week 11: Neo-liberalism Harvey, David A Brief History of Neo-liberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ong, Aihwa Neo-liberalism as Exception: Mutations in Citizenship and Sovereignty. Durham: Duke University Press. Introduction and Chapters 3 and 5. Week 12: Neo-liberalism and Rationalities of Government Barry, Andrew, Thomas Osborne, and Nikolas Rose "Introduction." Pp in

6 Foucault and Political Reason: Liberalism, Neo-liberalism, and Rationalities of Government, edited by A. Barry, T. Osborne, and N. Rose. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Rose, Nikolas "Governing "Advanced" Liberal Democracies." Pp in Foucault and Political Reason: Liberalism, Neo-liberalism and Rationalities of Government, edited by A. Barry, T. Osborne, and N. Rose. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mitchell Dean (1999) Governmentality: Power & Rule in Modern Society Week 13: Nation State, Citizens, and Human Rights Agamben, Giorgio Homo Sacer: Soverign Power and Bare Life. Stannford, CA: Stanford University Press. Agamben, Giorgio "We refugees: Refugees, Nation State, Citizens, Rights of Man." vol Saas Fee, Wallis: The European Graduate School. Agamben, Giorgio "An Interview with Giorgio Agamben." German Law Journal 5(5): Week 14: Thanksgiving Break Week 15: Trans-nationalism Basch, L., N. Glick Schiller, et al. (1994). Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postcolonial Predicaments, and Deterritorialized Nation-states. Amsterdam, Gordon and Breach Publishers. Chapters One, Two and Eight. Week 16: Trans-nationalism Portes, A., L. E. Guarnizo, et al. (1999). "The study of Transnationalism: Pitfalls and Promise of an Emergent Research Field." Ethnic and Racial Studies 22(2): Grillo, R. (2007). "Betwixt and between: Trajectories and projects of transmigration." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 33(2): Levitt, P. and N. Glick Schiller (2007). Conceptualizing simultaneity: A transnational social fields perspective on society. Rethinking migration: New theoretical and empirical premises. A. Portes and J. DeWind. New York, Oxford, Berghahn Books: Guarnizo, E. and M. Smith (1998). The Locations of Transnationalism. Transnationalism from Below. E. Guarnizo and M. Smith. New Brunswick, NJ, Transaction Publishers. Rouse, R. (1995). "Thinking through Transnationalism: Notes on the Cultural Politics of Class Relations in the Contemporary United States." Public Culture 7: