Sociology 182, Political Sociology
Course Guide Fall Quarter 1999 Tuesday, Thursday 12:30-1:45pm, Hershey Hall 1651

Professor Barbara Ballis Lal Office: 2415 Hershey Hall. Telephone: 825-7989 e-mail: lal@ucla.edu Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 3-4:00pm and by appointment Teaching Assistant: Eyal Rabinovitch

Course Description

This course looks at how decisions which affect large numbers of members of society get made, how political agendas get set and how both of these processes are related to power, authority on the one hand, and to social stability and social change on the other.

We begin by considering major traditions in political sociology in order to familiarize ourselves with the theories and concepts associated with Karl Marx, Alexis de Tocqueville and Max Weber that once formulated, have been elaborated, extended and altered in the work of subsequent generations of sociologists, political scientists and historians. By considering these perspectives alongside of empirical studies ' of social institutions and of revolutions and their outcomes, we are able to see how theories and concepts are used in analysis and how these get modified as a result of having to confront historical events as well as their being influenced by scholarly interchange and intellectual fashion.

We then go on to examine additional themes which have become particularly important recently. These include citizenship, ideology, social movements and the politics of identity.

In the final part of the course we focus upon the political sociology of the USA. We will read excerpts from monographs which deal specifically with the USA in the 1990's. Students should be prepared to consider how theories, concepts and empirical studies that we have considered in the earlier part of the course enable ( or hinder ) us in our efforts at understanding current and ongoing processes of decision making, governance and political participation.

This course requires that students read a great deal of varied material. We will be considering a range of points of view about how the world works and what constitutes the good society. Each student is encouraged to develop their own outlook which will be enriched, hopefully, by a knowledge of those approaches that they reject as well as those with which they agree.
This is an upper-division course. Responsibility for keeping up with the reading lies with the student. The lectures are based upon the reading but are not intended to provide a review which substitutes for careful attention to each assignment. Clarification of text or points raised in lecture, questions and comments may be raised in section and/or discussed with the TA or Professor Lal during office hours. Questions may be posted through the e-mail but these will not be answered individually but used to indicate to Professor Lal and the TA points which need clarification and issues of particular interest to students. A limited time will be allocated for questions and comments during lecture.

Assignments
There will be four two-page (maximum number of pages) take-home examinations, one due approximately every fortnight. Each of these will be graded on a scale of 100 and your average on the four 2-page take home examinations will constitute 50% of your final grade. There will be a ten-page ( maximum number of pages) final term paper counting for 50*-. of your final grade.

Students may be have up to 3 points added to their course grade on the basis of participation in discussion sections at the discretion of the TA.

On each take-home examination you will be asked to answer one question from a list of three questions. The exam will be returned to you with comments the next week. It is up to you to make arrangements to discuss your paper and comments with the T.A. or with Professor Lal. Questions will be based upon required readings, lecture and discussion already covered.

The schedule for take-home examinations appears in the list of lectures below. You will be penalized for late papers.

I am using the above scheme in response to students' requests for continuous assessment. Students have indicated that this will encourage them to keep up with the reading and will enable them to benefit from the comments written on examinations by Professor Lal and the TA, Eyal Rabinovitch.

The topics for the final term paper will be handed out on Tuesday, 26th. October. The final term paper will require that you answer a question on the political sociology of the USA.

Final term papers will be due on Monday,- 13th. December, 12 p.m., (Noon). Students must hand in their papers to Eyal Rabinovitch, the TA, in Professor Lal's office, 2415 Hershey Hall, between 9am and 12pm,(Noon), on Monday, 13th. December. Those students wishing to hand in their paper earlier may hand them to Eyal Rabinovitch, the TA, in class on the last day of class, Thursday, 9th. December. Please supply a stamped self-addressed envelope if you wish your paper to be sent to you during the quarter break.

LATE FINAL PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR THIS COURSE.
If you have to leave lecture or discussion section early, as a matter of courtesy, please let Professor Lal and Eyal Rabinovitch know about this before hand.

Honors Section

There will be an honors section for those students wishing to participate in further reading and discussion with Professor Lal. Participants will be required to read one additional article a week and to write one three-page end of term paper on a topic of their choice. Additional readings and end of term papers will be decided by students in collaboration with Professor Lal.

The honors section will be held on Tuesdays, 4-5pM in Professor Lall's office 2415 Hershey Hall. The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, 19th. October.

READING The required texts for this course are Marger, Martin, (1987) Elites and Masses; Goldstone, Jack (ed.)(1994) Revolutions, Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies; Dye, Thomas (1995) Who's Running America? The Clinton Years. There is also a course reader.

Course Reader. The course reader contains additional required reading by Bottomore, Skidelsky, Tocqueville, Bellah et.al., Axtmann, and Perkin and optional reading by Marcuse, Calhoun and Domhoff.

All required texts and several copies of the course reader should be available in the College Library.

Two additional books are available in the ASUCLA bookstore. Calhoun, Craig (ed) 1994, Social Theory, and the Politics of Identity (excerpt reprinted in the course reader) and Wallace, Ruth and Wolf, Allison, (1999) Contemporary Sociological Theory for those wishing to have a very well written and accurate guide to sociological theory.

LECTURES

Part 1. Major Traditions in Political Sociology. An Introduction to Theorists and Concepts.

Thursday, 30th. September, Tuesday, 5th. October. What is Political Sociology? Marger's typology of power. The relationship between power and authority. The significance of 'competing paradigms', (Bottomore) Marger, Chapter 1. Introduction: What is Political Sociology?, pp.3-6; Chapter 2. 'Power in Societies' pp.7-27. Bottomore, (1993) Political Sociology 'Introduction'pp1-11, in course reader. N.B. The first lecture will be preceded by a short discussion of the administrative aspects of the course outlined on this syllabus.

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Thursday, 7th. October. On Revolution. Tuesday, 12th. October. The State in Capitalist Society. What is 'historical materialism, and how
is this process related to social revolution? The contribution ofpower and ideology in maintaining social stability and fomenting social change. The state in capitalist and socialist society. Marx, Karl and Engels, Frederick (1848) 1 Manifesto of the Communist Party', pp.21-29 in Goldstone. Marger, Chapter 3. 'The Class Model,' pp.31-49.
Bottomore, Chapter 1. 1 Democracy and Social Classes,'pp.1227; Chapter 3. 'Types of Political Systems,' pp.42-58; Chapter 4. 'Political Change and Conflict' pp-59-75.

Thursday, 14th. October, Tuesday, 19th. October. Empirical Studies: Marx revisited in the light of historical events. Under what conditions have revolutions occurred? How do Neo-Marxist and other contemporary theorists deal with the concept of the state and the reality of the state in socialist societies? Why do revolutions 'fail,?
N.B. These questions should be kept in mind as you continue to read and discuss issues having to do with social change and social stability throughout the course. Ask yourself whether your views have changed as you do additional reading and explore additional points of view and consider other analyses of institutions and other instances of revolution and social change.
Skocpol, T. ' France, Russia, China : A Structural Analysis of Social Revolutions,' pp.81-99 in Goldstone.
Skocpol, T. and Trimberger, E.K., ' Revolutions: A structural Analysis,' pp.64-70 in Goldstone.
Chirot, D. 'The East European Revolutions of 1989',pp.165-180 in Goldstone.
Skidelsky, R. (199S) The World After Communism, 'The Nature of Collectivism,' pp.17-26; 'The rise of Collectivism', pp. 27-44. N.B. First take-home examination questions handed out on Tuesday, 19th. October, due Tuesday, 26th. October (Covers material through 19th. October.)

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)
Thursday, 21st. October Revolution and 'relative deprivation', Tuesday, 26th. October 'Civil Society' and pluralism. How useful is the concept of 'relative deprivation' in explanations of social unrest and social revolution, past and present. What is meant by 'civil society', and how is it related to mass society, and "democracy'?
Tocqueville, A. (1856) The Ancient Regime and the French Revolution, Part Two, Chapter One, 'Why Feudalism Had Come to be more Detested in France than in any other Country,' in course reader.
Tocqueville, A. 'The French Revolution and the Growth of the State,' pp.2031 in Goldstone.
Tocqueville, A. (1835) Democracy in America - 'Introduction,, in course reader.
Whyte, Martin King, 'The Social Sources of the Student Demonstration in China, 19891in Goldstone, pp.180-193. N.B. First take-home examination due in class Tuesday, 26th. October. Final term paper topics handed out.
Thursday, 28th. October Tocqueville's views on democracy, civil society and pluralism in America reconsidered by contemporary scholars. How do contemporary theorists see the relationship between civil society, pluralism and democracy? Under what conditions does civil society contribute to social revolution as opposed to social stability? (Be sure to consider the empirical studies of revolution you have read in thinking about this question).
Marger, Chapter S. 'The Pluralist Model,' pp.67-87; Chapter 12. 'Political Participation' pp-227-253.
Bellah, R. et.al. (1992) The Good Society 'Introduction,, 'Government Law and Politics,' 'Democracy Means Paying Attention,' - in course reader. N.B. Second take-home examination questions covering material through 28th. October distributed to students. Papers due in class, Thursday 4th. November.

Max Weber (1864-1920)
Tuesday, 2nd. November Bureaucracy and the State Thursday,4th. November Elites and Masses: the contribution of Weber's students. What are the characteristics of bureaucratic administration? What tensions exist between bureaucracy as a mode of administration and democracy as a mode of governance? How useful is the distinction between material and ideal interests? Lenin's dilemma: the role of the Bolshevik Party in the Russian Revolution.
Weber,(1914) 'Bureaucracy and Revolution,' in Goldstone, pp.31-36.
Marger, Chapter 4. 'The Elite model,'pp.51-66; Chapter 8. The Structure and Behavior of Elites, pp.141-163;,Chapter 9. 'Institutional Leaders,' pp.165-198. N.B. Tuesday, 2nd. November. First take-home examination returned to students in class. Thursday, 4th. November, second take-home examination due in class.

Tuesday, 9th. November, Elites and Masses: Empirical Studies. What are the sources of elite formation in capitalist and socialist societies and are these inevitable?
Edeen 'The Soviet Civil Service: Its Composition and Status,'in Goldstone, pp.204-213.
Whyte, 'Inequality and Stratification in China,in Goldstone, pp. 213-233. Second take-home examination returned to students. Third take-home examination questions covering material through 9th. November distributed to students. Papers due in class, Tuesday, 16th. November.

Thursday, 11th. November. Citizenship in Liberal Democracies. How should we view citizenship in liberal democracies. The rise of 1professional society,-another contribution to elite formation?
Axtmann, (1996) 'Citizenship in liberal democracies' excerpt in course reader.

Tuesday, 16th. November. Ideology and Political Socialization. What is ideology and how does it differ from belief systems in general on the one hand, and 'expert knowledge' on the other? How important is ideology in maintaining stability or encouraging change?
Marger, Chapter 11. 'Ideology and Political Socialization, pp. 201-226.
Optional: Marcuse (1961) excerpt in course reader. N.B. Tuesday,16th. November, third take-home examination due in class.

Thursday, 18th. November, Tuesday, 23rd. November. Social Movements. How are crowds and social movements related to 'organized political formation,' (Bottomore, p.28). In what ways do studies of collective behavior and social movements challenge and/or complement traditional theories of social change that emphasize social classes and elites? To what extent do theories of collective behavior depend upon taking the actor's point of view?
Bottomore, Chapter 2. 'Social Movements, Parties and Political Action,' in course reader.
Marger, Chapter 12. 'Political Participation' pp.227-273; Chapter 14.'Sociopolitical Movements,lpp.275-301.
Abrahamian, 'Structural Causes of the Iranian Revolution.' in Goldstone, pp.129-146.
Green, 'Countermobilization in the Iranian Revolution,' in Goldstone, pp.136-146. N.B. Tuesday, 23rd. November, third take-home examination returned to students. Fourth take-home examination questions covering material through 23rd. November distributed to students, due Tuesday, 30th. November.

Thursday, 25th. November: Thanksgiving Holiday, No Class.

Power and Politics in the U.S.A.
Tuesday, 30th- November, Thursday, 2nd. December. Capitalist America: Corporate Power and the Corporate State. what is meant by the 'corporatist' state? How important are political parties in decisionmaking and public policy formation? How important is elite competition' in the USA? What role do professionals (including academics) play in influencing political behaviour and outcomes? Reading
Dye, 1. 'Elitism in a Democracy,'pp.1-13; 2. 'The Corporate Directors, pp.14-56; 6.'Interlocking and Specialization at the Top', pp. 150-194; 8. 'Conflict and consensus among Institutional Leaders,, pp.195-218; 9.'How Institutional Leaders Make Public Policyf, pp.219-239; 10.'Institutional Elites in America, pp.240-241.
Perkin, (1989) 'The rise-of professional society' excerpt in course reader.
Marger, Chapter 6. 'Corporate Power,' pp.91-114; Chapter 7. 'The Corporate State,lpp.115-140; Chapter 13. Political Parties and Partisanship,' pp.255273. Optional: Domhoff,(1998) Power and Class in the United States,, pp.132, in course reader. Tuesday, 30th. November, fourth take-home examination due in class.

Tuesday, 7th.December. Modes of Political Participation: the Politics of Identity What is meant by identity politics and how can we account for its origin? In what ways, if any, does identity politics differ from the politics of social class? what role should collective
identity organized around attributes such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and age play in liberal democracies such as the United States?
Axtmann, (1996) 'Diversity and the Politics of Identity, in course reader. OR
Calhoun,(1994) 'Social Theory and the Politics of Identity,, in course reader. N.B. Fourth set of examination questions returned to students.

Thursday, 9th. December. Summing Up: Citizenship and Political Participation in the USA. Review of readings. N.B. Your should be sure to review all of the readings, including those encountered during the earlier part of the course such as de Tocqueville and Bellah, in your summing up. Students may hand in their final term paper in class.

Monday, 13th. December, Noon, Deadline: Final term papers.