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Academic Year 2000/2001

The Sociology of the Capitalist World-System
SOC 264 SP

This course will examine critically different perspectives on the origins, development, characteristics, and tendencies of the capitalist world-system. The course will focus on the historical origins of modern capitalism and its uneven modes of development. It will also consider the contemporary debate on globalization, the contradictions it engendered and the solutions proposed to deal with them.

MAJOR READINGS

J.M. Blaut, THE COLONIZER'S MODEL OF THE WORLD
Karl Marx, SELECTED WRITINGS
Adam Smith, AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF WEALTH OF NATIONS
Eric Wolf, EUROPE AND THE PEOPLE WITHOUT HISTORY
Eric Hobsbawn, THE AGE OF CAPITAL
Benedict Anderson, IMAGINED COMMUNITIES
Immanuel Wallerstein, HISTORICAL CAPITALISM
David Korten, WHEN CORPORATIONS RULE THE WORLD
Max Weber, THE PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM
Saskie Sessen, GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENT

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Three take-home essays (7-10 pages each).

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS SOC    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: SOC151 Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-26-2001

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