Rural Soc 8610 — Ag Econ 8610 (cross listed)
3 Credits — Spring 2008
Using Economic and Sociological Tools for Understanding Collective Action
|
Instructors Michael L. Cook
|
David O'Brien |
Administrative
Assistant: Gail Foristal
|
| NOTE: If
you need accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency
medical information to share with me, or if you need special
arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me
immediately. Please see me privately after class, or at my office by
appointment. To request academic accommodations (for example, a
notetaker), students must also register with the
Office of Disability Services, (http://disabilityservices.missouri.edu),
S5 Memorial Union, 882-4696. It is the campus office responsible for
reviewing documentation provided by students requesting academic
accommodations, and for accommodations planning in cooperation with
students and instructors, as needed and consistent with course
requirements. For other MU resources for students with disabilities,
click on "Disability Resources" on the
MU homepage. NOTE: The University community welcomes intellectual diversity and respects student rights. Students who have questions concerning the quality of instruction in this class may address concerns to either the Departmental Chair or Divisional leader or Director of the Office of Students Rights and Responsibilities (http://osrr.missouri.edu/). All students will have the opportunity to submit an anonymous evaluation of the instructor(s) at the end of the course. |
||
The problem of explaining successful and unsuccessful collective action is a core issue in both sociology and economics.
Sociologists and economists traditionally have had different assumptions with which they approach the problem--economists, rational choice, methodological individualism; sociologists, social groups, culture as basic units of analysis.
Institutionalism in Economics and Sociology provides a bridge with which both sociological and economic approaches can deal with collective action. For new institutional economists, this means accepting that supra-individual units of analysis—institutions, social organization and transactions — are real (this is an old sociological war cry, a la Emile Durkheim) and for sociologists this means accepting, as Economists have argued, that incentives and choices facing individuals have to be considered in analyzing why collective action succeeds or fails.
The course will focus on ways to identify analytical and methodological (in the broadest sense) strategies to employ sociological and economic tools to deal with practical problems of collective action in areas such as: agricultural cooperatives, community development, new governmental arrangements
Historical roots of inter-disciplinary (economics and sociology) efforts to deal with collective action. Max Weber, Economy and Society, Joseph Schumpter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Talcott Parson, The Structure of Social Action, James Coleman, Mancur Olson, Logic of Collective Action
| For further information contact: | David O’Brien
@ 882-0392 [ obriendj@missouri.edu ]
|
| Academic integrity is fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of the academic community must be confident that each person's work has been responsibly and honorably acquired, developed, and presented. Any effort to gain an advantage not given to all students is dishonest whether or not the effort is successful. The academic community regards breaches of the academic integrity rules as extremely serious matters. Sanctions for such a breach may include academic sanctions from the instructor, including failing the course for any violation, to disciplinary sanctions ranging from probation to expulsion. When in doubt about plagiarism, paraphrasing, quoting, collaboration, or any other form of cheating, consult the course instructor. |