Google e-book "the sociology of social change"

A sociology research paper is an important part of this genre’s curriculum because it forces the student to come up with ideas in the field and apply them to specific situations in society. An example of this is when a student is asked to look at a specific demographic and attempt to come up with a reason why a certain occurrence is prevalent in this particular demographic.

In this chapter I review empirical studies directly testing the hypotheses of my 1973 paper "The Strength of Weak Ties" (hereafter "SWT") and work that elaborates those hypotheses theoretically or uses them to suggest new empirical research not discussed in my original formulation. Along the way, I will reconsider various aspects of the theoretical argument, attempt to plug some holes, and broaden its base.

While accepting Robert Gibbons? case for the clarifying role of formal models, this comment explores the role of rational choice accounts in organizational settings-including the French example that Gibbons cites- whose context evolves in ways exogenous to the rational action of individuals. Articulation of economic and noneconomic concerns in situations in which context and action evolve together is suggested as the main theoretical goal, one that will require arguments more complex than those of current sociology or economics.

How behavior and institutions are affected by social relations is one of the classic questions of social theory. This paper concerns the extent to which economic action is embedded in structures of social relations, in modern industrial society. Although the usual neoclasical accounts provide an "undersocialized" or atomized-actor explanation of such action, reformist economists who attempt to bring social structure back in do so in the "oversocialized" way criticized by Dennis Wrong. Under-and oversocialized accounts are paradoxically similar in their neglect of ongoing structures of social relations, and a sophisticated account of economic action must consider its embeddedness in such structures. The argument in illustrated by a critique of Oliver Williamson?s "markets and hierarchies" research program.

This paper outlines some key terms in a cultural analysis of economic systems. During empirical research I have concluded that radical geography in the tradition of political economy must employ cultural terms such as symbol, imaginary, and rationality. These terms link the material, through experience and interpretation, to the mental ? consciousness, intentionality, and rationality. I argue that culture understood as symbolic practice is compatible with historical materialism in the tradition of Gramsci, Thompson, and Williams. The paper applies cultural materialism to the explanation of economic rationalities and developmental logics by drawing on Weberian sociology. These ideas are exemplified by a brief account of the New England moral economy. The paper concludes by calling for a new type of critical inquiry called cultural economy.