Soc 453: Vision and Method in Historical Society
Spring 2014                     
Dr. Gonzalo Santos
Instructor: Dr. Gonzalo Santos
email
Santos_Class@csub.edu
Office: DDH-AA205     Phone: 654-2191
Office Hours: 12:15pm - 2:00pm, Tu. & Th.

Teaching Assistant: Ms. Sara Alcaraz
email
sara0128@gmail.com
Office: DDH-BB200
Office Hours: 12:15 - 1:15 pm, Thursdays, or by appointment
Class (lecture and lab components) meet MW at WSL 005
Course articles & activities placed at CSUB's Blackboard testing site at:

https://bb.csub.edu/
Textbooks:
Course Content & Structure:
Course Content: The course explores the theoretical vision and methodological approaches and techniques used by a variety of twentieth-century scholars working at the intersections of social theory and history, viewed on a grand scale. We examine the research agendas that they followed, the basic theoretical assumptions they made about the nature, dynamics, and direction of society and history, and how these assumptions informed the questions they asked and the kinds of answers they offered. Specifically, we seek to understand how these scholars used various sources of evidence and ways of thinking about the past to define periods & eras, to pursue case studies or comparisons between social groups, nations, or world systems & civilizations. In the course of exploring the vision & method of renowned historical social scientists, students will be exposed to a variety of subject matters, all historically grounded and theoretically informed, typically at the macro level, including visions of possible futures.

Course Format: The course has a "hybrid" format, and as such, has three components: (1) Lecture sessions, on Mondays & Wednesdays, from 10:00 am to 11:15 am, at DDH-103K; (2) Laboratory sessions, on Monday & Wednesdays, from 11:15 am to 12:30 pm, at WS Library Computer Lab 005; and (3) Reading, research & writing activities, on Fridays, independently done and completed by each student before Friday midnight.

(1) The lecture sessions will first explore the vision and method of world-systems perspective as contained in Immanuel Wallerstein's book "World-Systems Analysis. An Introduction." Then we will analyze the vision and method contained in a number of articles placed on Blackboard (see schedule below). Finally, we will explore the visions of the future of the modern world-system by five prominent social scientist, including I. Wallerstein, using the book "Does Capitalism Have a Future?"

(2) The lab sessions will consist of proactive research and writing component for the students, based on the reading assigned for the lecture on the same day. To that effect, students should come to class with a DRAFT TEXT already prepared - saved in Word in a USB-thumb drive - of what they got out of the assigned reading for that day following this loose template: a) What is the reading's subject matter? b) What is the main theoretical perspective of the author? c) What is the main methodological approach or techniques used by the author? What are some of the key historical and sociological findings, and how well does the author explains them? d) What are some of the strengths and criticisms that may leveled against the author's vision & method? e) Where else - what other subject matter - could you fruitfully apply the author's vision and method to explore it?

Students should take notes during the class lecture & discussion, and then, during the lab session following the class, INCORPORATE whatever new insights they gained from class into their draft text, perhaps enhanced with some additional web-based research, and when they are done, upload their LAB JOURNAL entry for that day. The lab journal function in Blackboard will be accessible between 11:15 am and 12:30 pm on each day there is a lab. Final journal entries should be at two-to-three pages long - double spaced, in font 12. Do not attach or paste the initial drafts onto Blackboard, rather work in Word first, separately, and ONLY when you are done, upload the Word file as an attachment. Please name your Word file as follows: last name and the date.docx; e.g. "Smith 4-15-13.docx". Save everything you upload!

Note: No lab journal entries can be entered from outside the computer lab (students must be present in the lab) or outside it's time frame - no late entries will be allowed. Dr. Santos will be available at the lab to consult with the students.

Lab Journals will be graded for organization, clarity, analytical strength & factual accuracy, length, and critical thinking.

(3) Lastly, the Friday independent reading & writing activity is similar to the lab session, except that students read and write a Friday journal entry entirely on their own, exploring the vision and method of a renown social scientist, based on an assigned chapter of the Skocpol book "Vision & Method in Historical Sociology," so long as the the entry is uploaded before midnight that Friday (see schedule below). Everything else about these Friday journal entries is the same as the lab journal entries content, length, and grading-wise. They will be given the same grading weight as the lab entries, as well.

Attendance: Attendance to both the lecture and lab sessions on Mondays & Wednesdays is mandatory - absent/tardy students will be penalized beyond missing a grade for their lab journal entries. Friday sessions are entirely out of class and on each student's own pace.

Research paper: Each student will write an individual research paper on a relevant topic of historical sociology or on the vision and method of renown author(s).  Prior approval of the topic by Dr. Santos is required for each individual student. The papers need to be submitted in electronic form (attached as a Word file) in the course's Blackboard account. The paper is due on Monday June 9, before the last class, where we will discuss the papers.

Each paper should include a title page and an abstract, then between 6 and 8 pages of text  (excluding the bibliography), a bibliography, and finally an appendix for whatever charts, maps, and figures are included. For a precise guide on the paper's format and citation style, go to:

http://www.csubak.edu/~gsantos/guide-paper.html
Each individual paper should pose a central question to be answered, or thesis, or hypothesis, and include the following sections: an introduction stating the question/thesis/topic; the theoretical approach and methodological framework of the paper; an analytical section on the relevant historical & contemporary processes, facts, data, related to the topic; this section should not only be descriptive, but it should include your critical analysis to explain these things, as well as other plausible alternative explanations in the literature, and your critique of them; your summary & main conclusions. The bibliography ought to reflect a good search on the World Wide Web, as well as consulted books and scholarly journals in the library. Appendices should include charts, graphs, and figures covering the pertinent topic - the better selected, relevant, and more global in nature, the more valuable.

Plagiarism: To prevent students from wittingly or unwittingly engaging in plagiarism, Dr. Santos strongly recommends students to carefully read and abide by the document CSUB Classifications of Plagiarism found at: http://www.csub.edu/tlc/options/resources/turn_it_in_help_page.shtml
Anyone found guilty of engaging in plagiarism will automatically fail the course and be reported to the Office of Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs for further disciplinary action.

Grading: The combined total of lab journal & Friday journal entries are worth 70 points. The research paper is worth 30 points.  Absence/tardiness for the lectures and the labs will be penalized. Perfect attendance to ALL lecture and lab sessions will be rewarded with 5 extra points. The final letter grade will be assigned, on a scale of 0 to 100, as follows:

94-100+ = A         84-86 = B            74-76 = C
90- 93 = A-           80-83 = B-           70-73 = C-

87- 89 = B+          77-79 = C+           65-69 = D       < 65 = F

Office Hours and Email Communication with Dr. Santos & Ms. AlcarazDr. Santos & Ms. Alcaraz office hours are posted above. Please be advised that email communication has to be very brief and to the point. Always sign off with your FULL NAME. You may also call or leave messages for Dr Santos at his office phone. If you send an email message to Ms. Alcaraz requesting an appointment or a call back, please include a phone number she can call you back.



Schedule of Reading Assignments
Week
Monday
Lecture & Lab
Wednesday
Lecture & Lab
Friday
Assignment
1
April 2, 4
HOLIDAY
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE ---
2
April 7, 9, 11
BLACKBOARD ARTICLE
MARX & ENGELS
Communist Manifesto
Chapter 1
WALLERSTEIN INTRO.
To Start & Chapter 1
SKOCPOL
9. The World System of Immanuel Wallerstein

3
April 14, 16, 18
WALLERSTEIN INTRO.
Chapter 2
WALLERSTEIN INTRO.
Chapter 3
SKOCPOL
2. The Social & Historical Landscape of Marc Bloch

4
April 21, 23, 25
WALLERSTEIN INTRO.
Chapters 4 & 5
BLACKBOARD ARTICLE
ANDRE GUNDER FRANK Immanuel & Me With-Out Hyphen
SKOCPOL
3. The Holistic Social Science of Karl Polanyi

5
April 28, 30 May 2
BLACKBOARD ARTICLE
G. Arrighi & Lu Zhang: A New Bandung
BLACKBOARD ARTICLE
AMELINA & FAIST:
De-naturalizing the national: Key Concepts of Transnational Studies in Migration

SKOCPOL
4. The Historical Sociology of S. N. Eisenstadt

6
May 5, 7, 9
BLACKBOARD ARTICLE
RÉGIS DEBRAY
Socialism: A Life-Cycle

BLACKBOARD ARTICLE
RETORT
Afflicted Powers

SKOCPOL
5. The Comparative Sociology of R. Bendix

7
May 12, 14, 16
BLACKBOARD ARTICLE
MIKE DAVIS
Planet of Slums

BLACKBOARD ARTICLE
PERRY ANDERSON
Two Revolutions
SKOCPOL
6. The historical Sociology of Perry Anderson

8
May 19, 21, 23
WALLERSTEIN, COLLINS,  et al.
Wallerstein: Chapter 1
WALLERSTEIN, COLLINS,  et al.
Collins: Chapter 2
SKOCPOL
7. E.P. Thompson: Understanding History
9
May 26, 28, 30
HOLIDAY: MEMORIAL DAY
WALLERSTEIN, COLLINS,  et al.
Mann: Chapter 3
SKOCPOL
8. Charles Tilly: Collective Action

10
June 2, 4
WALLERSTEIN, COLLINS,  et al.
Derluguian: Chapter 4
WALLERSTEIN, COLLINS,  et al.
Calhoun: Chapter 5 & Conclusion
SKOCPOL
10.
The historical Sociology of Barrington Moore
11
June 9
Discussion of Research Papers
Research Papers are due on Monday, June 9, 
uploaded in Word format on Blackboard, before class.