SOCIOLOGY 590 Special Topics in Sociology
Seminar on Social Capital Theory
Fall 2018
Professor Ross L. Matsueda
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This seminar provides an overview of social capital
theory. The seminar emphasizes the
sociological approach to social capital theory as outlined by James Coleman,
but will also cover different sociological approaches, as well as the use of
social capital in other disciplines. The
seminar is designed to cover a balance of theoretical, methodological, and
empirical issues, with an emphasis on quantitative research using survey
data. The readings will be a mix of
classical theoretical treatments of social capital theory and empirical
research on the role of social capital in different substantive areas, including
crime, labor markets, public health, and economic outcomes. An important
objective of the course is to introduce students to significant theoretical
problems that can be addressed empirically, and introduce some key
methodological issues. There are no
formal prerequisites for the course, but it is recommended that students have
exposure to a basic social science course and basic methods and statistics.
The seminar begins with various definitions,
conceptualizations, and typologies of social capital. It then moves to different theories of social
capital, including Putnam, Bourdieu, Coleman, and Lin. It then discusses the role of social capital
in the micro-macro debate, and the role of social capital in various
substantive areas, including public health, neighborhoods and crime, labor
markets, civic engagement, education, social networks, and economic
development. Additional topics, such as
measurement, immigration, education, and economic development will be covered only if time permits.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
·
This seminar is an introduction to social
capital theory. The main objective of
the seminar is to acquaint students with the concept of social capital. We will emphasize James Coleman’s social
capital theory, but will also cover alternatives.
·
A second objective of the seminar is to expose
students to the ways in which social capital is used in different substantive
areas of sociology—such as crime, labor markets, education, and immigration—and
in different disciplines, such as political science, public health, and
economics.
·
The seminar is also designed to help students
develop their own style of research. One
of the best ways of doing so is to examine the styles of top researchers. What kinds of questions do they address? How sociological are they? How do they operationalize theoretical
concepts? What data and methods do they
use? What conclusions do they draw?
COURSE
INFORMATION:
Website http://faculty.washington.edu/matsueda/courses/590/web590.htm
Syllabus Course
Syllabus
Time & Location Wednesday 5:30-7:20pm in 409 Savery Hall
Instructor Ross L. Matsueda matsueda@uw.edu
Office Hours 227 Savery Hall,
Friday 2-3pm and by appointment
Required Books Small, Mario Luis.
2009. Unanticipated Gains: Origins of
Network Inequality in Everyday Life.
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Lin, Nan.
2001. Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Recommended Book Coleman, James S. 1990.
Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
COURSE READINGS:
Readings II. *Portes, Alejandro. 1998. “Social Capital: Its Origins and
Applications in Modern Sociology.” Annual
Reviews in Sociology 24: 1–24.
*Putnam,
Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The
Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster,
Chapter 1.
*Bourdieu,
Pierre. 1986. “The Forms of Capital.”
Pp. 241-58 in The Handbook of
Theory: Research for the Sociology of
Education. Edited by J.G.
Richardson. New York: Greenwood Press.
Lin,
Nan. 2001. Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
Chapters 1-2.
Recommended:
Coleman,
James C. 1988. “Social Capital in
the Creation of Human Capital.” American Journal of Sociology
94:S95-S120.
Glanville,
Jennifer L., and Elisa Jayne Bienenstock. 2009.
“A Typology for Understanding the Connections Among Different Forms of Social
Capital. American Behavioral Scientist 52:1507-1530.
Adler,
Paul S., Seok-Woo Kwon. 2000. “Social Capital: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Pp. 89-115 in Knowledge and Social Capital:
Foundations and Applications. Edited by E.L. Lesser. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Putnam,
Robert D. 1995. “Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social
Capital in America.” Political Science
and Politics 28: 664–83.
Readings III. *Coleman,
James C. 1990. Foundations of Social
Theory. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press. Chapter 1.
*Coleman,
James C. 1990. Foundations of Social
Theory. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press. Chapter 12.
*Coleman,
James S. 1983. “Microfoundations and Macrosocial
Behavior.” In The Microfoundations
of Macrosociology, edited by M. Hechter, 153–73.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
*Lin,
Nan. 2001. Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
Chapters 8 & 9.
Opp,
Karl-Dieter. 2011. “Modeling Micro-Macro Relationships: Problems and Solutions.” Journal
of Mathematical Sociology 35:209-34.
Recommended:
Matsueda,
Ross L. 2017. “The 2016 Sutherland Address: ‘Toward an Analytical
Criminology: The Micro-Macro Problem, Causal Mechanisms, and Public
Policy.’” Criminology 55:493-519.
Readings IV. Lin,
Nan. 2001. Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
Chapters 3-5.
*Burt,
Ronald S. 2000. “The Network Structure of Social Capital.” Research
in Organizational Behavior 22:345-423.
Recommended:
Ahuja,
Gautam. 2000. “Collaboration Networks, Structural
Holes, and Innovation: A Longitudinal
Study.” Administrative Science Quarterly 45:425-455.
Lin,
Nan. 1999. “Building a Network Theory of Social Capital.” Connections
22:28-51.
Mouw, Ted. 2006. “Estimating the Causal Effect of
Social Capital: A Review of Recent
Research.” Annual Review of Sociology
32:79-102.
Burt,
Ronald S. 2001. “Structural Holes versus Network Closure as Social
Capital.” Pp. 31-56 in Nan Lin, Karen S. Cook, and Ronald S. Burt, Eds., Social Capital: Theory and Research. New
Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
*Moody,
James and Pamela Paxton. 2009. “Building Bridges: Linking Social Capital
and Social Networks to Improve Theory and Research” American Behavioral
Scientist 52:1491-1506.
Readings V. Small, Mario Luis.
2009. Unanticipated Gains: Origins of
Network Inequality in Everyday Life.
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Readings VI. *Sampson,
Robert J., Raudenbush, Stephen W., and Earls, Felton.
1997. “Neighborhoods and VIolent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy.” Science, 277:918-924.
*Wacquant, Loic J.D. 1998.
“Negative Social Capital: State
Breakdown and Social Destitution in America’s Urban Core.” Netherlands
Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. 13:25-40.
*Browning,
Christopher R., Calder, Catherine A., Soller, Brian,
Jackson, Aubry L., and Dirlam,
Jonathan. 2017. “Ecological Networks and Neighborhood Social Organization.”
American Journal of Sociology
122:1939-88.
Recommended:
Sampson,
Robert J. 2012. Great American
City: Chicago and the Enduring
Neighborhood Effect. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, Chapter 7, “Collective Efficacy.”
Matsueda,
Ross L. 2013. “Rational Choice Research in Criminology: A Multi-Level Framework.” Pp. 283-321 in Handbook of Rational Choice
Social Research. Edited by R. Wittek, T. Snijders, and V.
Nee. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.
Sampson,
Robert J. and Stephen W. Raudenbush. 1999.
“Systematic Social Observation of Public Spaces: A New Look at Disorder in
Urban Neighborhoods.” American Journal of
Sociology 105(3): 603-651.
Messner, Steven F., Eric P. Baumer,
and Richard Rosenfeld. 2004. “Dimensions of Social Capital and Rates of
Criminal Homicide.” American Sociological Review 69:882-903.
Readings VII. *Granovetter, Mark. 1973. “The Strength of Weak Ties.” American Journal of Sociology 78:
1360–80.
*Granovetter, Mark. 1974. Getting a Job. A Study of
Contacts and Careers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, chapters 1-5
(pp. 23-83).
*Lin,
Nan. 2001. Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
Chapters 6 & 7.
Recommended:
*Mouw, Ted. 2003. “Social Capital and Finding a
Job: Do Contacts Matter?” American
Sociological Review 68:868-898.
Lin,
Nan. 2000. “Inequality in Social Capital.”
Contemporary Sociology
29:785-95.
Lin,
Nan, and Mary Dumin. 1986. “Access to Occupations
Through Social Ties.” Social Networks 8:1986: 365-385.
Baker,
Wayne, and Robert R. Faulkner. 2009. “Social Capital, Double Embeddedness,
and Mechanisms of Stability and Change.”
American Behavioral Scientist
52:1531-55.
Readings VIII. *Kawachi, Ichiro, and Lisa Berkman. 2000. “Social
Cohesion, Social Capital, and Health.”
Pp. 174-190 in Social Epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press.
*Kawachi, Ichiro, Bruce P. Kennedy, and Roberta Glass. 1997.
“Social Capital and Self-Rated Health: A
Contextual Analysis.” American Journal of Public Health 89:1187-93.
*Chi,
Donald L., and Richard M. Carpiano. 2013.
“Neighborhood Social Capital, Neighborhood Attachment, and Dental Care Use for
Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey Adults.” American
Journal of Public Health 103:e88-e95.
Recommended:
Lynch,
John, et al. 2001. “Income Inequality, the Psychosocial Environment, and
Health: Comparisons of Wealthy Nations.”
The Lancet 358:194-200.
Smith,
Nathan Daniel Lucia, and Ichiro Kawachi. 2014.
“State-Level Social Capital and Suicide Mortality in the 50 U.S. States.” Social
Science & Medicine 120:269-277.
Readings IX. Discussion of Seminar Paper Topics
*Granovetter, Mark. 1985. “Economic Action and Social
Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness.” American
Journal of Sociology 91: 481–510.
Readings X. *Newton,
Kenneth. 1997. “Social Capital and Democracy.” American
Behavioral Scientist 40:575-586.
*Putnam,
Robert D. 1993. “The Prosperous Community:
Social Capital and Public Life.” The American Prospect 4:35-42.
*Sampson,
Robert J., Doug McAdam, Heather MacIndoe, and Simón Weffer-Elizondo. 2005.
“Civl Society Reconsidered: The Durable Nature and Community Structure of
Collective Civic Action.” American Journal of Sociology
111:673-714.
Bowles,
Samuel, and Herbert Gintis. 2002. “Social Capital
and Community Governance.” The Economic Journal 112:F419-F436.
Recommended:
Brehm, John, and Wendy Rahn. 1997.
“Individual-Level Evidence for the Causes and Consequences of Social Capital.” American
Journal of Political Science 41:999-1023.
Readings XI. *Portes, Alejandro, and Julia Sensenbrenner. 1993.
"Embeddedness and Immigration:
Notes on the Social Determinants of Economic Action." American
Journal of Sociology 98:1320-1350.
*Palloni, Alberto, Massey, Douglas S. et al. 2001.
“Social Capital and International Migration:
A Test Using Information on Family Networks.” American Journal of Sociology 106:1262-98.
Sanders,
Jimy M., and Victor Nee. 1996. “Immigrant
Self-Employment: The Family as Social
Capital and the Value of Human Capital. American Sociological Review 61:231-49.
Recommended:
Phillips,
Julie A., and Douglas S. Massey. 2000. “Engines of Immigration: Stocks of Human and Social Capital in
Mexico.” Social Science Quarterly 81:33-48.
Readings XII. *Morgan,
Stephen L., and Aage B. Sørensen.
1999. “Parental Networks, Social Closure, and Mathematics Learning: A Test of Coleman’s Social Capital
Explanation of School Effects.” American
Sociological Review 64:661-681.
*Carbonaro, William J. 1999. “Opening the Debate: On
Closure and Schooling Outcomes: Comment on Morgan and Sørensen. American Sociological Review 64:682-686.
*Hallinan,
Maureen T., and Warren N. Kubitschek. 1999.
“Conceptualizing and Measuring School Social Networks: Comment on Morgan and Sørensen. American
Sociological Review 64:687-693.
*Morgan,
Stephen L., and Aage Sørensen.
1999. “Theory, Measurement, and Specification Issues in Models of Network
Effects on Learning: Reply to Carbonaro and to Hallinan and Kubitschek. American Sociological Review 64:694-700.
Offer,
Shira, and Barbara Schneider. 2007. “Children’s
Role in Generating Social Capital.” Social Forces 85:1125-1142.
Recommended:
Kim,
Doo Hwan, and Barbara Schneider. 2005. “Social Capital in Action: Alignment of Parental Support in Adolescents’
Transition to Postsecondary Education.
Social Forces 84:1181-1206.
Readings XIII. *Van
Der Gaag, Martin, and Tom A.B. Snijders.
2005. “The Resource Generator:
Social Capital Quantification with Concrete Items.” Social
Networks 27:1-29.
*Paxton,
Pamela. 1999. “Is Social Capital Declining in the United States? A Multiple Indicator Assessment.” American
Journal of Sociology 105:88-127.
Harpham,
Trudy, Emma Grant, and Elizabeth Thomas. 2002. “Measuring Social Capital
within Health Surveys: Key Issues.” Health
Policy and Planning 17:106-111.
Recommended:
Matsueda,
Ross L., and Kevin Drakulich. 2016. “Measuring
Collective Efficacy: A Multi-Level
Measurement Model for Nested Data.” Sociological Methods and Research 45(2):
191-230.
Sampson,
Robert J., Jeffrey D. Morenoff, and Felton Earls.
1999. “Beyond Social Capital: Spatial Dynamics of Collective Efficacy for
Children.” American Sociological Review
64(5) 633-660.
*Lin,
Nan, Yang-chih Fu, and Ray-May Hsung.
2001. “The Position Generator:
Measurement Techniques for Investigations of Social Capital.” Pp. 57-81 in Nan Lin, Karen S. Cook, and
Ronald S. Burt, Eds., Social
Capital: Theory and Research. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Readings IX. *Glaeser, Edward L., David Laibson,
and Bruce Sacerdote. 2002. “An Economic Approach
to Social Capital.” Economic Journal 112:
437–58.
*Durlauf, Steven N., and Marcel Fafchamps.
2005. “Social Capital.” In Handbook
of Economic Growth. Vol. 1B,
edited by P. Aghion and S. N. Durlauf,
1640–99. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
*Granovetter, Mark. 1985. “Economic Action and Social
Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness.” American
Journal of Sociology 91: 481–510.
Sobel,
Joel. 2002. “Can We Trust Social Capital?”
Journal of Economic Literature
40:139-54.
Readings X. *Woolcock, Michael. 1998. “Social Capital and Economic
Development: Toward a Theoretical
Synthesis and Policy Framework.” Theory
and Society 27:151-208.
*Fukuyama,
Francis. 2002. “Social Capital and Development: The Coming Agenda.” SAIS Review 22:23-37
Evans,
Peter. 1996. “Government Action, Social Capital and Development: Reviewing the Evidence on Synergy.” World Development 24:119-1132.
Notes on
writing a research article