SS 301 -- INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCE (3)

I.  SCOPE, CONTENT AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

Our definition of social science is relatively broad.  It is seen here as a process which seeks to record observations about human behavior and to discover the interrelationships between various kinds of human behavior.  These two functions are often called data collection and data analysis; they require that attention be paid to methods.  The sequence of procedure same as in the natural sciences.

The course is also specifically designed to make the students understand the relation-ships among social sciences, the linkages between social sciences and objective sciences and humanities and how they analyze Black and Third World experience.  One of the most difficult aspects of cross-cultural studies is the identification of meaningful problems rather than just the transfer of problems which are relevant in a dominant Western context to a non-Western or minority context.  For instance, one should be able to identify the ways in which inferences regarding general conclusions are drawn from specific instances (e.g., the myth of Black matriarchy in the USA).  Also one should be able to recognize both, when the authors are giving personal judgments and when they are presenting "facts."

In the process of discovery, certain concepts have been established to be useful to the discipline.  For instance, in social science use is made of "system." A system refers to the process by which entities are interactive within a context so that a change in one entity will produce a change in another (interlinkage).

The course will examine the theory of human adaptive behavior, the methodology of scientific inquiry and their application to the study of Black and Third World experience in the USA.

The general G.E. objectives include:

1. the exploration of the modes of adaptive human behavior in terms of its diversity, the methods of scientific discovery and its distinctive characteristics (reason and experience) and the ensuing problems and research design;

2. the use of certain key concepts by different social science disciplines ("social structure" in sociology, “economy" in economics, "government" in political science) are adaptive instruments to focus on the pattern and diversity in human adaptive behavior;

3. the raising of the question as to whether the wide range of human conditions and philosophical positions as shown by scientific study is affected by considerations of logic, ethnic, self interest, metaphors, which seem to establish evident link-ages between social sciences and humanities;

4. the gauging of the extent to which each social science discipline analyzing Black and Third World experience in terms of its own methodology, conceptions reach converging conclusions;

5. the awareness of the fact that the knowledge produced by each social science discipline has had an effect upon Black and Third World groups i.e., subdominated cultures considered as subjects of inquiry, objects of policy recommendations and sources of support for researchers;

6. the realization that the compartmentalized picture of the humankind as presented by social sciences scholarship could be seen as an integrated one attesting to the fundamental unity of humankind;

7. the familiarization of students with the methodical principles and key concepts of social sciences and their application and relevancy in Black or Third World perspective to a problem solving operation in history, economics, political scene, sociology, or the study of social, economic and cultural systems of Black or Third World people.

II.  COURSE REQUIREMENTS

This course is offered for three units.  There would be 3.35-hour meetings on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for three weeks.

Students will be evaluated on their performance on two brief exams (a midterm and a final exam), the discussions of the assigned readings, and book reviews.  The objectives of the course are to be reached in large measure by extensive reading and class discussions.  The brief exams will cover the readings and lecture materials.  Students will write two book reviews to be devoted to a topic linked to one of the themes of the course.  The two books must be cleared with the instructor at the third class meeting.  The first book review is due on Monday, June 7; the second book review is due on Monday, June 14.  The two brief exams will constitute 40 percent of the course grade.  They will be on June 7 and June 18.  The two book reviews will constitute 40 percent of the grade.  Class participation will make the remaining 20 percent.

III.  REQUIRED READING

1. Robert L. Heilbroner, The World Philosophers: The Lives and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968.

or R. Dahl, Modern Political Analysis, Englewood, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1980.

or Kenneth Boulding, The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society, Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan, 1987.

 
III.  REQUIRED TEXTS (continued)

2. Robert Jackson, Global Issues, The Duskin Publ. Group, 1999.

3. Urban League, The State of Black America, 1998.
or
 Thomas Boston, A Different Vision: African American Economic Thought, Vol.1 or Vol. 2, London & New York:
or
 Christopher Jenks and Paul Petersen (eds.), The Urban Underclass, Washington D.C. Brookings Institution, 1996.
or
 Charles Green (ed.), Globalization & Survival in the Black Diaspora: The New Urban Challenge, Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1997.
or
 Timothy Bates, Banking on Black Business, Washington, DC: Joint Center for Politics &  Economic Studies, 1993.
or
 Robert L. Wallace, Black Wealth Through Black, Englewood, NY: Duncan & Duncan Inc., 1993.
or
 Clarence J. Munford, Race & Reparations: A Black Perspective for the 21st Century, Tenton, NJ: African World Press, Inc. 1996.
 

COURSE OUTLINE

WEEK 1, DAY 1: INTRODUCTION: SOCIAL SCIENCES AND ETHNIC PLURALISM
 LECTURES

WEEK 1, DAY 2: CHAPTER 1: HUMAN ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR: UNITY IN DIVERSITY
 SET 1 BOOKS

References:
Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1966.

Jacques Maquet, Civilizations of Black Africa, New York: Oxford University Press, 1972. (have a good idea of the different civilizations: of the bow; of the clearing; of the granaries; of the spear; and of cities.)

Richard Price (Ed.), Maroon Society: Rebel Slaves Communities in the Americas, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980.

Michael Banton, Racial and Ethnic Competition, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ.  Press, 1983.

 WEEK 1, DAY 3: CHAPTER 2:  THE METHODS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES IN APPROACHING THE HUMAN ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR
 READING: SET 1 BOOKS

References:

John Madge, "The Methods of Social Science" in The Tools of Social Science: An Analytical Description of Social Sciences Techniques, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1965, pp. xv-74.

Karl R. Popper, "On the Sources of Knowledge & Ignorance," pp. 3-32.

Karl R. Popper, "The Nature of Philosophical Problems and Roots in Science," pp. 66-96.

Karl R. Popper, "Three Views Concerning Human Knowledge," pp. 97-119, all in Conjectures: The Growth of Science Knowledge, New York: Harper & Row Pub. 1965.

Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolution, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962 (have a good idea).
 

WEEK 1, DAY 4: CHAPTER 3:  THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
 READING: SET 1 BOOKS

? Scientific Research (Reason and Experience)
? Problems (Diversity, Complexity, Subjectivity)
? Research Design & Inference.

 References:

Rene Descartes, Discourse on Method, Indianapolis and New York: The Bobbs Merrill Company, 1956.

Karl R. Popper, "Introduction to Logic of Science," Part 1, pp. 27-58.

Karl R. Popper, "Some Structural Components of a Theory of Experience," Part II, pp. 59-77.  In The Logic of Scientific Discovery, New York: Harper & Row, 1968.
 

WEEK 2, DAY 1: CHAPTER 4:  SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THEIR APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

 Required Reading: Robert Heilbroner, The World Philosophers
    Robert Dahl, Modern Political Analysis
    Kenneth Boulding, The Image: Knowledge in Life & Society

 References:

George C. Homans, The Nature of Social Sciences, New York: Harcourt Brace, Jovanovitch, 1967.

W. Phillips Shively, The Craft of Political Research, Englewood, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1980.

Robert L. Heilbroner, The World Philosophers: The Lives and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968.

P.  Berger, Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1963.

R. Dahl, Modern Political Analysis, Englewood, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1980.

W.E.B. DuBois, "The Propaganda of History," Chapter 16 in Black Reconstruction, New York: Atheneum, 1934.

Richard Wright, "How Bigger Was Born," Saturday Review, June 1940.

WEEK 2, DAY 1-4: GLOBAL ISSUES: GEOGRAPHIC & URBAN CONSIDERATIONS

 Required Reading: Robert Jackson, Global Issues,

WEEK 3, DAY1-3: SOCIOECONOMIC FORMATION THEORY: CONFLICT AND
  COMPETITION

Required Readings:  One of the following:
    National Urban League, State of Black America (1998)
    Thomas Boston, A Different Vision, Vol. 2 or Vol. 1.
  Robert L. Wallace, Black Wealth Through Black.
  Timothy Bates, Banking on Black Business.
  Christopher Jenks and Paul Petersen (eds.), The Urban Underclass.
  Charles Green (ed.), Globalization & Survival in the Black Diaspora.
    Clarence J. Munford, Race & Reparations.

References:

 Thomas Sowell, The Economics and Politics of Race.

Non-Violent Direct Action: August Meier - "On the Role of Martin Luther King,” New Politics, Winter 1965, pp. 52-59.

Inge Powell Bell, "Status Discrepancy and the Radical Rejection of Non-Violence," Sociological inquiry, Vol. 38, Winter 1968, pp. 51-63.

Robert Blauner, "Internal Colonialism and Ghetto Revolt," Social Problems, Vol. 12, Spring 1969, pp. 393-408.

Charles v. Hamilton, "Conflict, Race and System Transformation in the United States," Journal of International Affairs XXIII, No. 1, 1969, pp. 106-118.

"Black Politics: The New Road to Freedom," Ebony, August 1984.
 

WEEK 3, DAY 4: THE BUILDING OF THE AMERICAN NATION STATE, THE RISE OF WELFARE CAPITALISM

Recommended Reading:

Carol Berkin, et al., Making America: A History of the United States, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1995.

Arthur Lewis, "The Road to the Top is Through Higher Education," The New York Times Magazine, May 11, 1969.

Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1980.

Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward, Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How they Fail, New York: Random House, 1977.
 

WEEK 3: DAY4:
  CONCLUSION: Transcending the narrow scope of a discipline toward a holistic approach to the study of Third World People and People and All People.
 

VI. BOOKS FOR REVIEWS

FIRST SET OF BOOKS TO REVIEW
1. Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict From 1500 to 2000, New York: Random House, 1988.

2. Paul Kennedy, Preparing for the 21st Century, New York: Random House, 1993.

3. Jeffrey A. Harf, Rival Capitalists International Competitiveness in the United States, Japan and Western Europe, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992.

4. Joel Kotkin, Tribes: How Race, Religion and Identity Determine Success in the Global Economy, NY: Random House, 1992.

5. Lawrence E. Harrison, Who Prospers: How Cultural Values Shape Economic and Political Success, NY: Basic Books, 1992.

FIRST SET OF BOOKS TO REVIEW (continued)

6. Lester Thurow, Head to Head: The Coming Battle Among Japan, Europe and America, NY: A Time Warner Co., 1993.

7. Joseph Nye, Jr., Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power, Scranton, PA: Basic Books/Harper Collins, 1991.

8. Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man, NY: Basic Books, 1992.

9. Peter Drucker, Post-Capitalist Society, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.

10. Robert Reich, The Work of Nations, New York: Vintage Books, 1991.
 

SECOND SET OF BOOKS TO REVIEW

1. Edward Chris, The Fragmented World: Competing Perspectives on Trade, Money & Crisis, Routledge.

2. Cameron Cole & Chris Edwards, Why Economists Disagree (Addison Wesley 1996).

3. William Greider, One World, Ready or Not: The Magic Logic of Global Capitalism (Simon & Shuster 1997).

4. Markar Melkonia, Marxism: a Post Cold War Primer.

5. Robert B. Reich, The Work of Nations (Knopf, 1991).

6. Robert Kuttner, The End of Laissez Faire (Knopf, 1991)

7. James Fallows, More Like Us: Putting America’s Negative Strengths & Traditional Values to Work to Overcome the Asian Challenge (Houghton Mifflin 1994).

8. James Fallows, Looking at the Sun (Pantheon, 1994).

9. Anthony Brewer, Marxist Theories of Imperialism: A Critical Essay (Routledge, 1990).

10. George T. Crane & Abla Amawi (Eds.), The Theoretical Evolution of International Political Economy (Oxford University, 1990).

11. Jeffry A. Frieden & David A. Lake (eds.) International Political Economy, Perspectives on Global Power & Wealth (St. Martin Press, 1991).

12. Susan Strange, States & Markets (Basil Blackwell, 1988).

13. Richard O’Brien, Global Financial Integration (Council on Foreign Relations, 1992).

14. Lester R. Brow, et al., Vital Signs 1999 (World Watch Institute, 1999).

15. Bruce Rich, Mortgaging the Earth: The World Bank Environmental Impoverishment and the Crisis of Development (Beacon Press, 1994).

16. Howard Lehman, Indebted Development: Strategic Bargaining and Economic Adjustment in the Third World (St. Martin Press, 1993).

17. E. Wayne Nafziger, The Debt Crisis in Africa (John Hopkins University Press, 1993).

18. David Woodward, Debt, Adjustment and Poverty in Developing Countries (Pinter Publishers, 1992), Vol. 1 or Vol. 2).

19. Jeremy Brecher & Tim Costello, Global Village or Global Pillage (South End Press, 1995).

20. Van Whiting, The Political Economy of Foreign Investment in Mexico: Nationalism, Liberation & Constraints on Choice (John Hopkins University Press, 1991).

21. Peter J. Buckley & Jeremy Cregg (Eds.), Multinational Enterprises in Less Developed Countries (St. Martin Press, 1991).
 

VII. OUTLINE OF GRADUATE PAPERS

Selection of a hypothesis in the field of economic, political, and business development (for graduate students).  Formulate it in an operational way and state the alternative hypotheses that purport to explain the phenomena. State the implications of the hypotheses.  Design and present data whereby the hypothesis could be tested.  (You do not have to do the calculations or conduct significance tests; only describe the method you would follow, present your data and state your reasons for expecting that the test would be a good one).  Please discuss with the instructor the paper that you propose to write no later than the end of the third week of class.  The paper will account for 50% of the final grade, with the two brief exams and class participation making the balance.