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  • General

  • Overview

    The aim of the course is to teach students how to theorize in social science. Attention, thus, is focused not so much on social theories per se, but rather on theorizing as a practical skill, to be learned by discussing, first of all, the role played by theory in the making of social science. In this vein, the course illustrates how to build theories and theoretical concepts, the link between key concepts and empirical research, the application and development of concepts in the analysis of social phenomena, and the two-way interaction between theory building and empirical research.

    Requirements
    Students are expected to do the required readings prior to each lecture, participate in all class activities, and complete all the homework assignments as detailed in the class schedule. Students are also required to do the following readings prior to course beginning:

    Baert, P. and da Silva, F.C. (2010), Social Theory in the Twentieth Century and Beyond, 2nd ed., Cambridge: Polity Press;
    Turner, J.H. (ed.) (2001), Handbook of Sociological Theory, New York, NY: Springer.

    Grading
    Final course grades are determined as follows: 40% class participation; 60% homework.


  • Introduction

    Instructor
    Gianmarco Navarini (gianmarco.navarini@unimib.it).

    Contents
    What is theory – What is theorizing

    Assignment
    Write a short paper (500-700 words) organized as follows: (a) Pick a topic and focus on some aspect that interests you; (b) Try to name it and construct a concept out of it; (c) Build the theory out (a process, a typology, a schemata, etc.) and try to come up with an explanation of the phenomenon of interest.
    A pdf of the paper must be sent to the instructor prior to next class.

    Compulsory readings
    Merton, R.K. (1945), Sociological theory, American Journal of Sociology, 50, 6, pp. 462-473.
    Blumer, H. (1954), What is wrong with social theory?, American Sociological Review, 19, 1, pp. 3-10.
    Mills, C.W. (2000), The Sociological Imagination, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Originally published in 1959, Chapter 1 and Appendix.
    Abend, G. (2008), The meaning of ‘theory’, Sociological Theory, 26, 2, pp. 173-199.

    Additional (not compulsory) readings
    Swedberg, R. (2016), Before theory comes theorizing or how to make social science more interesting, British Journal of Sociology, 67, 1, pp. 5-21.

  • Main epistemological issues in social science

    Instructor
    Sonia Stefanizzi (sonia.stefanizzi@unimib.it)

    Contents
    Ontological and epistemological assumptions of different research approaches – The different theoretical traditions: naturalism and interpretivism – Explanation and interpretation.

    Compulsory readings
    Risjord, M. (2014), Philosophy of Social Science: A Contemporary Introduction, New York, NY: Routledge.
    Von Wright, G.H. (1971), Explanation and Understanding, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

  • Objectivity, values, and the possibility of a social science

    Instructor
    Sonia Stefanizzi (sonia.stefanizzi@unimib.it)

    Contents
    What is a scientific fact? – What is meant by concepts such as knowledge and objectivity? – What is the relationship between science and values in the social sciences? – What does the possible distinctive character of the social sciences consist of?

    Compulsory readings
    Risjord, M. (2014), Philosophy of Social Science: A Contemporary Introduction, New York, NY: Routledge, Chapter 1.
    Lacey, H. (1999), Is Science Value Free? Values and Scientific Understanding, London: Routledge.
    Winch, P. (1958), The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Additional (not compulsory) readings
    Nagel, E. (1961), The Structure of Science: Problems in the Logic of Scientific Explanation, New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace & World.
    Hempel, C.G. (1983), Valuation and objectivity in science, in Physics, Philosophy and Psychoanalysis: Essays in Honour of Adolf Grünbaum, ed. by R.S. Cohen and L. Laudan, Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing, pp. 73-100.

  • Formalization and mathematics in social science

    Instructor
    Giuseppe Vittucci Marzetti (giuseppe.vittucci@unumib.it).

    Contents
    Mathematics in theoretical model building – The role of formalization and mathematics in general heuristics – Deterministic and stochastic models: game theory and evolutionary game theory – Agent-based modeling and computer simulations – Misuse of mathematics and simulations in social science.

    Assignment
    (a) Choose a model among those discussed during the class – e.g., Schelling’s (1998) segregation model, Granovetter's (1978) threshold model, Spence’s signaling model (Bolton and Dewatripont 2005, § 3.1, pp. 100-106), Arthur’s (1994) “El Farol bar” problem, Kirman's (1993) ants model, etc. – or another simple formal model you know; (b) Identify and explain the main causal connections in the model and the assumptions driving the results; (c) Using Matlab, Mathematica, R or another suitable software you are familiar with, write down the code to replicate as close as possible the original model’s structure and results; (d) Using simulation, analyze if and how results change by modifying some of the original assumptions, or by adding some other assumption – proceed step by step and always makes sure you understand what is actually happening in the model; (e) Write a paper documenting what you did, including the computer code, the graphs, and a discussion of the main results, insights and conclusions. A pdf of the paper must be sent to the instructor prior to next class. The assignment can be carried out in small groups of 2-3 students.

    Compulsory readings
    Abbott, A. (2004), Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences, New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Chapter 4.
    Edling, C.R. (2002), Mathematics in sociology, Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 1, pp. 197-220.
    Krugman, P.R. (1997), Development, Geography, and Economic Theory, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, Chapter 1.
    Young, H.P. (2001), Individual Strategy and Social Structure: An Evolutionary Theory of Institutions, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Chapter 1.
    Arthur, W.B. (1994), Inductive reasoning and bounded rationality, The American Economic Review, 84, 2, pp. 406-411.

    Additional (not compulsory) readings
    Akerlof, G.A. (1970), The market for “lemons”: Quality uncertainty and the market mechanism, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84, 3, pp. 488-500.
    Bolton, P. and Dewatripont, M. (2005), Contract Theory, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, § 3.1, pp. 100-106, Spence’s signaling model.
    Buchanan, M. (2007), The Social Atom: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught, and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You, New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
    Granovetter, M. (1978), Threshold models of collective behavior, American Journal of Sociology, 83, 6, pp. 1420-1443.
    Klein, D. (2014), Three frank questions to discipline your theorizing, in Theorizing in Social Sciences: The Context of Discovery, ed. by R. Swedberg, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 106-130.
    Kirman, A. (1993), Ants, rationality, and recruitment, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108, 1, pp. 137-156.
    Schelling, T.C. (1998), Micromotives and Macrobehavior, New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
    Young, H.P. (2009), Innovation diffusion in heterogeneous populations: Contagion, social influence, and social learning, The American Economic Review, 99, 5, pp. 1899-1924.

  • Time as a tool for theoretical analysis

    Instructor
    Carmen Leccardi (carmen.leccardi@unimib.it).

    Contents
    Social action and time – Society, nature, and time – Rhythmicity in social life – Social time

    Assignment
    Choose a topic of your choice related to contemporary social issues, and apply to it a grid of temporal concepts, identified on the basis of the proposed analysis; the goal is to understand     how that specific grid will help clarifying the theoretical aspects of the topic considered. Then, write a short paper (maximum 6,000 words, references included).
    A pdf of the paper must be     sent to the instructor prior to next class.

    Compulsory readings

    Adam, B. (1990), Time and Social Theory, Cambridge: Polity Press.
    Elias, N. (1992), Time: An Essay, Oxford: Blackwell.
    Zerubavel, E. (1981), Hidden Rhythms, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Additional (not compulsory) readings
    Bergmann, W. (1992), The problem of time in sociology: An overview of the literature on the state of theory and research on the ‘sociology of time’, 1900-82», Time & Society, 1, 1, pp. 81-134.
    Merton, R. K. (1984), Socially expected durations: A case study of concept formation in sociology, in Conflict and Consensus: A Festschrift in Honor of Lewis A. Coser, ed. by W.W. Powell and R. Robbins, New York, NY: Free Press, pp. 362-383.
    Sorokin, P.A. and Merton, R.K. (1937), So    cial Time: A Methodological and Functional Analysis, American Journal of Sociology, 42, 5, pp. 615-629.

  • Concepts for applied sociology: Social action

    Instructor
    Serafino Negrelli (serafino.negrelli@unimib.it).

    Contents

    Social Action – Economic Action – Institutions

    Assignment
    Write a short paper (1,000-1,500 words) on the main empirical researches presented during the course, distinguishing and discussing the applied concepts of social action, economic action and/or institutions. 
    A pdf of the paper must be sent to the instructor prior to next class.

    Compulsory readings
    Granovetter, M. (1985), Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness», American Journal of Sociology, 91, 3, pp. 481-510.

    Elster, J. (1989), Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    Swedberg, R. (1998), Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Chapter 2.

    Additional (not compulsory) readings
    Elster, J. (1989), The Cement of Society: A Study of Social Order, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    Hedström, P. and Swedberg, R. (eds.) (1998), So    cial Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    Merton, R.K. (1936), The unanticipated consequences of purposive social action, American Sociological Review, 1, 6, pp. 894-904.

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  • Conclusion

    Instructor
    Gianmarco Navarini (gianmarco.navarini@unimib.it).

    Contents
    Construction and use of concepts – The use of tricks and heuristics in theorizing.

    Assignment
    Write a short paper (1,000-1,500 words) organized as follows: (a) Pick a phenomenon that really interests you and study/observe it as much as you can – on the web, in everyday life, etc.; (b) Give your phenomenon of interest a name and turn it into a concept; (c) Repeat and continue your study/observation, and try to build the theory out; (d) Try to come up with an explanation of the phenomenon. A PDF of the paper must be sent to the instructor within two weeks after class.

    Compulsory readings
    Swedberg, R. (2012), Theorizing in sociology and social science: Turning to the context of discovery, Theory and Society, 41, 1, pp. 1-40.
    Goertz, G. (2006), Social Science Concepts: A User’s Guide, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Chapters 1-3.
    Becker, H.S. (1998), Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You’re Doing It, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, Chapters 1, 3 and 4.

    Additional (not compulsory) readings
    Goertz, G. (2006), Social Science Concepts: A User’s Guide, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.