Economic Sociology

Year
2
Academic year
2018-2019
Code
03020014
Subject Area
Option
Language of Instruction
Portuguese
Mode of Delivery
Face-to-face
Duration
SEMESTRIAL
ECTS Credits
7.5
Type
Elective
Level
3rd Cycle Studies

Recommended Prerequisites

NA

Teaching Methods

Classes are both theoretical and practical, emphasizing joint discussion and reflec-tion. Student active participation will stem from the:  
a) previous study and preparation of the theories to be presented in class;
b) class analysis and debate over current topics, theoretical streams, theories and controversies.

Learning Outcomes

The objectives are grouped into two core areas:
1) facilitate knowledge of the theoretical framework in the area of economic sociology, in order to enable the identification of the most significant currents of thought and theoretical controversies;
2) develop analytical thinking about the dynamics of the socioeconomic system in which multiple actors and divergent interest groups act.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Diversity and complementarity of the Economic and Sociological paths in the XIXth century. The main projects of a coherent field map.  
2. Parsons essay on synthesis in the mid XXth century – possibilities and limitations. The turning points of the Parsonian project.  
3. The rise of the New Economic Sociology: potentialities, incoherencies and specificities.
4. Rediscovering structural, political and cultural embeddedness. The language of trust and social capital. The central role of the market as the thread of the New Economic Sociology.
5. New discussions on valuation, qualities, singularities and justifications. Genealogical and archaeological debates. Uncertainties and information asymmetries. The valuation of intangibles, the logic of free and “long tails”.
6. Performativity and the Financial world. The social construction of the concepts of liquidity, leverage and indebtedness. A socio-historical analysis of the financial crises.

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Participation in classes: 25.0%
Synthesis work: 75.0%

Bibliography

BECKERT, Jens and Patrik Aspers (2011), The Worth of Goods: Valuation and Pricing in the Economy, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
CARRUTHERS, Bruce and Laura ARIOVICH (2010), Money and Credit: A Sociological Approach, Cambridge, Polity Press.
FLIGSTEIN, Neil (2001), The Architecture of Markets: An Economic Sociology of Twenty-First-Century Capitalist Societies, Princeton, Princeton University Press.
GRAÇA, J. (2008). “The Economics-Sociology Divide: the Cost of Parsons as an Academic «Social Entrepreneur»”, Journal of Classical Sociology, 8 (4), pp. 467-499.
MARQUES, Rafael, e João PEIXOTO (orgs.) (2003), A Nova Sociologia Económica: Uma Antologia, Oeiras, Celta Editora.
SMELSER, Neil and Richard SWEDBERG (Eds.) (2005), The Handbook of Economic Sociology, 2nd edition, Princeton, Princeton University Press.
TRIGILIA, Carlo (1998), Sociologia Economica: Stato, Mercato e Società nel Capitalismo Moderno, Bologna, Il Mulino.
ZELIZER, Viviana (1997), The Social Meaning of Money: Pin Money.