New Institutionalism in practice – why and how institutions keep on reproducing? 3502-FAKL426
The purpose of the course is to introduce students to New Institutional Theory, which is a result of a transdisciplinary discussion among scholars in economy, philosophy, sociology and cultural theory. It has emerged as a contrary to traditional models of decision-making based on ratio, which define the constitution of organizations through affiliation with institutional norms and identities.
The course will compose both of theoretical (20 hours) and practical part (10 hours). The first one will be divided into two parts, firstly introducing the sociological background for neo-institutionalism, presenting key aspects of structuration theory (Giddens), self-adjusting communicative systems (Luhmann), social capital (Bourdieu) and Actor Network Theory (Latour). Following, specific topics will be introduced, focusing on New Institutional Economics, which provides an outlook on institutions’ functioning. Therefore, certain categories from Transaction Costs Economics and Imperfect Information Paradigm will be presented, such as: bounded rationality, trust, agency problems, norms, and market structures. After each of these two parts participants will write a short essay (1-2 pages), which task is to prove the understanding of read texts, as well as to present mentioned theories’ applicability in everyday life.
Theoretical part will lead to practical one, which will be concentrated on providing an answer to two questions (1) whether and how networks supplement, sustain, or collapse social institution/organization formation; (2) looking at both variation amongst democracies and autocracies - what is the effect of certain institutions?
In order to answer the latter two questions, neo- institutional analysis of institutions, dealing with foreign affairs (European and Asian Think Tanks, various Ministries of Foreign Affairs and tensions/ cooperation between them) will be carried out. It will be conducted in groups (consisting of 3-4 students) and will require both theoretical and practical background from course’s participants. Each group’s task will be the detailed analysis of specific institution, taking into consideration its reproduction abilities as well as its impact on the whole system.
Course Readings are structured in such a way as to firstly depict how neo-institutional theory is rooted in sociological theory and then to show its broader transdisciplinary context at the same time presenting its practical implications.
Rodzaj przedmiotu
Założenia (opisowo)
Efekty kształcenia
Having finished the course, its participant:
1. Possesses basic knowledge about sociological concepts concerning modern institutions and the ways they operate.
2. Possesses theoretical knowledge about sociological background of New Institutionalism.
3. Possesses knowledge about the main categories, which are constitutive for the concept of New Institutionalism and New Institutional Economics.
4. Knows how to apply critically evaluate concepts and apply analyzed categories to practical research.
5. Is able to see institutions’ complexity and while analyzing them being able to avoid limitations of classical, institutional approach.
6. Understands how certain disciplines of intermingled with each other and knows how to deal (theoretically and practically) with this complexity.
7. Understands how institutions shape and are being shaped by the social reality, including everyday life as well as realizing their potential and limitations.
Kryteria oceniania
The final grade will be an outcome of three different components:
1) Individual student’s participation during seminar (30% of the final grade),
2) Evaluations of two essays concerning analyzed texts (35%) and
3) The outcome of group work, concerning analysis of a given institution (35%).
Literatura
1) Akerlof, George and Schiller, Robert. 2009. “Animal Spirit”. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
2) Chirot, Daniel and Thomas D. Hall. 1982. “World-System Theory.” Annual Review of Sociology, 8:81-106.
3) DiMaggio, Paul, and Walter W. Powell. 1983. “The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields.”, in: American Sociological Review 48, 2: 147-60.
4) Fergussion, Niall. 2011. “Civilization: The West and The Rest”. London: Pengium Press.
5) Finnemore, Martha. 1996. “Norms, Culture, and World Politics: Insights from Sociology’s Neo-institutionalism.”, in: International Organization, 50(2): 325-347.
6) Giddens, Anthony. 1990. The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford: University Press, excerpts.
7) Jepperson, Ronald. 2002. “Political Modernities: Disentangling Two Underlying Dimensions of Institutional Differentiation.” Sociological Theory. 20(1): 61-85.
8) Jepperson, Ronald and John Meyer. 1991. “The Public Order and the Construction of Formal Organizations.” In Walter W. Powell and Paul J. DiMaggio (eds.) The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
9) Kahneman, Daniel. “Maps of Bounded Rationality: Psychology for Behavioral Economics.”
10) North, Douglass C. 1990. “A Transaction Cost Theory of Politics”, in: Journal of Theoretical Politics 2(4): 355-367.
11) North, Douglas C. 1991. “Institutions”, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives 5(1): 97-112.
12) North, Douglass C. 1998. "Economic Performance through Time." in Mary C. Brinton and Victor Nee (eds.) The New Institutionalism in Sociology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 19-45.
13) Powell, Walter W. and Paul J. DiMaggio. 1991. “The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis”. in: Mary C. Brinton and Victor Nee (eds.) The New Institutionalism in Sociology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
14) Rodrik, Dani and Arvind Sabramanian. 2003. “The primacy of Institutions”, in: Finance and Development 40(2): 31-34.
15) Richmann, Barak D. and Jeffrey Macher. 2006. “Transaction Cost Economics. An Assessment of Empirical Reasearch in Social Sciences.” Duke law School Legal Studies Paper, no. 115.
16) Simon, Herbert A. 1978. “Rationality as Process and as Product of Thought”, in: The American Economic Review
68:2 (1978), 1-16.
17) Williamson, Oliver. 2000. “The New Institutional Economics. Taking Stock, Looking Ahead.” Journal of Economic Literature, 38(3): 595-613.
Więcej informacji
Dodatkowe informacje (np. o kalendarzu rejestracji, prowadzących zajęcia, lokalizacji i terminach zajęć) mogą być dostępne w serwisie USOSweb: