From A.Latzias@hum.gu.edu.au Thu Aug 3 02:10:10 1995 Date: Thu, 3 Aug 1995 18:13:29 +1000 (EST) From: humlatzi To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Subject: email I am just wondering if there has been any technical problems with this list because i have not received any email from this list in the past days. Regards Anna Latzias Faculty of Humanities Griffith University Brisbane Qld Australia From hndiab@mailbox.syr.edu Sat Aug 5 05:16:29 1995 Date: Sat, 5 Aug 1995 07:20:03 -0400 (EDT) From: Hassan Diab To: World Systems Network Subject: Help with ethnicity Hi everyone, I appreciate your help if you suggest a "smooth" textbook/s about ethnicity and ethnic relations for second and third year college students. Other suggestions about the course (14 weeks/one long class per week) such as reading materials or video casettes, etc. are alos appreciated. Zillion and one thanks, Hassan, From THALL@DEPAUW.EDU Sat Aug 5 12:14:04 1995 id <01HTPRGG4CIY00BUCF@DEPAUW.EDU>; Sat, 05 Aug 1995 13:15:59 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 05 Aug 1995 13:15:59 -0500 (EST) From: "Thomas D. [Tom] Hall, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU" Subject: Getting Frank & Gills in paper To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Gang, Here is a request from Gunder. Reminder I have a review JWSR in the archives. tom hall ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 05 Aug 1995 12:44:17 -0400 (EDT) From:FRANK@HUSC3.HARVARD.EDU To: agfrank@epas.utoronto.ca Subject: book From: ANDRE GUNDER FRANK University of Amsterdam 96 Asquith Ave. Toronto, Ont. Canada M4W 1J8 Tel:416-972 0616 Fax:416-972 0017 & 978 3963 e-mail: agfrank@epas.utoronto.ca Subject: THE WORLD SYSTEM: FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OR FIVE THOUSAND? edited by Andre Gunder Frank and Barry K. GHills London and New York: Routledge 1993 hardcover LSt 40, US$ 65 This is to request/encourage you and/or your colleagues to certify a market potential [especially for teaching purposes] for a paperback edition of this otherwise inacessibly expensive book to the publisher/editor, who is now considering re-print possibilities. Please e-mail [with cc to me] or air-mail Ms Heather McCallum Routledge, 11 Fetter Lane, London EC4 4EE, England e-mail: HMCCALLUM@ROUTLEDGE.COM Excerpts from the publisher's blurb: "THE WORLD SYSTEM confronts the idea that historic long term economic inter-connectedness did not begin, as some say, 500 years ago but rather 5,000. The book broadly poses a challenge to Eurocentric world history and offers a humanocentric alternative analysis addressed to a wide range of disciplines. The editors have gathered an impressive array of scholars involved in world system analysis, and include both statments of and responses to the various aspects and issues created by these controvesial and challenging theories of 'one world system.' Chapter title topics include: interdisciplinary introduction; imperialism in ancient world systems; civilizations, world economies and oikumenes; capital accumulation; hegemonic transitions; cycles, crises and hegemonic shifts 1700 BC to 1700 AD; ancient versus modern world-systems; discontinuities and persistence; world system versus world- systems; feudalism, capitalism, socialism. Contributors are: Foreword by William H. McNeill Preface by Andre Gunder Frank and Barry K. Gills In support of the theory, chapters by: A.G. Frank and B.K. Gills [5 chapters individually jointly] Kaisa Ekholm and Jonathan Friedman David Wilkinson Critical of the theory, chapters by Samir Amin Immanuel Wallerstein In part supporting, in part critical, chapter by Janet Abu Lughod Rejoinder and Conclusions by A. G. Frank and B.K. Gills From THALL@DEPAUW.EDU Tue Aug 8 14:42:56 1995 id <01HTU3JTDK7S00CHF9@DEPAUW.EDU>; Tue, 08 Aug 1995 15:44:41 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 08 Aug 1995 15:44:41 -0500 (EST) From: "Thomas D. [Tom] Hall, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU" Subject: What I sent to Fred & Dale re PEWS, tdh To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu M E M O R A N D U M TO: PEWS gang FROM: Thomas D. Hall, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU 317-658-4519 RE: Ideas for regenerating PEWS DATE: August 8, 1995 Here, hot off the old word processor, is the "conclusion" to my PEWS roundtable presentation, "Analysis of Local Processes in a World-System Perspective" for the World-Systems and Local Processes Roundtable. I decided to use my discussion of local analyses to as vehicle to get at some of the issues raised in recent issues of PEWSNEWS. Following the email request I am posting these. I will have a handful of copies of the entire paper at ASA, and will post it somewhere on WSN afterwards. Anyway here are some of my ideas. tom hall FROM: "Analysis of Local Processes in a World-System Perspective" WHAT IS TO BE DONE? This exposition has been sufficiently long-winded, that I will close with a few brief suggestions both about furthering local analyses within a world-system perspective and about ways PEWS might begin to regenerate itself. (1) As my colleague, coauthor, a partner in far too many "crimes" to list, we must "push the cookie!" That is, sell the product. Those of us who regularly teach easily distracted undergraduates, know about this. Make the world-system theorizing relevant and accessible, but not only to undergraduates but to colleagues in other disciplines. (2) Continue to do, read, cite interesting new work on local analyses, and world-system work in general. The initiation of a dissertation prize is one way to do this. We might add an award for best article, along with best book. We may want to give thought to whether we should restrict this to pre-tenure authors only, or have two prizes--after all plaques are cheap, and to steal a line from Theda Skocpol (made in context of a similar discussion at Comparative Historical section), social honor is infinitely divisible. (3) We might impose a tax on ourselves or reallocate existing funds to pay registration costs for one to as many as four scholars who are not sociologists and/or not U.S. residents. Geography used to do this, and some of their specialty groups (equivalent of our sections) still do. This would help gain participation from interested outsiders. We probably cannot afford to subsidize travel, but presenting at ASA carries certain prestige for non sociologists, but why make them join ASA? We can not get ASA to change its rules, so we can just pay the costs ourselves. (4) Following on (3) we might want to have a session/panel either devoted to cognate disciplines uses/approaches to world- system theory, or try to recruit papers or discussants from outside sociology. We might even have a session on something like: "What I wish world-system theory did, but does not do," or "Why I do not use world-system-theory." These title stink, but I think the idea is good. Get some outsiders in. (5) Another way to get our ideas around is to serve as a discussant for panels that are either multidisciplinary or in other disciplines where papers that discuss world-system related topics are being presented. I have done this at anthropology, archaeology, civilizationist, social science history meetings, as have others. This role can be especially useful when we push two themes: (a) what world-system theory can help you understand, solve, explain, etc.; and (b) how what you are describing, discussing, analyzing, etc., adds to world-system theory. (6) Since we already have WSN, and have gopher capability, and web capacity is just around the corner, we should maintain an several archives of world-system work. Recent postings of Review's table of contents are useful. We should have available the text of the PEWS Prize awards (not necessary the books, the descriptions of why they receive the prize). With WWW capability we could even have graphics of covers. Indeed, this need not be restricted to prize winners, but could be for any world-system book. Similarly we could at least note where reviews are published of the works. Similarly we could post sessions at any meeting where world-system topics are discussed. As more and more scholars have internet access this is much more efficient than massive hardcopy mailings, or even email broadsides. I'm sure there are lots of other ideas out there. These are meant to spark discussion, not to be definitive. To end on my "upbeat" note. There is a lot of good work being done--so much that many of us cannot keep up with it all and do our own work. That, indeed, is good news. With respect to analysis of local processes and dynamics (as with race/ethnicity, gender, households, culture, ecology, etc.) we should listen to our critics. When we here complaints that "world-system theory does not do X," point out where it has, and if it has not done enough, do some more!  From THALL@DEPAUW.EDU Fri Aug 11 07:32:07 1995 id <01HTXVDXLX4000D2F6@DEPAUW.EDU>; Fri, 11 Aug 1995 08:33:59 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 08:33:59 -0500 (EST) From: "Thomas D. [Tom] Hall, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU" Subject: request for help on WST (fwd) To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu WSNers, Below is a message I am forwarding from H-World (a moderated world history list) with persion of author. I've sent one short bib suggesting shannon's book. In subsequent exchange of email with Robert Strayer he raised a question about how WST & postmodernism relate, given that one of the pomo critiques of WST is its inherent universalism... tom hall forwarded message--------------- From: IN%"H-WORLD@msu.edu" "H-NET List for World History" 10-AUG-1995 09:31:46.61 From: Robert Strayer SUNY Brockport rstrayer@hstcomp.roc.servtech.com In developing a graduate seminar introducing the field of World History to beginning MA level students, I would like to provide an overview of the world system approach as Wallerstein has articulated it. But I am having trouble finding a reasonably short reading (article or chapter length) that does the job. I'd be grateful for suggestions along this line and for any experiences as to what has worked in teaching world system analysis. Many thanks-- Robert Strayer, SUNY: Brockport RSTRAYER@hstcomp.roc.servtech.com or RSTRAYER@brockvma.cc.brockport.edu From wxhst3+@pitt.edu Fri Aug 11 13:22:14 1995 Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 15:19:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Bill Haller Subject: Re: request for help on WST (fwd) To: "Thomas D. [Tom] Hall, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU" In-Reply-To: <01HTXVDXMZOY00D2F6@DEPAUW.EDU> On Fri, 11 Aug 1995, Thomas D. [Tom] Hall, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU wrote: > Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 08:33:59 -0500 (EST) > From: Thomas D. [Tom] Hall, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU > To: WORLD SYSTEMS NETWORK > Subject: request for help on WST (fwd) > > WSNers, > > Below is a message I am forwarding from H-World (a moderated world history > list) with persion of author. I've sent one short bib suggesting shannon's > book. > > In subsequent exchange of email with Robert Strayer he raised a question > about how WST & postmodernism relate, given that one of the pomo critiques > of WST is its inherent universalism... > > tom hall > > > forwarded message--------------- > > From: IN%"H-WORLD@msu.edu" "H-NET List for World History" 10-AUG-1995 > 09:31:46.61 > > From: Robert Strayer > SUNY Brockport > rstrayer@hstcomp.roc.servtech.com > > In developing a graduate seminar introducing the field of World History to > beginning MA level students, I would like to provide an overview of the world > system approach as Wallerstein has articulated it. But I am having trouble > finding a reasonably short reading (article or chapter length) that does the > job. I'd be grateful for suggestions along this line and for any experiences > as to what has worked in teaching world system analysis. > > Many thanks-- Robert Strayer, SUNY: Brockport > RSTRAYER@hstcomp.roc.servtech.com or > RSTRAYER@brockvma.cc.brockport.edu For a piece that takes a rather critical point of view, he might look at a book chapter by Charles Ragin and Dan Chirot (1984) titled "The World System of Immanuel Wallerstein: Sociology and Politics as History" pp. 276-312 in Skocpol (ed.) __Vision and Method in Historical Sociology__ published by Cambridge University Press. Ragin and Chirot do take one or two serious shots at Wallerstein in this piece. Whether or not they're treating him fairly might be an interesting question for students in a history seminar to discuss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bill Haller \/ University Center for Social Department of Sociology /\ and Urban Research (UCSUR) University of Pittsburgh \/ 121 University Place, 6th floor email: wxhst3+@pitt.edu /\ Pittsburgh, PA 15213-9972 ------------------------------------------------------------------- From THALL@DEPAUW.EDU Fri Aug 11 13:53:41 1995 id <01HTY8NOY1VK00CSE1@DEPAUW.EDU>; Fri, 11 Aug 1995 14:55:28 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 14:55:28 -0500 (EST) From: "Thomas D. [Tom] Hall, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU" Subject: FYI/E the reply I sent, tom hall To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu WSNers, I should have attached this first time around, this is reply I sent to Robert Strayer. As alwasy, add, substract, contradict, debate. (His request came when I was in the midst of putting together some stuff like this anyway). tdh ------ TO: Robert Strayer, and other interested in WST FROM: Thomas D. Hall, DePauw University, THALL@DEPAUW.EDU 317-658-4519 RE: World-Systems DATE: August 10, 1995 Robert, The bad news is that what you are looking for does not exist. The good news is that there are a few things you can use. David Fahey at Miami of Ohio has done this, and may have better advice, since he has taught what you are describing. I'm a sociologist who does WST all the time, so tend to come at somewhat differently. In terms of introductions that are in print, the three most useful are: Shannon, Thomas R. 1989. _An Introduction to the World-System Perspective_. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. and Chirot, Daniel. 1986. _Social Change in the Modern Era_. New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich. Wallerstein, Immanuel. 1979. _The Capitalist World-Economy_. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Shannon has new edition due out in Jan. '96. I have used his basic chapters (2, 3, 4) in introductory sociology with considerable success. They give a basic account, and a quick walk through world-system history. For MA students this could be read and discussed in a week or two and would get most, but not all, of the issues. Chirot's book, is very Weberian and is a rework of his out of print _Social Change in the Twentieth Century_. The middle chapters still do a good job of summarizing world-system history. IW's '79 collection of essays contains a number of his classics, including his famous 1974 article (as Ch. 1) that summarized his first volume of _The Modern World-System_. That is a good start, but can be tough sledding to readers who are not accostomed to fighting a number of side battles in the course of making a complex argument. Here are some other sources: Parts of Sanderson's new change book discuss WST cogently: Sanderson, Stephen K. 1995. Social Transformations: A General Theory of Historical Development. London: Basil Blackwell. His forthcoming collection which reprints a special issue of _Comparative Civilizations Review_ (#30, 1994) [now out of print!] with some new work, but will probably not be ready in time for you to use it.: Sanderson, Stephen K., ed. 1996. Civilizations and World- Systems: Two Approaches to the Study of World-Historical Change. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press. Chase-Dunn, Christopher and Peter Grimes (1995). "World-Systems Analysis." Annual Review of Sociology 21:387-417. Will be out soon, and reviews recent research in WST and provides a good overview. In my view the "masterworks of WST" include: Arrighi, Giovanni. 1994. The Long Twentieth Century. London: Verso. Chase-Dunn, Christopher. 1989. Global Formation: Structures of the World-Economy. London: Basil Blackwell. Wallerstein, Immanuel. 1974b. The Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of European World- Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York: Academic Press. _____. 1980. The Modern World-System II: Mercantilism and the Consolidation of the European World-Economy, 1600-1750. New York: Academic Press. _____. 1989. The Modern World-System III: The Second Era of Great Expansion of the Capitalist World-Economy, 1730-1840s. New York: Academic Press. If you want stuff on the ancient or precapitalist world-systems the two best collections are: Chase-Dunn, Christopher and Thomas D. Hall, eds. 1991b. Core/Periphery Relations in Precapitalist Worlds. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Frank, Andre Gunder and Barry K. Gills, eds. 1993. The World System: Five Hundred Years of Five Thousand? London: Routledge. Unfortunately, our book is out of print. Frank & Gills is very expensive hardback, although he is now dickering with Routledge to get out a paperback... Immodestly, a good overview (but already missing some new work) of the ancient or precapitalist world-systems is: Hall, Thomas D. and Christopher Chase-Dunn. 1994. "Forward into the Past: World-Systems Before 1500." Sociological Forum 9:2:295-306. It at least is short, but has a long bib. From dasmith@orion.oac.uci.edu Fri Aug 11 18:13:55 1995 Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 17:18:03 -0700 (PDT) From: David Smith To: world-system network Subject: Re: PEWS Council meeting (fwd) The following is an edited version of a message I sent to J. Timmons Roberts. He mentioned that he would have to miss the PEWS executive council meeting next Friday and asked my opinion on plans for the future directions for PEWS, including whether we should think about retitling the section: ********************* Dear Timmons: Just a thought on PEWS stuff. First, sorry you can't be there at the 4 am (Pacific Time) meeting on Friday! On the whole issue of revitalizing PEWS/name change: I don't have any rigid position on any of it. But I think that Tom Hall's posting on WSN yesterday was VERY constructive. It seems to me that we need various efforts to extend outreach and make "outsiders" feel more welcome. He also calls on the section to make a real effort to get folks (from "inside" and "outside") to debate what the world-system perspective is about, and why it is or is not valuable. Personally, I think that these sort of substantive, somewhat "action-oriented" suggestions are things that the leadership and membership should try to move on as we plan for future meetings, conferences, etc. They are much MORE constructive, I think, than staking the future of the section on a new name. On the one hand, removing the "world-system" from PEWS definitely WILL alienate a number of people. On the other, changing the title wouldn't necessarily deal with any of the potentially creative tension that the various sides of this debate have generated. My own view of what "the political economy of the world-system" is resonates with some comments that Giovanni Arrighi made in response to persistent questions about whether his LONG TWENTIETH CENTURY was "really" a "world-system" work or not. Paraphrasing him roughly, he argued that his view was that there was a "world-system PERSPECTIVE" that sensitize researchers to certain things about how events and structures are linked to global political economy -- so, sure, his book reflected a "world-system" orientation. But it did not rigidly hone to some more specific "world-system THEORY," supposedly embodied in Immanuel Wallerstein's collected works. One of the great ironies in all this, I think, is that (ala Karl's disavowal of "Marxism") it is not at all clear to me that IW himself believes in any "world-system THEORY" either! This idea of PEWS embodying some parochial theory is one that has been pinned on us by critics (most of whom would dismiss anyone who considers global capitalism to be problematic). In my view, various attempts to understand the capitalist world economy (whether they self-identify with NIDL or post-Fordism or "flexible accumulation") SHOULD fit in the "big tent" of PEWS. I'd like to use this debate about revitalizing PEWS to reaffirm this view -- though, I wouldn't rule out an adjustment of the name, that strikes me as much less important than getting folks thinking and talking about the issues. There is another aspect to the recent debate about the section that is less about concepts and more about networks and cliques. I think there is a perception that there is an "inner circle" of PEWS that "controls" decisions. From my limited time on the council in the last couple of years my guess is that much of this has to do with who's willing to volunteer and put time and energy into organizing sessions, writing newsletter pieces, etc, rather than something truly conspiratorial. But there is also a problem with the section attracting folks who identify themselves with the substantive problems they work on, rather than the global perspective they use. So people who study race or gender or technology or environment or whatever, belong to those sections and think of PEWS as "something else." One important issue here is making sure that the nominating committee is very intentional about who they put up for council and offices -- among other things the section really NEEDS to get women and minorities, as well as folks who do different substantive research, to ACTIVELY participate. Your (Roberts') suggestion in the newsletter to incorporate "development" into the title would address the specificity issue head-on -- but it would also "cut out" folks who do other things but still see themselves as interested in global political economy/world-system analysis. Again, I think that Tom's suggestions might be useful here, with the key being more outreach, co- sponsorship with other sections, and sessions that focus on problems that are "non-traditional" for PEWS. (And, in this regard, it really is too bad that the Bergesen session on environment had to be cancelled -- that type of thing, or the one that I am co-chairing with the Science and Technology folks, is just the type of panel we need). There are probably some other issues that could be discussed here too -- but I've gone on long enough. This really is just a "stream of consciousness" rambling that I've sat down and written over the last few minutes and not a concise, logically thought-out, essay. But perhaps some of the issues that are I raise might provoke some response from the rest of the WSNers -- and particularly those who will be involved with PEWS meetings and panels at the upcoming DC meeting. dave smith uci, sociology pews section council member From pdm1@cornell.edu Mon Aug 14 05:23:42 1995 Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 07:27:14 -0400 To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu From: pdm1@cornell.edu (Philip McMichael) Colleagues -- in the midst of the discussions of name changes etc, remember that we need only 8 more members to sign up by September 30 to get PEWS membership up to 400, which warrants an additional panel session at the 1996 meetings. Either recruit a lapsed/new member, or, if you know of a graduate student who belongs to the ASA, sponsor one (at a reduced price -- $5, or $8) into the section. There will be information at the ASA conference, or you can contact Elizabeth Czepiel at the ASA office in Washington DC at 1722 N Street, NW. DC 20036-2981. From: Philip McMichael Professor of Rural Sociology Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-7801. Ph: 607-255-5495 Fax: 607-255-9984 email: pdm1@cornell.edu From pdm1@cornell.edu Mon Aug 14 05:24:25 1995 Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 07:27:44 -0400 To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu From: pdm1@cornell.edu (Philip McMichael) Tom Hall's and Dave Smith's comments raise some important issues. Let me make a couple of observations: 1. The question of changing the name of the section may be secondary to renewed efforts to attract members to the section. But it does bear on the recruitment process. The issue is that 'world-system' is not just a nominal title for a section. It carries a specific epistemological freight. The section includes, minimally, either folks who are very attached to the unique epistemological outlook of w-s perspective (long-term, holistic analysis), or those who think globally largely in the present (without committing themselves to a long-term historical position). Giovanni Arrighi's 'perspective' may be different from (and less identifiable with) Immanuel Wallerstein's, but they both share the long view in their analysis of political economy. This is a fundamental marker. So.....attracting 'members' to the section will not necessarily resolve the epistemological issue. Who shall we attract, and under what auspices? 2. In a similar manner, the call for bringing women and minorities into the section does not begin to address this epistemological issue. Arguably the section has been led almost as much by women as by men over the last decade. We have recently had 3 female chairs, and the council has continued to recruit women into its ranks. Maybe we need more women, but that is not my point. Many women involved in feminist scholarship are exploring alternative epistemologies just like PEWS set out to do 20 years ago. It's likely that minority scholars are doing the same as the politics of identity becomes significant -- I don't know, but there's a lot of rethinking going on and a lot of interesting people doing it, who are not necessarily wanting to fold their interests into the big tent, or the holism, of PEWS. So when we look to attract more (diverse) members, we need to be more self-conscious about who we are, and who they are. I'm not raising these questions as objections to Dave Smith's thoughts. Rather I'm wondering out loud about some of the underlying issues in staking out PEWS' future constituencies.... phil mcmichael chair-elect From: Philip McMichael Professor of Rural Sociology Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-7801. Ph: 607-255-5495 Fax: 607-255-9984 email: pdm1@cornell.edu From mschetti@colmex.mx Mon Aug 14 10:10:25 1995 Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 10:06:19 -0900 (PDT) From: M Schettino To: Philip McMichael Subject: Re: your mail In-Reply-To: I am quite new on this list. So far I don't really know what PEWS is, although I have some idea after the discussion about the name. I would like to make some comments: 1. Political Economy / World-Systems encompasses most of what I think you want to express by a name. Gender, race or specific discussion should be understood as part of it, not as additions to the core discussion. There is no point in capturing more people by changing names, unless you also would like to change ideas. Is the market asking you something? 2. What I think would be interesting is to enlarge both parts of the name. Political Economy means a lot more than Marx, and in fact, I think the W-S perspective could be much more powerful by changing (adjusting, modifying, etc) the core economic theory. While Marx certainly had something like a W-S perspective, his economic theory is not the best in town, by now. Expanding the economic center of the W-S to certain versions of neo-classical economics, specially institutional economics, could lead to a) a more powerful social systems theory, b) a bigger group of researchers, etc. (Note: this doesn't have to do with Berlin walls, is just that I am too young to have discussed this change of economic theory before, I just came late) 3. In fact, I am working about this: a global, systemic view of history that encompasses the systemic view of WSN, the cultural change view of some other historians (in England, I think), what I can see around here (the real 4th world), and a "new development theory"... 4. Anyway, I saw you need 4 more members. I could be one of them if I could know what is this about. I am interested in developing point 3 above. Macario Schettino El Colegio de Mexico From SOCTB%EMUVM1.BITNET@vaxf.Colorado.EDU Mon Aug 14 23:36:37 1995 by VAXF.COLORADO.EDU (PMDF V5.0-3 #8140) 14 Aug 1995 23:30:51 -0600 (MDT) by EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with RFC822 id 2980; Tue, Date: Tue, 15 Aug 1995 01:05 -0400 (EDT) From: Terry Boswell Subject: asa sessions To: "wsn@csf.colorado.edu" A minor side note on the controversy over how to use our limted sessions is that the regular session on world-sytems was cancelled because of lack of interest. That's right, the session organizer did not get enough papers to qualify for a session. When I heard about this I tried to get Bergesen's lost session in the slot, but it was apparantly too late. Tom Hall has made some good suggestions on how to reach out to people outside the "tent." We also need to reach out to people inside the tent whom we don't know or who miss the regular network. One of the ironies is that despite the current slowdown, we have grown rapidly in the past decade to a size that word of mouth and the usual networks are inadequate to inform about all the people interested in and all the opportunities available for world-system research. From rozov@ns.cnit.nsk.su Wed Aug 16 05:42:30 1995 To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Organization: Centre of New Information Technologies From: "Rozov" Date: Wed, 16 Aug 95 18:46:34 +0700 Subject: w-s readings >From rozov Wed Aug 16 18:30:01 1995 According to R.Strayer's request of SHORT outlook of w-s approach I would like to recommend the brilliant paper: I.Wallerstein. World-System Analysis. In: Social Theory Today (ed. by Giddens & Turner) Cambridge. England, 1988 ,pp 308-324. It is fully methodological, very clear and provocative. I think it's the best SHORT text for comparing the deep foundations of traditional sociology and w-s analysis. Nikolai S. Rozov rozov@ns.cnit.nsk.su From danny@staff.cs.su.oz.au Sat Aug 19 05:15:37 1995 wsn@csf.colorado.edu) with MHSnet; Sat, 19 Aug 1995 21:19:44 +1000 Subject: Book Review - Civilization and Capitalism To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 21:19:40 +1000 (EST) From: "Danny Yee" In case you're interested in what a non-specialist thinks of Braudel. Danny Yee. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- series: Civilization and Capitalism : 15th-18th Century titles: The Structures of Everyday Life : The Wheels of Commerce : The Perspective of the World by: Fernand Braudel from: the French [Sian Reynolds] publisher: HarperCollins 1985 [1975] subjects: history, economics other: 623, 670, 699 pages, b&w halftones, references, indices _Civilization and Capitalism_ is the single most impressive work of history I have read. Braudel's magnum opus is an economic history of the four centuries during which the modern world was shaped. The emphasis is, in _Annales_ style, very much on social and economic history -- wars, treaties, kings and popes only feature incidentally. Braudel takes a very broad view of his subject, however: temporally _Civilization and Capitalism_ looks both backwards to earlier civilisations and forwards to the present; geographically it covers the whole world, though the focus is on the "civilised" parts of it, and particularly on Western Europe. At the heart of Braudel's account is a three-level hierarchy: at the base is ordinary economic life, an all-embracing sea of subsistence agriculture, village barter, and production for local consumption; above this is the market, a world of towns and trade, of markets, fairs, currencies, transport systems, bills of exchange, and workshops; and finally there is capitalism, with its monopolies, attempts to control complete trade networks or even entire world-economies, and stress on flexibility above all else. The structure of _Civilization and Capitalism_ roughly reflects this hierarchy. _The Structures of Everyday Life_, subtitled "The Limits of the Possible", deals with the everyday constraints of material life; in it Braudel sketches what is almost a social history of the world. He begins with a chapter on demographics, which he sees as fundamental to understanding history. Two chapters are devoted to food: one to basic subsistence, in the form of the three great cereal crops -- wheat, rice and maize -- that feed most of the world's people; the other to the "luxuries" -- such things as table manners, salt, meat and spices. The shifting boundary between luxury and necessity here is also apparent in houses, clothes and fashion, and Braudel suggests it was significant that only Europe had rapidly changing fashions. Two chapters cover energy sources, metallurgy, transportation, and the critical technological innovations -- gunpowder, printing, and above all sea navigation -- which contributed to Europe's dominance. The final chapter surveys the growth of towns, which Braudel considers both an instrument and a clear marker of change. _The Wheels of Commerce_ moves on to trade and the market economy. Braudel begins with the material culture of exchange, from shops, markets, and pedlars to fairs and stock exchanges. He then explores the higher levels of commerce: networks of merchants, trade circuits, bills of exchange, supply and demand, trade balances, the relationship between gold and silver currencies, and so forth. Two chapters deal with capitalism. The first explores its scope and its relationship with agriculture and early forms of industry, and in particular why it failed to take hold in these domains. The second considers capitalism on its home ground in finance and international trade, in a world of partnerships and companies, of monopolies and control, with an influence vastly disproportionate to its relative size. A final chapter places economic life in the context of society seen as a "set of sets", connecting it with social hierarchies, the state and the broad dynamic of cultural change. _The Perspective of the World_ takes a global, world-systemic approach. Braudel begins by arguing for the existence of multiple "world-economies" and describing their geographical and temporal dimensions. He then traces the development of the European world-economy and of the "world cities" which successively ruled it: Venice, Antwerp, Genoa, Amsterdam and finally London. This is followed by an analysis of the emerging national economies and their relationship with international capitalism, with a detailed comparison of France and England. Braudel then turns to the rest of the world -- the Americas, Black Africa, Russia, Islam, the Far East -- and its relationship with Europe, before returning for a analysis of the industrial revolution in the light of the previous analysis of capitalism. Here Braudel seems somewhat more tentative about his conclusions than he had been in the earlier volumes. These summaries do little justice to Braudel's work: its genius lies in his refusal to be constrained by arbitrary disciplinary boundaries and in his ability to combine detail with the broad picture. Despite the depth of detail he deploys (he appears to have encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to early modern Western European history), Braudel writes expansively, almost leisurely, and despite the huge canvas of his work he finds the space for extended examples. _Civilization and Capitalism_ is liberally illustrated with black and white halftones (mostly reproductions from contemporary paintings) and uses diagrams, graphs and maps to really good effect. (No dry tables of numbers, but such things as maps showing the speed with which news reached Venice from different parts of Europe in different periods or the geography of literacy in France on the eve of the Revolution.) If you want to understand why the modern world is the way it is (or, as some would put it, the difference between "modernity" and "pre-modernity"), then I can't think of a better starting place than _Civilization and Capitalism_. It should be compulsive reading for anyone at all interested in economics or early modern history. While Braudel's work is an attempt at synthesis rather than at summary or popularisation, you don't need a lot of technical knowledge to appreciate it: though a general knowledge of the history of the period would help, even that is not really necessary. Each of the three volumes can stand alone: if you are predominantly interested in social history then you may just want to read _The Structures of Everyday Life_; if you are after the broad sweep of world-systems theory and global capitalism then _The Perspective of the World_. If you have the time, however, I definitely recommend reading _Civilization and Capitalism_ in its entirety. -- %T The Structures of Everyday Life %S The Limits of the Possible %Y Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century %A Fernand Braudel %F Sian Reynolds %M French %I HarperCollins %C London %D 1985 [1975] %O paperback, b&w halftones, references, index %G ISBN 0-00-686077-X %P 623pp %K history, economics, anthropology %T The Wheels of Commerce %Y Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century %A Fernand Braudel %F Sian Reynolds %M French %I HarperCollins %C London %D 1985 [1975] %O paperback, b&w halftones, references, index %G ISBN 0-00-686078-8 %P 670pp %K history, economics %T The Perspective of the World %Y Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century %A Fernand Braudel %F Sian Reynolds %M French %I HarperCollins %C London %D 1985 [1979] %O paperback, b&w halftones, references, index %G ISBN 0-00-686079-6 %P 699pp %K history, economics Danny Yee (danny@cs.su.oz.au) 19 August 1995 --------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1995 Danny Yee | 230 reviews available at --------------------------------------------------------- http://www.anatomy.su.oz.au/danny/book-reviews/index.html --------------------------------------------------------- From chriscd@jhu.edu Mon Aug 21 09:44:31 1995 id <01HUC14KE5289N6YIR@jhmail.hcf.jhu.edu>; Mon, 21 Aug 1995 11:49:00 -0400 (EDT) id <01HUC14JP1U89N6RNS@jhmail.hcf.jhu.edu>; Mon, 21 Aug 1995 11:48:59 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 10:38:10 -0400 From: chris chase-dunn Subject: Fw: book (fwd) Sender: chriscd@jhu.edu To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu X-NUPop-Charset: English ------------------------------ From: "A. Gunder Frank" Subject: book From: ANDRE GUNDER FRANK University of Amsterdam 96 Asquith Ave. Toronto, Ont. Canada M4W 1J8 Tel:416-972 0616 Fax:416-972 0017 & 978 3963 e-mail: agfrank@epas.utoronto.ca Subject: THE WORLD SYSTEM: FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OR FIVE THOUSAND? edited by Andre Gunder Frank and Barry K. GHills London and New York: Routledge 1993 hardcover LSt 40, US$ 65 This is to request/encourage you and/or your colleagues to certify a market potential [especially for teaching purposes] for a paperback edition of this otherwise inacessibly expensive book to the publisher/editor, who is now considering re-print possibilities. Please e-mail [with cc to me] or air-mail Ms Heather McCallum Routledge, 11 Fetter Lane, London EC4 4EE, England e-mail: HMCCALLUM@ROUTLEDGE.COM Excerpts from the publisher's blurb: "THE WORLD SYSTEM confronts the idea that historic long term economic inter-connectedness did not begin, as some say, 500 years ago but rather 5,000. The book broadly poses a challenge to Eurocentric world history and offers a humanocentric alternative analysis addressed to a wide range of disciplines. The editors have gathered an impressive array of scholars involved in world system analysis, and include both statments of and responses to the various aspects and issues created by these controvesial and challenging theories of 'one world system.' Chapter title topics include: interdisciplinary introduction; imperialism in ancient world systems; civilizations, world economies and oikumenes; capital accumulation; hegemonic transitions; cycles, crises and hegemonic shifts 1700 BC to 1700 AD; ancient versus modern world-systems; discontinuities and persistence; world system versus world- systems; feudalism, capitalism, socialism. Contributors are: Foreword by William H. McNeill Preface by Andre Gunder Frank and Barry K. Gills In support of the theory, chapters by: A.G. Frank and B.K. Gills [5 chapters individually jointly] Kaisa Ekholm and Jonathan Friedman David Wilkinson Critical of the theory, chapters by Samir Amin Immanuel Wallerstein In part supporting, in part critical, chapter by Janet Abu Lughod Rejoinder and Conclusions by A. G. Frank and B.K. Gills Prof. Chris Chase-Dunn Department of Sociology Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD. 21218 USA tel 410 516 7633 fax 410 516 7590 email chriscd@jhu.edu From danny@staff.cs.su.oz.au Tue Aug 22 00:16:48 1995 wsn@csf.colorado.edu) with MHSnet; Tue, 22 Aug 1995 16:21:09 +1000 Subject: 5000 years To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 16:21:04 +1000 (EST) From: "Danny Yee" > "THE WORLD SYSTEM confronts the idea that historic long term > economic inter-connectedness did not begin, as some say, 500 > years ago but rather 5,000. The book broadly poses a challenge to > Eurocentric world history and offers a humanocentric alternative > analysis addressed to a wide range of disciplines. The editors > have gathered an impressive array of scholars involved in world > system analysis, and include both statments of and responses to > the various aspects and issues created by these controvesial and > challenging theories of 'one world system.' The only work on 5 000 year world-system cycles I've read was the recent article in Current Anthropology, which I found really unconvincing. (The data seem so patchy for the earlier periods that trying to fit cycles to them without using real statistical methods seems really dubious.) What's the consensus (if any) on this theory in the WS community? Danny Yee. From gonick@csf.Colorado.EDU Tue Aug 22 09:46:11 1995 Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 09:46:06 -0600 (MDT) From: Lev Gonick To: gpecafe@csf.Colorado.EDU, ipe , psn@csf.Colorado.EDU, wsn@csf.Colorado.EDU, casenet@csf.Colorado.EDU Subject: Virtual Seminar on Global Political Economy: Global Cities & Social Movements Open For Registration PLEASE FEEL FREE TO X-POST THIS NOTICE: This posting is directed to upper division undergraduate and graduate students interested in participating in a virtual seminar on Global Cities & Social Movements. Faculty are welcome to contact me for more details. The fifth offering of the Virtual Seminar in Global Political Economy (GPE) is an experiment in research and education, mediated through computer networks, electronic mail, and electronic archiving of materials. It seeks to create an international dialogue among students and scholars in various countries on several continents, creating for students a global forum in which they may and are expected to participate on an equal basis. In the process, discussions and an exchange of ideas on the course theme and topics among scholars and students from other cultures and societies will vastly enrich the learning experience. The GPE is academically rigorous. Participation will require or foster computer networking and analytical skills, and will impart an appreciation of the complexities and subtleties of the existing discourse on Global Political Economy by both academics and practioners. The central theme of the GPE course for this term is Global Cities and Social Movements with a dual focus on (i) the nature and logic of global capital in the late 20th century in creating centers of capital accumulation and (ii) the various forms of resistance and struggles of popular sector groups, organizations, and classes in formulating both survival strategies and seeking viable alternatives to the dominance of capital in the Global City. The GPE is hosted at Communications for a Sustainable Future. http://csf.colorado.edu/gpe Please visit the course site or write me for further information. Lev Gonick GPE Faculty Coordinator lev.gonick@csf.colorado.edu From modelski@u.washington.edu Tue Aug 22 09:55:52 1995 (5.65+UW95.07/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA06505; Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 09:00:13 -0700 (PDT) From: George Modelski To: Danny Yee Subject: Re: 5000 years In-Reply-To: <199508220616.AAA05673@csf.Colorado.EDU> You certainly can see evolutionary processes at work, even if the data is often not good enough to perform statistical tests on them. On Tue, 22 Aug 1995, Danny Yee wrote: > > "THE WORLD SYSTEM confronts the idea that historic long term > > economic inter-connectedness did not begin, as some say, 500 > > years ago but rather 5,000. The book broadly poses a challenge to > > Eurocentric world history and offers a humanocentric alternative > > analysis addressed to a wide range of disciplines. The editors > > have gathered an impressive array of scholars involved in world > > system analysis, and include both statments of and responses to > > the various aspects and issues created by these controvesial and > > challenging theories of 'one world system.' > > The only work on 5 000 year world-system cycles I've read was > the recent article in Current Anthropology, which I found really > unconvincing. (The data seem so patchy for the earlier periods > that trying to fit cycles to them without using real statistical > methods seems really dubious.) What's the consensus (if any) > on this theory in the WS community? > > Danny Yee. > > > From danny@staff.cs.su.oz.au Tue Aug 22 22:01:09 1995 wsn@csf.colorado.edu) with MHSnet; Wed, 23 Aug 1995 14:05:28 +1000 Subject: Re: 5000 years To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Date: Wed, 23 Aug 1995 14:05:24 +1000 (EST) From: "Danny Yee" In-Reply-To: from "George Modelski" at Aug 22, 95 09:00:13 am > You certainly can see evolutionary processes at work, even if the data is > often not good enough to perform statistical tests on them. Sure some processes can be observed acting over 5000 years, but the article I saw tried to map Krondratieff A and B cyles pretty much all the way back to the Neolithic! Personally I didn't think the data they were using even came close to being able to detect that kind of structure. Danny Yee. From pdm1@cornell.edu Wed Aug 23 09:18:42 1995 Date: Wed, 23 Aug 1995 11:21:31 -0400 To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu From: pdm1@cornell.edu (Philip McMichael) Subject: PEWS membership Colleagues -- this is a call to remind you that we have until September 30th to settle the short-term problem of scale. That is, we need to add about a dozen members of the section to be comfortably over 400, and so to obtain the additional panel for the 1996 ASA meetings in NYC. * If you are a member of ASA, but not of PEWS, please join at the cost of $10 - send check and note of intent to Elizabeth Czepiel, Sections Governance, American Sociological Association, 1722 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. * If you know of a graduate student that belongs to ASA, but not PEWS, please consider signing her/him up for $5, and send to Elizabeth. Phil McMichael Chair, PEWS From: Philip McMichael Professor of Rural Sociology Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-7801. Ph: 607-255-5495 Fax: 607-255-9984 email: pdm1@cornell.edu From soc40001@frank.mtsu.edu Mon Aug 28 06:48:22 1995 Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 07:53:09 -0500 (CDT) From: Andy To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu Subject: Anybody out there. Hello. I joined this list a week or so ago and haven't received any posts (I might have received one on the first day, but since then it has been silent). How many people are on this list? Is the list just in a lull? All these questions and many, many more. If somebody would respond that would be great. Thanks! Peace, ____________________________________________________________________________ Andy Austin, soc40001@frank.mtsu.edu * "The last time people in this Sociology/Anthropology Dept. Box 10 * society cared about my rights Middle Tennessee State University * was when I was a fetus." Murfreesboro Tennessee 37132 * - Sara Cytron ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The ideas of the ruling class are, in every age, the ruling ideas..." - Marx & Engels, The German Ideology "You got to take the power back!" - Rage Against the Machine