KSOD 2290 - Sociology of organizations and collective action

The sociology of organisations in a mode of reasoning that helps to understand how collective action emerges from coordination and cooperation. Based on a relational conception of power, it analyses how actors interact at an intermediate (meso) level, and how this helps to understand both their individual behaviours (at the micro level), and larger institutional processes (at the macro level). It provides key insights into such objects as markets, policymaking, social movements, inequalities, professions, the production of knowledge, the law, firms, democracy and the state; which albeit diverse rely on similar social processes that involve power, cooperation and conflict. The course will begin with a discussion of the epistemological, methodological and theoretical foundations of the sociology of organisations, before presenting the mode of reasoning developed by the French school of organizational sociology, its dialogue with neo-institutionalism, and recent developments around the concept of institutional entrepreneurship. Presentations of leading authors in the field will alternate with case studies. The course will conclude on the contribution of subfields in sociology, political science and history to the sociology of organisations. Together, they provide a powerful tool to analyse a range of political, economic and social processes, at different scales in space and time.

Philipp BRANDT

Séminaire

English

Students will be expected to read one or two papers per session, and prepare a case study in advance.

Autumn 2024-2025

Students' will be evaluated on class participation and the production of a collective essay on their experience in an organization.

The course will be interactive. Students will be encouraged to engage in discussions on the readings and case study, and more generally to reflect on their personal experience in various organized situations.