Social Mechanisms
Sociologists try to account for the complexity of causality in social phenomena by reconstructing the mechanisms (chains) of action. We examine how this approach explains differences in cultural reproduction.
Background readings
Little, 2012, Socio, “Analytical Sociology and The Rest of Sociology”
Optional readings
Abbott, 2007, Soc, "Mechanisms and relations"
Bruch & Atwell, 2015, SSR, "Agent-based models in empirical social research"
Edling, 2002, ARS, "Mathematics in sociology"
Gilbert & Troitzsch, 2005, Ch1&2, “Simulation for the Social Scientist”
Hedstrom & Bearman, 2009, Ch1&2, The Oxford Handbook of Analytical Sociology
Case-study for reading and commentary
Jaeger & Breen, 2016, AJS, “A Dynamic Model of Cultural Reproduction”
Case-studies for presentation
Thomas & Mark, 2013, SF, “Population size, network density, and the emergence of inherited inequality”