Social Power

Examining ways in which various forms of social organization work to empower members of some social groups and disadvantage others, in systematic and regular ways, and examining a wide range of kinds of power - economic, political, sexual, cultural - in a variety of social and historical settings. And addressing the issue of power and its implications for social inequality in various forms of society.

Economically conditioned power is not identical with power. The emergence of economic power may be the consequence of power existing on other grounds. Man does not strive for power only to enrich himself economically. Power, including economic power, may be valued for its own sake. The striving for power is conditioned by the social honor it entails. Not all power entails honor.

Social power is exercised within any given society in a variety of forms: coercive (force), economic (money power) and ideological (the control of meaning). Power is the dynamic which keeps the social world in motion.

It may be used for good or for ill. Social power is the ability to influence other people. What gives people power? Why is it so often abused?

Sociologists usually define power as the ability to impose one's will on others, even if those others resist in some way.

"By power is meant that opportunity existing within a social relationship which permits one to carry out one's own will even against resistance and regardless of the basis on which this opportunity rests."

Power is not something abstract and distant. In one guise or another, it permeates all human relationships and shapes who we are as individuals, and what we can become as social beings.

Power is the ''chance of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action.'.

Power may rest of a variety of bases, and can be of differing types. Power is not the only basis of social honor, and social honor, or prestige, may be the basis of economic power.

''Power, as well as honor, may be guaranteed by the legal order, but... [the legal order] is not their primary source. The legal order is rather an additional factor that enhances the chance to hold power or honor; but it cannot always secure them.''

Sociology (SOCI) 381- The Sociology of Power and Inequality

SOCI 381 examines ways in which different forms of social organization work to empower members of some social groups and disadvantage others, in systematic and regular ways, and examines a wide range of kinds of power — economic, political, sexual, cultural — in a variety of social and historical settings. Power is not something abstract and distant. In one guise or another, it permeates all human relationships and shapes who we are as individuals, and what we can become as social beings.

Although students will discuss the inequities of contemporary Canadian class structure and learn about the Irvings of New Brunswick and who's who in the Canadian political elite, students will also encounter feudal lords, communist bureaucrats, and a Black feminist who asks sharp questions about race and gender. Students will be asked to produce their driver's licence and credit cards and to analyse what they reveal about modern forms of identity and power. SOCI 381 examines the unequal shaping of our social identities.

Outline
Unit 1 Social Stratification: An Introduction
Unit 2 Worlds Apart: "Traditional" and "Modernity"—Changing Contexts for Stratification
Unit 3 Those Who Pray, Those Who Fight, Those Who Work: Stratification in Feudal Europe
Unit 4 Classical Sociologies and Modern Inequalities
Unit 5 Class in Canada Today
Unit 6 Authoritative Resources: Bringing the State Back In
Unit 7 Difference and Disadvantage: Sex and Gender
Unit 8 Distinct Societies? A Perspective on Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality

Textbooks
Grabb, Edward C. 1984. Social Inequality: Classical and Contemporary Theorists. Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Sayer, Derek. 1991. Capitalism and Modernity: An Excursus on Marx and Weber. New York: Routledge.

Sociology 962
Dr. L. Susan Williams

Course Objectives
To review interdisciplinary perspectives on violence.
To assess the state of sociological research on violence.
To examine structural and cultural power in modern violence.
To develop a project that explores and analyzes a sub-area of violence.

Overarching Questions of the Seminar
Do we support a culture of violence? What does that look like, what does that mean?
What would shifting power dynamics mean in terms of violence?
What is the future of violence? Or, what is the violence of the future?
Given what we learn this semester, let us consider: should a responsible societal goal be one of reducing violence, or one of redistributing violence?

Power and Society - Ken White - wlu.edu
SOCIOLOGY 305: culture.wlu.edu/faculty/whitek/sociology305.htm
General Information
This course addresses the issue of power and its implications for social inequality in various forms of society. We will begin with
an analysis of conceptions of power employed in the social sciences; proceed to issues of the distribution and exercise of power in hunting and gathering, tribes, chiefdoms, primitive states, and industrial societies; address the Marxist, elitist, and pluralist debate about power in American society; and conclude with a consideration of power and inequality in post-industrial societies.

Texts
Peter Bachrach, THE THEORY OF DEMOCRATIC ELITISM: A CRITIQUE (University Press of America, 1981).

Marvin E. Olsen and Martin N. Marger (eds.), POWER IN MODERN SOCIETIES (Westview, 1993).

Stephen K. Sanderson (ed.), SOCIOLOGICAL WORLDS: COMPARATIVE AND HISTORICAL READINGS ON
SOCIETY (Roxbury, 1995).

Alvin Toffler, THE THIRD WAVE (Bantam, 1981).

Articles and Essays
Robert Dahl, "The Nature of the Problem," WHO GOVERNS?: DEMOCRACY AND POWER IN AN AMERICAN CITY
(Yale, 1961), pp. 1-8.

William Kornhauser, "'Power Elite' or 'Veto Groups'?" Pp. 633-646 in THE STUDY OF SOCIETY: AN INTEGRATED
ANTHOLOGY, ed. by Peter I. Rose (Random House, 1967).

Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee, "Introduction." Pp. 1-20 in POLITICS AND HISTORY IN BAND SOCIETIES, ed. by
Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee (Cambridge, 1982).

John Middleton and Richard Tait, "Introduction." Pp. 1-31 in TRIBES WITHOUT RULERS ed. by John Middleton and
Richard Tait (Routledge and Kegan, 1970).

Marion McCreedy, "The Arms of the Dibouka." Pp. 15-34 in KEY ISSUES IN HUNTER-GATHERER RESEARCH ed. by
Ernest S. Burch, Jr. and Linda J. Ellanna (Berg, 1994).

Mark Pilisuk and Tom Hayden, "Is There a Military-Industrial Complex That Prevents Peace?" Pp. 77-110 in THE TRIPLE
REVOLUTION: SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN DEPTH, ed. by Robert Perrucci and Mark Pilisuk (Little Brown, 1968).

Karen Sacks, "Engels Revisited: Women, the Organization of production, and Private Property." Pp. 205-222 in WOMEN,
CULTURE, AND SOCIETY, ed. by Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo and Louise Lamphere (Stanford, 1974).

George Silberbauer, "Political Process in G/wi Bands." Pp. 23-59 in POLITICS AND HISTORY IN BAND SOCIETIES, ed. by Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee (Cambridge, 1982).

Outline and Assignments

Lecture: COURSE REQUIREMENTS, OVERVIEW, AND LECTURE ON SOCIAL EVOLUTION assignment: Olsen
and Marger, pp. Xi-74.

Discussion: CONCEPTUALIZING POWER
assignment: Sanderson, pp. 1-14; Leacock and Lee, "Introduction,"; Silberbauer, "Political Processes in G/wi Bands"; Sacks,
"Engels Revisited...."; McCreedy, "The Arms of the Dibouka"; Sanderson, pp. 325-328. [Paper topic and preliminary
bibliography are due 1/21.]

Discussion: POWER IN BAND SOCIETIES
assignment: Sanderson, pp. 15-24; Middleton and Tait, "Introduction"; Sanderson, pp. 206-242, 25-47, 298-305.

Discussion: POWER IN TRIBES, CHIEFDOMS, AND PRIMITIVE STATES
assignment: Toffler, pp. 1-124; Sanderson, pp. 85-97; Olsen and Marger, pp. 75-87.

Discussion: POWER IN INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETIES: DELINEATING THE ISSUES
assignment: Olsen and Marger, pp. 88-110, 223-237, 286-294; Sanderson, pp. 50-74, 185-197, 306-328.

Discussion: POWER IN CAPITALIST SOCIETIES: THE MARXISTS
assignment: Olsen and Marger, pp. 111-136, 161-222, 277-285.

Discussion: POWER IN AMERICAN SOCIETY: THE ELITISTS
assignment: Olsen and Marger, pp. 137-152, 295-327; Dahl, "The Nature of the Problem"; Kornhauser, "Power Elite or Veto
Groups."

Discussion: POWER IN AMERICAN SOCIETY: THE PLURALISTS
assignment: Pilisuk and Hayden, "Is There a Military-Industrial Complex That Prevents Peace?"; Bachrach

Discussion: ELITISTS-PLURALIST DEBATE: REALITY OR ILLUSION
assignment: Review Sanderson, pp. 50-74; read Sanderson, pp. 115-128, 142-154; Toffler, pp. 127-445.

Discussion: POWER IN POST INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES

Swartz, David. (1997). Culture and Power: The Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Peter Bachrach, THE THEORY OF DEMOCRATIC ELITISM: A CRITIQUE (University Press of America, 1981).

Marvin E. Olsen and Martin N. Marger (eds.), POWER IN MODERN SOCIETIES (Westview, 1993).

Stephen K. Sanderson (ed.), SOCIOLOGICAL WORLDS: COMPARATIVE AND HISTORICAL READINGS ON
SOCIETY (Roxbury, 1995).

Alvin Toffler, THE THIRD WAVE (Bantam, 1981).

The Sources of Social Power: Volume 1, A History of Power from the Beginning to AD 1760 - Michael Mann - List Price: $38.00 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press book.nu/052131349X

OUP Book: Power and Civil Society in Pakistan by Weiss, Anita M.- oup-usa.org/isbn/0195794141.html

TUP: Eckstein, Rick: Nuclear Power and Social Power - $19.95, Nov 96 ISBN: 1-56639-486-4 Available cloth: $69.95, Nov 96 ISBN: 1-56639-485-6 - temple.edu/tempress/titles/1210_reg.html

The Psychiatric Persuasion: Knowledge, Gender, and Power in Modern America by Lunbeck, E., published by Princeton University Press - pup.princeton.edu/titles/5410.html

Justice Between Generations -- The Growing Power of the Elderly in America - Shows how the elderly have used their growing political power to capture a disproportionate share of public resources and asks what one generation owes another. - info.greenwood.com/books/0275960/0275960129.html

Articles and Essays

Robert Dahl, "The Nature of the Problem," WHO GOVERNS?: DEMOCRACY AND POWER IN AN AMERICAN CITY (Yale, 1961), pp. 1-8.

William Kornhauser, "'Power Elite' or 'Veto Groups'?" Pp. 633-646 in THE STUDY OF SOCIETY: AN INTEGRATED
ANTHOLOGY, ed. by Peter I. Rose (Random House, 1967).

Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee, "Introduction." Pp. 1-20 in POLITICS AND HISTORY IN BAND SOCIETIES, ed. by
Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee (Cambridge, 1982).

John Middleton and Richard Tait, "Introduction." Pp. 1-31 in TRIBES WITHOUT RULERS ed. by John Middleton and
Richard Tait (Routledge and Kegan, 1970).

Marion McCreedy, "The Arms of the Dibouka." Pp. 15-34 in KEY ISSUES IN HUNTER-GATHERER RESEARCH ed. by
Ernest S. Burch, Jr. and Linda J. Ellanna (Berg, 1994).

Mark Pilisuk and Tom Hayden, "Is There a Military-Industrial Complex That Prevents Peace?" Pp. 77-110 in THE TRIPLE
REVOLUTION: SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN DEPTH, ed. by Robert Perrucci and Mark Pilisuk (Little Brown, 1968).

Karen Sacks, "Engels Revisited: Women, the Organization of production, and Private Property." Pp. 205-222 in WOMEN,
CULTURE, AND SOCIETY, ed. by Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo and Louise Lamphere (Stanford, 1974).

George Silberbauer, "Political Process in G/wi Bands." Pp. 23-59 in POLITICS AND HISTORY IN BAND SOCIETIES, ed. by Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee (Cambridge, 1982).

Social Power and Its Abuse - David A. Gershaw, Ph.D. - Social power is the ability to influence other people. What gives people power? Why is it so often abused? Social psychologists have identified at least five basic sources of power: - www3.azwestern.edu/psy/dgershaw/lol/socialpower.html

Perceptual Control and Social Power - Kent McClelland - ed.uiuc.edu/csg/people/mcclelland/PCSP/PCSP_ToC.html

Social Power and Attitude Change - www2.tltc.ttu.edu/SCHNEIDER/iuteach/sopsy/power.htm

Wealth and Power - Critical Analysis 1: Who Rules America? PDF Format HTML Format Critical Analysis 2: Redefining the American Class System - polywog.navpoint.com/sociology/wealth_power

Social Power and Psychological Distress - Introduction - Hardly any of the 'symptoms' of psychological distress may correctly be seen as medical matters. The so-called 'neuroses', 'psychoses' and related forms of suffering are nothing to do with faulty biology; nor indeed are they the outcome of individual moral weakness or other personal failing. They are the creation of the social world in which we live, and that world is structured by power. Social power may be defined as the means of obtaining security or advantage, and it will be exercised within any given society in a variety of forms: coercive (force), economic (money power) and ideological (the control of meaning). Power is the dynamic which keeps the social world in motion. It may be used for good or for ill. - djsmail.com/

The Poverty of Social Control: explaining power in the historical sociology of the welfare state. - Robert van Krieken University of Sydney Published in: Sociological Review - The Poverty of Social Control: explaining power in the historical sociology of the welfare state - Abstract - usyd.edu.au/su/social/robert/papers/poverty.html

The Concentration in Power and Everyday Life provides an opportunity for study of social governance and regulation through the construction of the rhythms...
carleton.ca/socanth/programs/concentration_in_power_and_every.htm

Articles and Essays
Robert Dahl, "The Nature of the Problem," WHO GOVERNS?: DEMOCRACY AND POWER IN AN AMERICAN CITY (Yale, 1961), pp. 1-8.

William Kornhauser, "'Power Elite' or 'Veto Groups'?" Pp. 633-646 in THE STUDY OF SOCIETY: AN INTEGRATED
ANTHOLOGY, ed. by Peter I. Rose (Random House, 1967).

Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee, "Introduction." Pp. 1-20 in POLITICS AND HISTORY IN BAND SOCIETIES, ed. by
Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee (Cambridge, 1982).

John Middleton and Richard Tait, "Introduction." Pp. 1-31 in TRIBES WITHOUT RULERS ed. by John Middleton and
Richard Tait (Routledge and Kegan, 1970).

Marion McCreedy, "The Arms of the Dibouka." Pp. 15-34 in KEY ISSUES IN HUNTER-GATHERER RESEARCH ed. by
Ernest S. Burch, Jr. and Linda J. Ellanna (Berg, 1994).

Mark Pilisuk and Tom Hayden, "Is There a Military-Industrial Complex That Prevents Peace?" Pp. 77-110 in THE TRIPLE
REVOLUTION: SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN DEPTH, ed. by Robert Perrucci and Mark Pilisuk (Little Brown, 1968).

Karen Sacks, "Engels Revisited: Women, the Organization of production, and Private Property." Pp. 205-222 in WOMEN,
CULTURE, AND SOCIETY, ed. by Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo and Louise Lamphere (Stanford, 1974).

George Silberbauer, "Political Process in G/wi Bands." Pp. 23-59 in POLITICS AND HISTORY IN BAND SOCIETIES, ed. by Eleanor Leacock and Richard Lee (Cambridge, 1982).