Comparative Sociology and Social Change

Can social movements invoke change?

December 10, 2014

Jocelyn Viterna and Judge Isaac Borenstein (visiting professor at Suffolk Law School) were interviewed on December 9th by Emily Rooney on Greater Boston and Beat the Press about the recent national protests and whether social movements can effect change. Listen to the full interview here: "Can Social Movements Invoke Change." Photo credit: Shunella Grace Lumas/Harvard Crimson.

Explaining Low Fertility in Postindustrial Societies

August 16, 2014

Why are so many young people in certain regions of the postindustrial world delaying marriage and children, or not moving forward at all on either front? Southern European and East Asian countries now universally have birth rates that are far below what is required to naturally replace their populations. This is leading to rapid population aging and the specter of lowered economic productivity. To unravel the reasons behind historically unprecedented low birth rates, Mary Brinton (Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology) is leading a team of international collaborators in a five-country comparative study of gender equality and fertility.... Read more about Explaining Low Fertility in Postindustrial Societies

Women in War receives Komarovksy Book Award

January 28, 2015

Congratulations to Jocelyn Viterna whose book Women in War: The micro-processes of mobilization in El Salvador (Oxford University Press, 2013) is the winner of the Mirra Komarovksy Book Award for 2015.... Read more about Women in War receives Komarovksy Book Award

Globalization, Culture, and the Politics of Transnational NGO Collaborations

September 26, 2013

How does an iconic U.S. cultural innovation move through transnational channels over time and gain acceptance and legitimacy as something genuinely and authentically local?... Read more about Globalization, Culture, and the Politics of Transnational NGO Collaborations

Women in War: new book by Jocelyn Viterna

August 21, 2013

In the past several decades, women have joined insurgent armies in significant and surprising numbers. Why do women become guerrilla insurgents? What experiences do they have in guerrilla armies? And what happens to these women when the fighting ends? Women in War: The Micro-processes of Mobilization in El Salvador (Oxford Studies in Culture and Politics, 2013) by Associate Professor Jocelyn Viterna answers these questions...

Meyer article receives ASA award

August 2, 2013

Rachel Meyer received Honorable Mention from the American Sociological Association Section on Labor and Labor Movements for their Distinguished Scholarly Article Award.... Read more about Meyer article receives ASA award

Paul Y. Chang

Associate Professor of Sociology

Research Interests: Social Movements, Family, Korean Studies

... Read more about Paul Y. Chang

Paul Chang's Website

Assistant: Beth Varrichio

Faculty Office Hours

William James Hall
33 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

paulchang@fas.harvard.edu

p: 617-495-8769

Presenter Jan Doering, University of Chicago.

Mini-Conference on Comparative Cultural Sociology

March 25, 2013

The Culture and Social Analysis workshop recently convened a Mini-Conference on Comparative Cultural Sociology, as part of the 83^rd Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society. Comparative cultural sociology is a vibrant field that has been experiencing considerable growth of late. Our department plays a central role in these developments as a number of faculty and graduate students are engaged in theoretical and substantive projects that expand the boundaries of this field.

The mini conference was organized by faculty members Bart Bonikowski and Michèle Lamont,...

Meyer, Rachel. 2012. “Transforming Citizenship: The Subjective Consequences of Local Political Mobilization”. Political Power and Social Theory 23:147-188.

Paul Chang joining Sociology

February 21, 2013

The Sociology Department and the Korea Institute at Harvard are delighted to announce that Paul Chang will be joining the faculty as Assistant Professor of Sociology, effective July 1, 2013.... Read more about Paul Chang joining Sociology

Christopher Winship

Diker-Tishman Professor of Sociology

Research Interests: Stratification; Race and Employment; statistical methods.

... Read more about Christopher Winship

Christopher Winship's Website

Assistant: Michael Van Unen

Faculty Office Hours

William James Hall
33 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

cwinship@wjh.harvard.edu

p: 617-495-9821

Jocelyn Viterna

Professor of Sociology
Chair of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality

Research Interests: Gender, reproduction, states, violence, politics, mobilization, theory, development, and Latin America

... Read more about Jocelyn Viterna

Jocelyn Viterna's Website

Assistant: Sandra Llewellyn

Faculty Office Hours

William James Hall
33 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

jviterna@wjh.harvard.edu

p: 617-495-7569

Orlando Patterson

John Cowles Professor of Sociology

Research Interests: The culture and practice of freedom; the comparative study of slavery and ethno-racial relations; the sociology of underdevelopment with special reference to the Caribbean; the problems of gender and familial relations in the black societies of the Americas; the ways that cultural processes relate to poverty and other social outcomes.
... Read more about Orlando Patterson

Orlando Patterson's Website

Assistant: Jess Viator

Faculty Office Hours

William James Hall
33 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

p: 617-495-3707

Michèle Lamont

Professor of Sociology and African and African American Studies
Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies

Research Interests: Cultural sociology; inequality; race and immigration; comparative sociology; the sociology of knowledge; contemporary sociological theory.

... Read more about Michèle Lamont

Michèle Lamont's Personal Website

Michèle Lamont's Scholar Page

Assistant: Lisa Albert

William James Hall
33 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

mlamont@wjh.harvard.edu

p: 617-496-0645