Recommended Readings for
Political Science 310: Theories of American Politics
Scientific Method and Progress
Popper and Falsificationism
Kuhn and Research Paradigms
- Thomas S. Kuhn. 1962.
"The
Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions." In The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press [Chapter 9].
[revolutionary science]
- Thomas S. Kuhn. 1970. The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions, 2nd ed., enlarged. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press. [Kuhn's full account]
- Thomas S. Kuhn. 1970. "Logic of Discovery or Psychology
of Research?" In
Criticsm and the Growth of Knowledge, eds. Imre Lakatos
and Alan Musgrave. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Kuhn
compares himself to Popper]
- A.F. Chalmers. 1999.
"Theories
as Structures I: Kuhn's Paradigms."
In What Is This Thing Called Science? 3rd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett
Publishing Company [Chapter 8]. [summary and some analysis of Kuhn]
[study
questions]
- Frank Pajares. 2004.
Synopsis and
Outline and Study Guide
of Kuhn's book.
Lakatos and Research Programs
Feyerabend and Anarchism
- Paul Feyerabend. 1975.
Against
Method. London: Verso Books
[Introduction to the Chinese Edition, Analytical Index, Introduction,
Chapters 1 and 19].
[study
questions]{23}
- Paul Feyerabend. 1975. Against
Method. London: Verso Books.
Laudan and Research Traditions
Larry Laudan. 1977. Progress and its Problems: Towards
a Theory of Scientific Growth. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Philosophy of Social Science
Progress in Political Science
Causality and Knowledge
- Jon Elster. 1989.
"Mechanisms."
In Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences [Chapter 1]. [sketches out
different approaches to causality]
[study questions]
- Arthur L. Stinchcombe. 1991. "The Conditions of Fruitfulness of Theorizing About
Mechanisms in Social Science." Philosophy of the Social Sciences
21(3):367-388.
- Daniel Little. 1993. "On the Scope and Limits of Generalizations in the
Social Sciences." Synthese 97:183-207. [implications of using causal
mechanisms and not covering laws]
- Gary King, Robert O. Keohane, and Sidney Verba. 1994.
"Causality
and Causal Inference."
In Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research
[Chapters 1 and 3]. [more attention to empirical testing]
- Tom Wolfe. 1996.
"Sorry,
But Your Soul Just Died." Forbes ASAP
2 December: 210-219. [pessimistic view of where science is going]
- Stephen Van Evera. 1997. "Hypotheses, Laws, and Theories: A User's Guide."
In Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science [Chapter 1].
[more detail on theories and hypotheses]
- A.F. Chalmers. 1999. "Realism and Anti-Realism." In What Is This Thing Called
Science? 3rd ed. [Chapter 15] [more on ontology/epistemology]
- Neal A. Maxwell. 1999.
"The
Disciple-Scholar." In Learning in the
Light of Faith, ed. Henry B. Eyring. [a religious perspective on epistemology]
[study questions]
- Steve Buckler. 2002. "Normative Theory."
In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 8].
[(normative) responses to positivism]
- Fiona Devine. 2002. "Qualitative Methods."
In Theory and Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed.,
eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 9].
- Peter John. 2002. "Quantitative Methods."
In Theory and Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed.,
eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 10].
- Melvyn Read and David Marsh. 2002. "Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods."
In Theory and Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed.,
eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 11].
- Jonathan Hopkin. 2002. "Comparative Methods."
In Theory and Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed.,
eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 12].
Research Traditions in Political Science
- Gabriel A. Almond. 1988.
"Separate
Tables: Schools and Sects in Political Science."
PS: Political Science and Politics 21(4): 828-842.
[study questions]
[hard vs. soft, left vs. right]
- Gerry Stoker and David Marsh. 2002.
"Introduction."
In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan [Introduction].
[study questions]{16}
- Bernard Susser. 1992. Approaches to the Study of Politics. [a reader
on different approaches, with commentary]
- Theda Skocpol and John L. Campbell. 1995. American Society and Politics:
Institutional, Historical, and Theoretical Perspectives. [a reader emphasizing macro
and sociological approaches, with commentary]
- Alan C. Isaak. 1997. Scope and Methods of Political Science:
An Introduction to the Methodology of Political Inquiry, 4th ed. [yet another
categorization of different research traditions]
Behavioralism
Rational Choice
- Jon Elster. 1986.
"Introduction."
In Rational Choice, ed. Jon Elster. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.{27} [generally critical view of rational choice]
[study questions]
- Daniel Little. 1991. "Rational Choice Theory." In Varieties of
Social Explanation: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Science
[Chapter 3]. [generally favorable view of rational choice]
[study questions]
- Hugh Ward. 2002. "Rational Choice." In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 3].
[study questions]
- Dennis Chong. 2000.
"Interests
versus Values." In Rational Lives: Norms and Values in Politics and
Society [Chapter 1]. [incorporates norms into rational choice]
- Donald P. Green and Ian Shapiro. 1994. Pathologies of Rational Choice:
A Critique of Applications in Political Science. [arguing that empirical support
for rational choice theory is lacking]
- James Johnson. 1996. "How Not to Criticize Rational Choice Theory: Pathologies
of 'Common Sense.'" Philosophy of the Social Sciences 26(1):77-91.
[extended review of Green and Shapiro arguing that they have no (sense of)
philosophy of (social) science]
- Jeffrey Friedman, ed. 1996. The Rational Choice Controversy.
[responses to Green and Shapiro and a rejoinder by the authors]
- Paul K. MacDonald. 2003.
"Use Fiction or Miracle Maker: The Competing Epistemological Foundations of
Rational Choice Theory." American Political Science Review
97(4):551-565.
- James W. Ceaser. 1990. "Modern Political Science." In
Liberal Democracy and Political Science [Chapter 4]. [explication and
critique of behavioralism and rational choice, and how both have failed liberal democracy]
Institutionalism
- Daniel Little. 1991. "Functional and Structural Explanation." In Varieties of
Social Explanation: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Science
[Chapter 5].
[study questions]
- Vivien Lowndes. 2002. "Institutionalism." In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 4].
[study questions]
- James G. March and Johan P. Olsen. 1984.
"The
New Institutionalism: Organizational Factors in Political Life."
American Political Science Review 78(3):734-749. [bringing institutions
back into political science, with an interpretivist slant]
- Douglass C. North. 1991.
"Institutions."
Journal of Economic Perspectives 5(1):97-112. [economic approach to institutions]
- Stuart McAnulla. 2002. "Structure and Agency."
In Theory and Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed.,
eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 13]. [does agency precede structure, or
vice versa?]
- Daniel Diermeier and Keith Krehbiel. 2003. "Institutionalism as a Methodology."
Journal of Theoretical Politics 15(2):123-144. [connects institutionalism
to rational choice accounts]
- Christopher J. Bailey. 1994. "Visions of American Politics." In
Developments in American Politics 2, eds. Gillian Peele,
Christopher J. Bailey, Bruce Cain, and B. Guy Peters [Chapter 19]. [discusses how
behavioralism, rational choice, and institutionalism have been applied in the study of
American politics]
Marxism
- John McMurtry. 1978.
"Introduction."
In The Structure of Marx's World-View. Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press.{16}
[study questions]
[summary of Marx's views and the challenges to them]
- Jon Elster. 1986.
"What Is Living
and What Is Dead in the Philosophy of Marx?" In An Introduction to
Karl Marx. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [Chapter 10].{15}
[study questions]
- David Marsh. 2002. "Marxism." In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 7].
[study questions]
- Edward S. Greenberg. 1994. "Macroeconomic Change and Political Transformation
in the United States." In The Dynamics of American Politics: Approaches
and Interpretations, eds. Lawrence C. Dodd and Calvin Jillson [Chapter 7].
[argues (neo-)Marxism is (still) relevant in the study of American politics]
Interpretivism
- Mark Bevir and R.A.W. Rhodes. 2002.
"Interpretive
Theory." In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and
Gerry Stoker. New York: Palgrave Macmillan [Chapter 6].
[study questions]{21}
- Daniel Little. 1991. "Interpretation Theory." In Varieties of
Social Explanation: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Science
[Chapter 4].
[study questions]
- Clifford Geertz. 1973. "Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory
of Culture." In The Interpretation of Cultures [Chapter 1].
[good interpretive approaches have coherence]
- John S. Dryzek. 1992.
"How
Far is It from Virginia and Rochester to Frankfurt? Public Choice as
Critical Theory." British Journal of Political Science 22(4):397-417.
[compares rational choice to critical theory]
- Steve Buckler. 2002. "Normative Theory."
In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 8].
[(mostly) interpretive responses to positivism]
Feminism
Applications of Theories to American Politics
Power
Interest Groups
Social Movements
- Lewis M. Killian. 1964.
"Social
Movements." In Handbook of Modern
Sociology, ed. Robert E.L. Faris. Chicago: Rand McNally [Chapter 12].{29}
- Doug McAdam. 1982.
"The
Political Process Model." In Political Process and the
Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press [Chapter 3].{23}
- William E. Connolly. 1979.
"Appearance
and Reality in Politics."
Political Theory 7(4):445-468. [interpretivist approach for understanding why (dissident) social movements
do not take place]
Representation
Congress
Bureaucracy
Constitution
Critique
- Immanuel Wallerstein, et al.: all.
- Albert O. Hirschman. 1970.
"The
Search for Paradigms as a Hindrance to Understanding."
World Politics 22(3): 329-343.
[study questions]
[how paradigms/research traditions, especially dogmatic ones, are bad]
- Mark Blyth. 2002.
"Institutions
and Ideas." In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and
Gerry Stoker. New York: Palgrave Macmillan [Chapter 14].
[study questions]{19}
- David Marsh and Gerry Stoker. 2002. "Conclusion." In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker
[Conclusion].
- Gerald H. Kramer. 1986.
"Political
Science as Science." In
Political Science: the Science of Politics,
ed. Herbert F. Weisberg [Chapter 2].
[study questions]
- Ruth Lane. 1990.
"Concrete
Theory: An Emerging Political Method."
American Political Science Review 84(3):927-940.
- Theodore J. Lowi. 1992.
"The
State in Political Science: How We Become What We Study."
American Political Science Review 86(1):1-7.
[study questions]
- Stuart McAnulla. 2002. "Structure and Agency." In Theory and
Methods in Political Science, 2nd ed., eds. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker [Chapter 13].
[critique of existing approaches to structure and agency and sketch of new approach]