A Few Quick Notes…

The General vs. The Particular

• Returning a little bit to the Social Theory lecture….

– At its heart, all social theory tries to be “general”

• That doesn’t necessarily mean “law like” or “universal”, just that it tries to be a perspective that is applicable to more than one case.

– Almost all social theories tend to illustrate “the general” argument by calling on “particular” examples/data

• This week Scott used scientific forestry (amongst other examples) to demonstrate the importance and impacts of standardization and calculation;  Ferguson used a World Bank report to demonstrate the persistence of  an institutionalized discourse/worldview  – even in the face of counterfactual information.

• In this class, you are going to learn to locate and focus on the “general” argument that transcends the particulars of any one case

The General vs. the Particular (cont.)

– Good theories are those whose “general” points about how the world works are useful outside the context of their original “particulars.”

• Few theorists bring their own ideas to a wide range of particulars; that work is done by subsequent scholars

– These scholars see in the particulars with which they are faced the general patterns outlined by other theorists.

• To put it another way: the best theories can be made to travel across topics; a mark of good scholarship is that you are able to make that traveling happen.  

–  This is the goal of SYA 4011 regardless of who teaches it – we want students to be able to recognize and apply the general theories they learned in this and other classes to a set of particulars (which set is not especially important, ours just happens to be sports). 

• Or, as the course catalog puts it: “SYA 4011 Social Theory (3). Focuses on one or more theoretical perspectives from the standpoint of a particular empirical research issue or set of issues. Topics may vary by instructor and by semester.”

– Thus it is not a history of social theory:  That is Anthropological Theories and Sociological Theories

– Nor do we get into the theoretical canon of “Sports Studies” .

– The way I structure the course gives some pretty big hints about how to achieve this traveling: the particulars on Tuesday can be analyzed with what is read on Thursday.

About Thought Pieces…

• Generally a good start, some were excellent.

• Some other minor points:

– Many of the readings will be long/not super engaging/hard – while that is not unimportant, focus your analysis more on what it is saying, less on how it is saying it.

– Be sure to include things in your summary from the end of the article, not just the beginning

• Forestry was only the first half of Scott; the second half was the importance of institutions of standardization, and how it shifts power structures, valuing certain things more than others.

Rules for Discussion

• Get into groups of between 3 and 6 people – no more, no less.

– Groups do not have to be the same every time.

• Each group will turn in one sheet of paper (two at most), with everyone’s name and panther ID on that sheet

• The important thing is that each group discuss all of the questions.   It is not in class work, it is not a quiz, it is in class discussion.

– Ideally, you don’t divide up the work; but if you do, you then have to come back and talk about it.

• To that end, each group chooses one person to write down all the answers.

– Again, the importance is not getting it “right”, it is coming to common understanding

• I will walk around to the various groups, but for most of the time, I want to hear talking among group members.

Questions

• Scott

1. What are some reasons a commercial , monocropped “scientific” forest was initially preferred by states  to the old princely forest?   What gets lost in that type of counting that favors simplification, legibility and manipulation? 

2. Who./what gets hurt by scientific forest practices, and why does Scott call it a virtual ecology?

3. What larger point is Scott trying to make by opening this chapter with this story about trees?

4. Why did “modern states,” including democratic ones, become interested  in standardized weights and measures?  Does Scott argue that standardization only brought oppression?

5. What is the role of simplification and overlooking in mapping?  Why was standardized mapping so important to states?

Fun Questions (if you have time):  what was the effect of the “openings tax”?  What problem did Massachusetts’ type of property deeds cause?

• Ferguson

6. Is Lesotho a big country? How successful has development been in Lesotho?   Has that stopped development?  Has that displaced the common pool of development experts?

7. What is the image of Lesotho from the World Bank report?   Encyclopedia Britannica (1910)?  Ferguson says, this isn’t just an error, but “an error in a certain direction”?  In what direction is that error? (or perhaps think about how about development discourse is different from the academic discourse).

8. According to Ferguson, what is an LDC and why does the World Bank try to turn every country into one?

9. What about Lesotho’s creation makes treating it as a “typical” LDC with a “national economy” a particularly silly position?

– Quick questions (get to if you have time):

• How good are the statistics the world bank report use?  Does that stop them from being used?

• What is the difference between GDP and GNP and why does that matter in Lesotho?

•  Is government looked at as problem or solution in the World Bank report?   What does Ferguson think about this?

• A lot of money is spent developing agricultural projects in Lesotho?  Why did people in Lesotho not already do much agriculture? Does the World Bank equate capitalism and poverty reduction?