Economy, Inequality, Labor and Organizations

Overview

The study of organizations, labor, and economy has long occupied a central place in sociological analysis. At UCI, sociologists studying organizations, labor and economy focus on the dynamics of change, inequality, social structure, and decision-making. Faculty members in this cluster pursue these themes from a variety of theoretical perspectives using multiple methods. Because of this diversity, research activities by members working in this field overlap with a number of other fields within the Department, especially social networks, political sociology/social movements, gender and family, race and ethnicity, and global change and inequality. Sociology faculty members also actively participate in the Center for Organizational Research (COR). COR brings together UCI faculty and students studying organizations from throughout the UCI campus in joint research projects, intellectual workshops, and graduate seminars.

Faculty

Nina Bandelj, Cluster Coordinator – economic sociology; culture; globalization; organizations; social networks; social change in Central and Eastern Europe; research design
Frank Bean, Distinguished Professor Emeritus - international migration, demography, racial and ethnic relations, economic sociology, family
Susan Brown, Professor Emerita – immigration; inequality; urban sociology; demographic methods
Carter Butts – social networks; decision-making; economic sociology; mathematical modeling
Katherine Faust, Professor Emerita – social networks; social methods
Martha Feldman – organization theory; organizational change; decision making; qualitative field methods. Primary affiliation with the Department of Planning, Policy, and Design, School of Social Ecology
Glenda Flores- Latino sociology, Latina professionals, work and occupations, education, middle-class minorities, qualitative methods. Primary affiliation with the Chicano Latino Studies
Paul Hanselman - stratification/inequality; education; quantitative methods; treatment effect heterogeneity; data visualization
Matt Huffman – race/gender inequality in organizations and occupations; quantitative methods
Andrew Penner – inequality; education; gender; family; race; administrative data
Charles Ragin, Chancellor's Professor Emeritus - comparative and historical sociology; social inequality; political sociology; quantitative methodology; qualitative methodology
Rocio Rosales – immigration; Latino/a Studies; economic sociology; urban sociology: qualitative research methods
Evan Schofer – comparative political sociology; sociology of education; globalization; sociology of the environment; organizations; sociology of science; economic sociology; quantitative methods and statistics
David Smith – world systems analysis; urbanization; development; dependent development in East Asia; comparative historical sociology
Dave Snow, Distinguished Emeritus Professor – collective behavior and social movements; social psychology; urban sociology; social problems; culture; qualitative methods
Judith Stepan-Norris, Professor Emerita– labor unions; sociology of work; sociology of the professions; comparative historical methods
Asia Bento - race, ethnicity, inequality, economic sociology

Richard Arum - socialization, social stratification, organizations, out-of-school development, technology, policy

GRADUATE COURSES AND FIELD EXAM

To qualify for a graduate field exam and/or expertise in Economy, Inequality, Labor, and Organizations, students must take at least two core courses and one elective course in the field. It is recommended that those planning to take an exam in this field contact the cluster coordinator a quarter before their planned exam. The reading list is currently structured so that a student can tailor one component (roughly a quarter of the readings) to his or her specific interests.

Core Courses: