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Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective (Sociology for a New Century Series)
Studio : Pine Forge Press
by Pine Forge Press
Publisher : Pine Forge Press
Released : 2007-12-06
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781412955928
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 6 reviews)
List Price : $49.95
Our Price : $41.50
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Product Description |
Explores development through historical narrative and examines the globalization/development paradox through in-depth case studies
Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, Fourth Edition, describes the dramatic acceleration of the global and political economy across three historical periods: colonialism, the development era, and the current era of globalization. Author Philip McMichael helps students make sense of a complex world in transition and explains how globalization became part of public discourse. Filled with case studies, this text makes the intricacies of globalization concrete, meaningful, and clear for students and moves them away from simple social evolutionary views, encouraging them to ponder social change, development, and global inequalities. The book challenges students to see themselves as global citizens whose consumption decisions have real implications.
New to the Fourth Edition
· Links contemporary world issues such as slum proliferation, rebellion in Latin America, AIDS, the rise of China, and climate change to the long-term course of development as a global project
· Weaves a stronger ecological theme into the story and emphasizes gendered features of modernization, as well as the complexity of its progressive claims, urging students to think critically about the costs and benefits of development
· Reviews current trends and asks new questions about the future of international development
Instructor's Resources on CD-Rom are available to qualified instructors. Contact info@sagepub.com or 1-800-818-7243 (6 am - 5 pm, PT) to request a copy.
Intended Audience
This text is an ideal core or supplementary text for a variety of undergraduate or beginning graduate courses such as Globalization, Social Development, and Social Change in departments of sociology, political science, and global studies. |
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A fantastic introduction to a holistic view of global development. |
This book covers global development from colonialism, to 'de-colonization' to globalization in a truly holistic sense. With a background in economics and a special interest in food systems, McMichael is truly informed in his analysis of the global power structure and how it has developed through time. Not ignored are studies of inequalities of race/ethnicity, gender, and class on a global scale.
The book is slow reading, due to density of the subject matter and large amounts of facts and terms. However, this only serves to intensify and broaden the learning experience as you move through the book. It moves chronologically through time, offering case studies, further reading at the end of each chapter, and questions to promote critical thinking. This is one of the most fantastic books I have ever read, and he is one of the most informed, passionate, honest, and blunt professors I have had.
The book itself is a textbook, and should be read as such. Some accuse him of political leanings, and though surely he may have them in his personal life, his abilities to display just the facts is noteworthy. Every future CEO, Banker, Politician, Lawyer, and member of the Global South would benefit from reading this book. |
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Fair trade and social change for just under 50$ a copy! |
McMichaels book on globalization is a collection of gross overstatements, dubious statistics and figures (nearly always mentioned without citations) and embarrassing generalizations, poor writing and an absence of wit or even insight. Possibly one of the worst things I've ever been assigned to read- so bad in fact, I was inspired to write my first ever online review. That said, global economics and the structural orchestration of inequality associated with today's neoliberal economic development is a fascinating topic, certainly deserving of our attention. With some organization, a writing class or two, a solid editor, and maybe a class in academic research methods, McMichael may yet have a future in Academia. In the mean time, skip this one and find something else (Harvey) more worthwhile.
That said, the message is |
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Not a bad introduction, but there are better |
This book is an introduction to the social analysis of the development project. If amazon gave the option, I would rate it 3 1/2 stars instead. The book gives a brief history of international development and the analysis focuses on overarching themes, such as decolonization, the shift from keynesian to neoliberal models, and disharmonies. Case studies are interspersed throughout to give examples. The book is light on economics and even lighter on theory. It is accessible to anyone with the most basic of understandings in trade. The reason I give the book 3 stars is because the first 2 parts, or 200 pages or so, of the book contribute very little original material or insights, and lack in depth. Unless you do well from a textbook format, I would recommend a separate historical text on development combined with a socio-cultural analysis. The two are not combined well in this work in my opinion. That said, for someone new to sociology of development this is a good starting point.
One interesting and valuable approach is that he attempts to seed the narrative with the question of "whether and to what extent development is a process often realized through the intensification of inequalities, despite its stated intentions." This should tell you something about the subtle political leanings of the author, which did not distract from the goals of providing students with foundational knowledge in international development. |
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Fabulous! |
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Usually professors who assign their own book for a class tend to be egotists. McMichael bucked that trend, however, by assigning his book which explained everything I ever needed or wanted to know about how the world works. The structure of the book makes it easy for anyone to understand and explains the state of the world today using historical context, which I found fascinating. However cheesy this may be, I honestly think the world would be a better place if more people read this book. |
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An excellent place to start |
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I completely agree with Mr. Jones' review. I can name countless books that offer strong arguments and good research. I can also recommend many books that are written with such clear and graceful style that they are a pleasure to read. McMichael is one of the few authors who can manage to combine these two aspects. I thank him for making it both easy and interesting for me to learn about this field of study. |
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