Revisiting Institutionalism in Sociology: Putting the “Institution” Back in Institutional Analysis

Description

There may not be a concept so central to sociology, yet so vaguely defined in its contemporary usages, than institution. In Revisiting Institutionalism in Sociology, Abrutyn takes an in-depth look at what institutions are by returning to some of the insights of classical theorists like Max Weber and Herbert Spencer, the functionalisms of Talcott Parsons and S.N. Eisenstadt, and the more recent evolutionary institutionalisms of Gerhard Lenski and Jonathan Turner. Returning to the idea that various levels of social reality shape societies, Abrutyn argues that institutions are macro-level structural and cultural spheres of action, exchange, and communication. They have emergent properties and dynamics that are not reducible to other levels of social reality. Rather than fall back on old functionalist solutions, Abrutyn offers an original and synthetic theory of institutions like religion or economy; the process by which they become autonomous, or distinct cultural spaces that shape the color and texture of action, exchange, and communication embedded within them; and how they gain or lose autonomy by theorizing about institutional entrepreneurship. Finally, Abrutyn lays bare the inner workings of institutions, including their ecology, the way structure and culture shape lower-levels of social reality, and how they develop unique patterns of stratification and inequality founded on their ecology, structure, and culture. Ultimately, Abrutyn offers a refreshing take on macrosociology that brings functionalist, conflict, and cultural sociologies together, while painting a new picture of how the seemingly invisible macro-world influences the choices humans make and the goals we set. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Introduction Why a Book on Institutions? The Cacaphony of Institutionalisms The Catchalls New Institutionalisms Strategic Action Fields Institutional Logics The Mythos of Bourdieuian Sociology Why Should We Revisit Historical Institutionalism? Institutional Domains—Getting It Right Clarity in Levels of Analysis Power, Culture, and the Material Bases of Social Life An Empirical, Comparative, Interdisciplinary Endeavor Answering the Big Questions 1. Institutional Autonomy Introduction A Sociology of Institutional Autonomy Describing Institutions Dimensions of Autonomy The Generalization of Culture The Existential Foundations of Institutional Autonomy An Institutional Inventory Kinship Polity Religion Economy A Brief Aside on Autonomous Economies Law Education Secondary Institutions Conclusion 2. Building Autonomous Institutions from The “Inside-Out” Introduction Reconceptualizing Institutional Entrepreneurs The Colloquial View of Entrepreneurship Eisenstadt’s Vision of Entrepreneurship The Engine Political Evolution A Synthetic Theory of Entrepeneurship Entrepreneurs, Institutional Projects, and Institutional Autonomy Elaborating Projects Project Variation and the Multi-Linearity of Institutional Change Phases of Projects Institutional Projects and Institutional Autonomy Final Thoughts 3. The Ecological Dynamics of Institutions Introduction Ecological Dynamics Intra- and Inter-Institutional Penetration A Note on the Physical-Cognitive Distinction The Rule of Proximity Role Commitment Intensive Ties Extensive Ties The Merger The Moral and Social Order Visibility and Presence Normative and Regulatory Control Formalization Translating Underlying Meanings The Environment and Ecological Dynamics The Institutional Environment Core Support Liaisons Consumers Extra-Institutional Entrepreneurs Marginal Actors The Multiplicity of the Core Proxy Cores The Jurisdictional Dimension Intersecting Core Dynamics Conclusion 4. The Invisible Framework: Intra-Institutional Structure A Descriptive Look Inside of an Institution Levels of Embedding Inter-Institutional Structural Links A Word on Macro Space Generalized Roles Intra-Institutional Structuration Segmentation and Differentiation Exchange Domination Embedding/Inclusion Mobility Within and Across Domains Boundary Overlaps Conclusion 5. The Roots of Intra-Institutional Culture: The Circulation of Generalized Symbolic Media Why Culture Matters Media as Culture What Are Generalized Symbolic Media? An Inventory of Media Examining the Dualism of Media Specialized Institutional Language The Material Side: External Referents of Value The Objectified Form The Embodied Form The Institutionalized Form Some Dynamics of Generalized Symbolic Media Temperature, Penetration, and Meta-Markets Pollution and Colonization Subjectivity, Resistance, and Conversion Conclusion 6. Intra-Institutional Stratification: The Uneven Distribution of Media and Other Resources The Structural Foundations of Institutional Stratification Some Ecological Dimensions Some Structural Dimensions The Symbolic Foundations of Institutional Stratification Institutional Categoric Units Consolidation, Centralization, and Hoarding Institutional Power vs. Field/Niche Power Intersecting Parameters and Hoarding Institutional Power, Wealth, and Prestige Inter-Institutional Stratification The Diffusion of Power, Wealth, and Prestige The Problem of Cool Media: Power and Money in the U.S. Struggles Over Ownership Laboratories of Social Change Growth of the Pie Why Intra-Institutional Patterns Matter The Ambiguity of Boundary Overlaps Paths to Mobility Intersecting Parameters Conclusion 7. Considering the Consequences of a New Theory of Institutions Macro-Level Consequences A Slightly Different Evolutionary Sociology Institutions and Evolutionary Problems Adaptivity Domination and Conflict Historical Phasing Considering the Meso-Level Addressing the Three Sociological Problems Depth in the Environment Historicization and Comparative Institutionalism Talking About Modernity The Micro-Level Establishing a Strong Macro-Micro Link Reconsidering Current Social Psychological Theories Micro Elements of Mind Encounters, Exchanges and Small Groups Last Thoughts Notes References Index