SOC 401 - Institutional Analysis

This is an advanced treatment of the theory and empirical practices of institutional analysis in sociology and related fields. The course focuses first on structure, treating institutions and fields as contextual determinants of action and identifying the different mechanisms by which institutions promote order, stability, and distinctive patterns of organization, behavior, economic development, and public policy. Topics covered include path dependence and “lock in,” isomorphism, structure-induced equilibrium, institutional logics and contingency, diffusion, and institutionalization. The course then focuses on agency and action, tackling the thorny issue of how to explain change without abandoning the contextual insights of earlier formulations. Topics covered include punctuated equilibria vs. evolutionary change, deinstitutionalization, processes of transposition, theorization and recombination, endogenous change dynamics, institutional entrepreneurship, and the relationships between social movements and institutional fields.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Prerequisite(s): SOC 211 and one upper-division course in sociology.
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Not offered: 2026-27
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Evaluate data and/or sources.
Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.
Think in sophisticated ways about causation, social and/or historical change, human cognition, or the relationship between individuals and society, or engage with social, political, religious or economic theory in other areas.