POLS 1155 Lecture 1: Chapter 1: Lichbach and Zuckerman
Document Summary
Comparatives want to understand the critical events of the day. Comparatives assert an ambitious intellectual vision in that they approach these substantive concerns with general questions in mind a. Examine a case to reveal what it tells us about a larger picture. Comparatives assert a gran intellectual vision in that their generalizations are situated in the context of the big questions of social thought. Assumptions about actors who act deliberately to maximize their advantage. Analysis begins at the level of the individual and culminates in questions about collective actions, choices, and institutions. Provide nuanced and detailed reading of particular cases. Want to understand the varied ways of life, systems of meaning, and values. Joins strong doubts about both the ability to generalize to abstract categories and the ability to provide explanations that apply to more than the case at hand. Draw together long-standing interests in political and social institutions. Take strong positions on methodological issues that divide comparativists.