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Economic Sociology and Organization Area

Dating back to the classic works of Marx, Weber and Durkheim, economic institutions and behavior have been issues of core sociological concern. In recent years, interest in this topic has surged and economic sociology has become one of the most rapidly growing areas of the discipline. Economic sociology is based on the idea that economic action is social action and economic institutions and behavior are socially constructed and culturally and historically specific. Economic sociologists study firms, production, labor and financial markets, the interaction between the economy and the state, and economic transformations, in both comparative and international perspective. Closely related to economic sociology is the field of the sociology of organizations. As with economic sociology, the sociology of organizations has deep classical roots and many of the foundational works in the modern period of American sociology were conducted within this field. The Economic Sociology & Organizations program at Michigan consists of a core course in economic sociology, a course in macro-organizational theory, a research seminar for advanced students and a series of changing topical courses and seminars. Faculty and courses in the program also link with the areas of Power, History, and Social Change; Culture and Knowledge; Race and Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality; and Social Demography, as well as the Organizational Behavior program in the business school.