Lecture materials
- Overview of org theory lecture PDF (Link to HTML version)
- Video lecture (Ozan forgot to share screen — please refer to lecture PDF)
- Audio lecture
- Organizational norms/culture lecture PDF (Link to HTML version)
Required readings
- Birnbaum, R. (1991). The collegial institution: Sharing power and values in a community of equals. How colleges work: The cybernetics of academic organization and leadership (pp. 85-104). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Hypothetical case study of a college with strong organizational norms, drawing from traditional theories of organizational norms/culture
- Tierney, W. G. (1988). Organizational culture in higher education: Defining the essentials. The Journal of Higher Education, 59(1), 2-21.
- A modernist (think second half of 20th century) perspective on organizational culture; post-modern theories of power, including Queer theory, effectively critique this perspective later on
- Salazar, KS, & Jaquette, O. (2023). To dismantle structural racism in college recruiting, policymakers and advocates must play offense, not defense. The Education Trust.
Optional readings
- Harris, J. C. (2020). "Socialized into the field": Exploring how higher education and student affairs faculty members are socialized to teach student development theory. Journal of College Student Development, 61(1), 1-17. doi:10.1353/csd.2020.0000
- An excellent piece of empirical scholarship that applies traditional theories of org culture/socialization
- Clark, B. R. (1972). The organizational saga in higher education. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(2), 178-184.
- Tierney, W. G. (1997). Organizational socialization in higher education. The Journal of Higher Education, 68(1), 1-16.
- Binder, A. J., Davis, D. B., & Bloom, N. (2016). Career funneling: How elite students learn to define and desire "prestigious" jobs. Sociology of Education, 89(1), 20-39. doi:10.1177/0038040715610883
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Syllabus
- McDonald, J. (2015). Organizational communication meets queer theory: Theorizing relations of "difference" differently. Communication Theory, 25(3), 310-329. doi:10.1111/comt.12060
- A very clear introduction that situates Queer theory vis-a-vis related theoretical perspectives
- Cohen, C.J. (1997). Punks, bulldaggers, and welfare queens: The radical potential of queer politics?. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 3(4), 437-465. doi:10.1215/10642684-3-4-437
- Excellent introduction to Queer Theory and Queer Politics (Queer Theory in action)
- Hevel, M. S. (2017). Toward a history of LGBT student organizations' struggle-for-recognition lawsuits: The exemplar of GLSA v. Gohn.
- Doesn't explicitly refer to old institutionalism. Nevertheless, this is probably my favorite empirical example of old institutional theory in action!
- Slaughter, S. (1993). Retrenchment in the 1980s: The politics of prestige and gender. Journal of Higher Education, 64(3), 250-282.
- Guess which programs/departments get cut by universities during a time of budget austerity in the 1980s?
- Doesn't utilize Queer Theory per se, but think of this as an example of heteronormative domination in action
Optional readings
- Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. New York: Pantheon Books.
- Probably the most famous postmodern statement of power. and foundational to how Queer Theory defines the violence of normativity. But writing style is such that it is difficult to assign digestable set of pages. I'll try to lecture on main ideas. particular chapters of note: Part III chapter 2 "The means of correct training" and Part III chapter 3 "Panopticism"
- Acker, J. (1990). Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: A theory of gendered organizations. Gender & Society, 4(2), 139-158. doi:10.1177/089124390004002002
- Lukes, S. (1974). Power: A radical view. London; New York: Macmillan.
- Lays out three alternative notions of power. One of the most famous statements on power in sociology. But dense reading. I'll try to lecture!
- Parker, M. (2002). Queering management and organization. Gender, Work & Organization, 9: 146-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0432.00153
- Souza, Eloisio. (2017). Where is queer theory in organizational studies? Sociology International Journal. 1. 10.15406/sij.2017.01.00021.
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Emerson, R. M. (1962). Power-dependence relations. American Sociological Review, 27(1), 31-41.
- The most influential statement on power in sociology. Incomplete and at times problematic but develops important insights that are useful for scholarship and for navigating organizations. An important part of your toolkit on power in organizations.
- Davis, G. F., & Powell, W. W. (1993). Organization-environment relations. In M. D. Dunnette, L. M. Hough, & H. C. Triandis (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 3). Palo Alto, California: Consulting Psychologists Press.
- Read section: Pfeffer and Salancik's Resource Dependence Theory, pp. 321-326
- This is just a brief overview of resource dependence theory, before we wade into the original text over the next two weeks
- Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. R. (1978). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. New York: Harper & Row.
- Chapter 2: Organization and social context defined, pp. 23-29
- Chapter 3: Social control of organizations, pp. 39-59
- This book is the seminal statement of resource dependence theory. These sections set up ideas that RDT draws from.
- Jaquette, O., & Curs, B. R. (2015). Creating the out-of-state university: Do public universities increase nonresident freshman enrollment in response to declining state appropriations? Research in Higher Education, 56(6), 535-565. doi:10.1007/s11162-015-9362-2
- An empirical application of the adaptation strategy of resource dependence theory
Optional readings
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. R. (1978). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. New York: Harper & Row.
- Chapter 5: Managing organizational demands: Adaptation and avoidance, pp. 92-110
- Chapter 7: The negotiated environment: Establishing collective structures of interorganizational action, pp. 143-182
- Jaquette, O., Salazar, K., & Martin, P. M. (2022). The student list business: Primer and market dynamics. Washington, DC: TICAS.
- Applies resource dependence theory to analyze acquisitions and other "make or buy" decisions in the enrollment management industry
- You can skip the "Executive Summary" section
- But this "theory box" pullout section (LINK) is Required
Optional readings
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Birnbaum, R. (1991). The bureaucratic institution: rationalizing structure and decision making. How colleges work: The cybernetics of academic organization and leadership (pp. 105-127). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- I have learned the hard way that navigating anarchy is best done by being a student of bureaucracy. you gotta find the patterns in the anarchy
- Birnbaum, R. (1991). The anarchical institution: Finding meaning in a community of autonomous actors. How colleges work: The cybernetics of academic organization and leadership (pp. 151-174). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Overview of organizational anarchy and garbage can theory through the lens of a case study about a hypothetical university
- Cohen, M. D., & March, J. G. (1974). Leadership in an organized anarchy. Leadership and ambiguity: the American college president (pp. 195-229). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- A discussion of how presidents operate in organizational anarchy and how they use garbage can theory in practice, from the seminal book on org anarchy/garbage can theory
Optional readings
- Cole, E. R. (2020). "This is a good movement: Black presidents and the dismantling of segregation" The campus color line: College presidents and the struggle for Black freedom (pp. 16-69). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
- Chapter not explicitly about org anarchy/garbage can theory. Do ideas from org anarchy/garbage can theory provide a useful lens to analyze how university presidents and other actors operated in this case?
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Karabel, J. (1984). Status-group struggle, organizational interests, and the limits of institutional autonomy: The transformation of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, 1918-1940. Theory and Society, 13(1), 1-40. doi:10.1007/bf00159255
- Great empirical example of old institutionalism from the Max Weber tradition
- Hevel, M. S. (2017). Toward a history of LGBT student organizations' struggle-for-recognition lawsuits: The exemplar of GLSA v. Gohn.
- Doesn't explicitly refer to old institutionalism. Nevertheless, this is probably my favorite empirical example of old institutional theory in action!
- Kraatz, M. S., Ventresca, M. J., & Deng, L. N. (2010). Precarious values and mundane innovations: enrollment management in American liberal arts colleges. Academy of Management Journal, 53(6), 1521-1545.
- Introduction to old institutionalism from the Selznick tradition
Optional readings
- Hirsch, P. M. (1986). From ambushes to golden parachutes: corporate takeovers as an instance of cultural framing and institutional integration. American Journal of Sociology, 91(4), 800-837.
- Another good example of old institutionalism from the Weber tradition. Introduces the idea that innovations often come from marginalized groups that have been excluded by dominant actors.
- Hirschman, D., Berrey, E., & Rose-Greenland, F. (2016). Dequantifying diversity: Affirmative action and admissions at the University of Michigan. Theory and Society, 45(3), 265-301. doi:10.1007/s11186-016-9270-2
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: formal structure as myth and ceremony. The American Journal of Sociology, 83(2), 340-363.
- One of two seminal statements of new institutionalism — a difficult read but worth it!
- DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147-160.
- The second of two seminal statements of new institutionalism and an easier read!
- Edelman, L. B. (1992). Legal ambiguity and symbolic structures: Organizational mediation of civil-rights law. American Journal of Sociology, 97(6), 1531-1576.
- Pages 1531-1551 required; rest of article optional. Focuses on theme of symbolic response to external demands and shows that symbolic responses can have substantive long-term effects
- Garces, L. M., Johnson, B. D., Ambriz, E., & Bradley, D. (2021). Repressive legalism: how postsecondary administrators’ responses to on-campus hate speech undermine a focus on inclusion. American Educational Research Journal, 58(5), 1032-1069.
Optional readings
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Grant, A. M., & Pollock, T. G. (2011). Publishing in AMJ-Part 3: Setting the Hook. Academy of Management Journal, 54(5), 873-879. doi:10.5465/amj.2011.4000
- By far my favorite piece on "craft of scholarship". I have re-read it over a dozen times. It's only like 7 pages. I encourage you to choose an article from this week or the last couple weeks and "reverse engineer" the introduction. Do you observe strategies that were discussed in "setting the hook" essay?
- Brint, S. G., & Karabel, J. (1989). The diverted dream: community colleges and the promise of educational opportunity in America, 1900-1985, chapter 2. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Chapter 2: Organizing a national education movement: 1900-1945, pp. 23-66
- The Diverted Dream is one of the most influential empirical examples of using ideas from old institutionalism to analyze a field-level (as opposed to organization-level) "institutionalization project"
- Greenwood, R., Suddaby, R., & Hinings, C. R. (2002). Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 58-80.
- Seems boring at first, but this is a fascinating study about a very problematic, unsettling process
- Muniz, J. (2024). "Safety and security first": Juvenile practitioners and organizational shifts in a juvenile correction facility.
- Uses "institutional logics" to analyze logic of discipline/security in carceral education settings
Optional readings
- Greenwood, R., & Hinings, C. R. (1996). Understanding radical organizational change: Bringing together the old and the new institutionalism. Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 1022-1054.
- Jaquette, O. (2013). Why do colleges become universities? Mission drift and the enrollment economy. Research in Higher Education, 54(5), 514-543. doi:DOI 10.1007/s11162-013-9296-5
- Uses some ideas from Greenwood and Hinings (1996); but this is still a very macro-level analysis rather than a neo-institutional analysis like Greenwood et. al. (2002) or Brint and Karabel, which provide micro analysis of actions of particular groups of people
- Davis, G. F. (2005). Firms and environments. In N. J. Smelser & R. Swedberg (Eds.), The handbook of economic sociology (pp. 478-502). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Garces, L. M., Johnson, B. D., Ambriz, E., & Bradley, D. (2021). Repressive legalism: how postsecondary administrators’ responses to on-campus hate speech undermine a focus on inclusion. American Educational Research Journal, 58(5), 1032-1069.
- Korver-Glenn, E. (2018). Compounding inequalities: How racial stereotypes and discrimination accumulate across the stages of housing exchange. American Sociological Review, 83(4), 627-656. doi:10.1177/0003122418781774
- structural racism amplifies individual bias in real estate market. Most good empirical research focuses on one thing. this is the rare study that pulls off focusing on many things that are part of a larger process. and actually does it well.
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Bonilla-Silva, E. (1997). Rethinking racism: Toward a structural interpretation. American Sociological Review, 62(3), 465-480. doi:10.2307/2657316
- Seminal statement about structural racism from sociology. and a take-down of theories that view racism as individual ideology (e.g., from psychology)
- Salazar, K. G. (2022). Recruitment redlining by public research universities in the Los Angeles and Dallas Metropolitan areas. The Journal of Higher Education, 93(4), 585-621.
- Applies whiteness as porperty by Harris (1993) to analyze off-campus recruiting visits; I'm biased, but one of the better pieces of scholarship I've read in last few years
- Norris, D. (2021). Embedding racism: City government credit ratings and the institutionalization of race in markets. Social Problems. doi:10.1093/socpro/spab066
- Clear and insightful analysis of how seemingly neutral inputs simultaneously disadvantage Black communities and make racism invisible
- Jaquette, O., & Salazar, K.S. (2024). A sociological analysis of structural racism in "student list" lead generation products" products. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis
- Drawing from recent contributions to sociology of race, the authors analyze "student list" products that universities use to purchase the contact information of some prospective students but not others
Optional readings
- Cottom, T. M. (2020). Where platform capitalism and racial capitalism meet: The sociology of race and racism in the digital society. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 6(4), 441-449. doi:10.1177/2332649220949473
- Excellent synthesis and lit review of what sociology of race has to say about technology in 2020
- Hirschman, D., & Bosk, E. A. (2020). Standardizing biases: Selection devices and the quantification of race. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 6(3), 348-364. doi:10.1177/2332649219844797
- Nice introduction to "selection devices" that allocate people to categories and the relationship with algorithmic bias
- Tiako, M. J. N., South, E., & Ray, V. (2021). Medical Schools as Racialized Organizations: A Primer. Annals of Internal Medicine, 174(8), 1143-1144.
- Harris, C. I. (1993). Whiteness as Property. Harvard Law Review, 106(8), 1707-1791.
- Tichavakunda. (2024). Doing critical race theory in perilous times: Engaging critical race legal scholarship for higher education and beyond. The Review of Higher Education 47(3), 249-280.
- good review of CRT, with applications to higher ed
Lecture materials
Required readings
- Chun, W. H. K., & Barnett, A. (2021). Discriminating data: Correlation, neighborhoods, and the new politics of recognition. The MIT Press. Required reading is:
- Introduction: How to Destroy the World, One Solution at a Time
- Chapter 1: Correlating Eugenics
- Chapter 2: Homophily, or the Swarming of the Segregated Neighborhood
- these chapters do a great job IMO of showing the underlying logic of how the enrollment management industry thinks about student demand for higher education
- Jaquette, O., Salazar, KS, Han, C., D. (2025). Structuring college access: The Market Segment Model and College Board Geomarkets.
Optional readings