Faculty Books
James Mahoney
Professor
Department of Political Science and Department of Sociology
Fitzgerald Professor of Economic History
Scott Hall, Room 402
(847) 491-2626
james-mahoney@northwestern.edu
Office Hours:
Wednesday 2:00 - 4:00 pm in Scott Hall 402
Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website
Areas of Interest
Historical Sociology
National Development Qualitative
Methodology Macro Theory
Relevant Link
Department of Political Science
Biography
James Mahoney is a comparative-historical researcher with interests in socioeconomic development, political regimes, and methodology. His most recent books are Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish America in Comparative Perspective (2010) and Explaining Institutional Change: Ambiguity, Agency, and Power (2010; co-edited with Kathleen Thelen). He is also the author of The Legacies of Liberalism: Path Dependence and Political Regimes in Central America (2001) and co-editor of Comparative-Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences (2003; with Dietrich Rueschemeyer).
His book Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish America in Comparative Perspective won four major awards from the American Sociological Association and American Political Science Association.
His article publications feature work on political and socioeconomic development in Latin America, path dependence in historical sociology, and causal inference in small-N analysis. Mahoney is a past President of the American Political Science Association (APSA) Section for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, and he is Chair of the American Sociological Association Section for Comparative and Historical Sociology.
Courses Taught
Sociology:
SOCIOL 317: Global Development Syllabus
SOCIOL 439: Comparative Historical Analysis Syllabus
Political Science:
POLI SCI: 490: Methods of Comparative Analysis Syllabus
Books
Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish America in Comparative Perspective
Cambridge University Press, 2010
Explaining Institutional Change Ambiguity, Agency, and Power
(with Kathleen Thelen), Cambridge University Press, 2010
Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences
(with Dietrich Rueschemeyer), Cambridge University Press, 2003
The Legacies of Liberalism: Path Dependence and Political Regimes in Central America
John Hopkins University Press, 2001
Publications
William Henry Exum Award
The intent of this prize is to honor the memory of William Henry Exum, a member of the Department of Sociology and the African American Studies Department, who died in 1986 at the age of 37. Exum was concerned with the quality of writing and research analysis in student papers. He was also interested in racial problems facing minority youths in higher education. This award was established as a means of continuing his goals of breaking barriers for all minorities.
The award submission deadline is April 27, 2012. All interested students should submit a 15-20 page paper, typed and double-spaced, on a topic dealing with race and ethnicity. Students are not limited to a sociological approach in preparing their submissions, nor is the award limited to sociology or social science majors.
The paper should include a cover sheet with the student's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, year in school, and major.
Three copies of the essay must be submitted by the announced deadline to the Exum Award - Department of Sociology, 1810 Chicago Ave., Evanston Campus or one copy by email to sociol@northwestern.edu.
This award is open to all undergraduate students from all disciplines.
Upcoming Events
COLLOQUIUM: Myra Marx Ferree, Sociology, University of WI-Madison
May 17, 2012 • 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Culture and Society Workshop
May 17, 2012 • 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
