Contributions To Political Economy Research Articles

Urban Sociology: The Contribution and Limits of Political Economy

This paper departs from reviews of urban sociology that juxtapose competing Marxist and ecological theories, arguing instead that over the last 25 years a venerable social organization paradigm has been superseded by a fertile political economy paradigm that continues to orchestrate current research. The contributions of political economy are reviewed under six headings: historical explanation, comparative studies, socioeconomic processes, spatial relations, ethnicity and community, and political movements. The conclusion argues that urban sociology is currently in need of new directions. Some criticisms and alternatives are suggested.

Urban Sociology: The Contribution and Limits of Political Economy

This paper departs from reviews of urban sociology that juxtapose competing Marxist and ecological theories, arguing instead that over the last 25 years a venerable social organization paradigm has been superseded by a fertile political economy paradigm that continues to orchestrate current research. The contributions of political economy are reviewed under six headings: historical explanation, comparative studies, socioeconomic processes, spatial relations, ethnicity and community, and political movements. The conclusion argues that urban sociology is currently in need of new directions. Some criticisms and alternatives are suggested.

Why the Skyscraper? Towards a Theoretical Framework for Analysis

The question is broached of the development of a conceptual framework for examining the genesis of skyscraper construction in Chicago. At the outset it is emphasised that a theoretical perspective should be embraced which is both cognisant of the complex social relations surrounding building production and consumption and the dialectical relationship between the individual and the social, The empirical work on the Chicago skyscrapers and theoretical approaches to skyscraper development arc reviewed, in order to assess their specific contribution to the question posed. It is noted that these approaches do not address the theoretical issues identified. From this position the advantages of a materialist perspective are detailed, with an examination of the contribution of political economy, Williams's cultural materialism, and Gtddcns's structuration theory to an analysts of the social process of skyscraper production and consumption. It is argued that these conceptual frame­ works together embrace the theoretical concerns of the paper, providing a perspective which is cognisant of the social, political, and cultural relations surrounding skyscraper production and consumption and the role of individual creative practice within this wider social process.

Ideology, the Media, and Australian Sport

In this paper the ideological relationships between the media and Australian sport are examined from a critical perspective. After outlining the contributions of political economy, structuralism, and cultural studies to the critical paradigm, we argue that the Australian media have two main ideological effects. First, they legitimate masculine hegemony, capitalist rationality, consensus, and militaristic nationalism. Second, they marginalize, trivialize, and fragment alternative ideologies of sport. We conclude by suggesting some worthwhile topics for future research and by affirming that politicizing media representations of sport is an important part of the counter-hegemonic struggle in patriarchal capitalist societies.