Sociology 410/510 - Spring 2003
On Thursday, March 6, we will debate the following proposition:
RESOLVED:
"The U.S. military should be constituted of soldiers obtained from universal military service (the draft) of all adults aged 18-26."
Procedures:
1. Tuesday, we randomly selected sides for this debate. For the purposes of this debate, we will "suspend disbelief" in the viewpoint we will be presenting. [If you were not in class Tuesday and your last name starts with an A-H, you will debate in favor of this resolution; if your last name starts with I-Z, you will debate in opposition to this resolution.]
2. Review the assigned reading for this week, Weber's theses on "Bureaucracy."
3. In addition, read:
James Traub. 2003. "All Go Down Together," New York Times Magazine, March 2. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/02/magazine/02WWLN.html
U.S. Selective Service System. 2002. "What Happens in a Draft?" April 30. Available: http://www.sss.gov/seq.htm
4. Prepare your notes for the debate, drawing closely on Weber's analyses of the different types of social action and rationalization (Tuesday's lecture) and bureaucracy (this week's readings).
5. Further instructions will be given on Thursday. (See Debate Instructions Part II.)
***
Related Links:
American Friends Service Committee. 2002. "Dealing With the Draft." Website. Available: http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/choices/draft.htm.
Ramirez, Mario. 2002. "Position Paper on The Universal Military Training and Service Act of 2001." Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. Available: http://www.objector.org/positionpaper.html.
Rangel, Charles B. 2003. "War's Burden Must Be Shared." Press Release, January 7. Available: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny15_rangel/DailyNewsOpEd.html.
Rhem, Kathleen. 2003. "Rumsfeld: No Need for Draft; 'Disadvantages Notable'." Armed Forces Information Service, U.S. Department of Defense. Available: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2003/n01072003_200301074.html.