KEYS 4003 - Contemporary Slavery and Human Trafficking

Max Weber, widely recognized as the greatest of the founders of classical sociology, is often associated with the development of capitalism in Western Europe and the analysis of modernity. But he also had a profound scholarly interest in ancient societies and the Near East, and turned the youthful discipline of sociology to the study of these archaic cultures.
See particularly, the chapter: The Social Causes of the Decline of Ancient Civilization, p. 387-412.

"Kevin Bales's disturbing investigation of conditions in Thailand, Mauritania, Brazil, Pakistan, India, and parts of America and Europe reveals the nature of the new slavery and how it has adapted to the global economy. But one thing remains the same: violence. People are still taken by force and held against their wills through fear."

Sex trafficking : an overview -- India and Nepal -- Italy and western Europe -- Moldova and the former Soviet Union -- Albania and the Balkans -- Thailand and the Mekong subregion -- The United States -- A framework for abolition : risk and demand

"In this riveting book, authors and authorities on modern day slavery Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter expose the disturbing phenomenon of human trafficking and slavery that exists now in the United States. In 'The Slave Next Door ' we learn that slaves are all around us, hidden in plain sight: the dishwasher in the kitchen of the neighborhood restaurant, the kids on the corner selling cheap trinkets, the man sweeping the floor of the local department store. In these pages we also meet some unexpected slaveholders, such as a 27-year old middle-class Texas housewife who is currently serving a life sentence for offenses including slavery. Weaving together a wealth of voices--those of slaves, slaveholders, and traffickers as well as from experts, counselors, law enforcement officers, rescue and support groups, and others--this book is also a call to action, telling what we, as private citizens, can do to finally bring an end to this horrific crime"

In her groundbreaking book, sociologist Saskia Sassen identifies two sets of processes that make up globalization. One is the set of global institutions, such as the World Trade Organization, global financial markets, the War Crimes Tribunals and the new global cosmopolitanism. However, there is a second set of processes, frequently ignored by most social scientists, that occur on the national and local level. These processes can include state monetary and fiscal policy, networks of activists engaged in local struggles that have an explicit or implicit global agenda, and local and national politics that are unknowingly part of global networks containing similar localized efforts. Sassen's new book focuses on the importance of place, scale and the meaning of the national to study globalization.
See particularly chapter 5, The Making of International Migrations p. 129-163.