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Continuities in Sociological Human Ecology pp 217–239Cite as

Division of Labor and Morphological Response

Evidence from Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

An important criterion for evaluating scientific fields of inquiry is credibility of their theoretical explanations of empirical phenomena regardless of location or time of observation of these phenomena. A criticism of sociological human ecology, as well as sociology in general, is the circumscription of its research to American society (Guest 1984; Frisbie 1984; London 1987). Without doubt, the utility of human ecological (or any) theory depends upon its capability to inform and guide analyses in a wide range of national, cultural, and temporal settings. Hawley’s classic commentary (1950:Chapter 11, 1968, 1986) on differentiation and organizational structure constitutes a theoretical framework that appears sufficiently general to serve as a guide for research on societies representing a wide range of social conditions. The purpose of our analysis in this chapter is to examine the power of Hawley’s theoretical model to account for variation in the degree of the division of labor and morphological growth of social systems. Both of these factors are central elements in ecology’s universe of inquiry. We have chosen to apply Hawley’s theory to the study of Saudi Arabia. Besides its international prominence and the high geopolitical interest in the country that recent world events has generated, Saudi Arabia represents a crucial test of the generalizability of ecological theory. In many respects, Saudi society is so substantially different from American society that it seems unlikely that patterns found in the United States would emerge in this Middle Eastern nation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78712, USA

    W. Parker Frisbie

  2. Department of Sociology, Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University, Riyadh, 11515, Saudi Arabia

    Abdullah H. M. Al-Khalifah

Authors
  1. W. Parker Frisbie
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  2. Abdullah H. M. Al-Khalifah
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Biobehavioral and Social Sciences, Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, 20892-5204, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Michael Micklin

  2. Department of Sociology, Texas A&M University, 77843, College Station, Texas, USA

    Dudley L. Poston Jr.

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Frisbie, W.P., Al-Khalifah, A.H.M. (1998). Division of Labor and Morphological Response. In: Micklin, M., Poston, D.L. (eds) Continuities in Sociological Human Ecology. The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9841-8_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9841-8_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9841-8

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