RE: wsn

WSNers,

Steve Sherman's cogent post prompts two responses from me:

1) As a WSN subscriber since it was started, I endorse what he said, and said 
much the same thing in a private email to Daniel.  I also note WSN is 
intentionally unmoderated, which sometimes causes some of the difficulties 
noted.  On the other hand, it keeps it open to anyone interested.

2) as sect-treas of PEWS, I want to correct something Steve said, put 
appreciate his alert that there are obviously still glitches in PEWS 
communications.  PEWS = Political Economy of the World-System is a section of 
the America Sociological Association [ASA].  Anyone can join for $12 for PEWS, 
BUT you must also join ASA which is much pricer.  Consequently, it has mainly 
people who are professional sociologist.  One reason WSN was set up was to 
cast the net wider than just those who are ASA & PEWS.

A) PEWS has a newsletter, the fall issue went out in Nov, I received my own 
hard copy in Dec from ASA.  I have beau coup extras and can mail them to 
anyone who wants a hard copy, just send me [thall@depauw.edu] NOT WSN your 
snail mail address.

OR

go to the PEWS web page:
http://acad.depauw.edu/~thall/PEWSHP.htm
and click around.

The current and a few old Newsletters [called PEWS NEWS] are on line, with a 
lot of other stuff.

B) PEWS actually has 3 listservs besides WSN
The are described in detail on the web page & the current Newsletter, 
including their complex origins.  The short version is that ASA setup lists 
for all its sections.  There is considerable variation across sections as to 
how and how much they are used.  I belong to 8 section [yeah, ==> I'm a damn 
fool!].

Two of the three have already been populated with PEWS members, at least those 
who have emails -- barring the usual typos [for once not mine!] which among 
other things got our newsletter to someone in vet school who was not 
interested, and apparently by-passed Stever.  It is the latter mistakes I am 
most concerned about

The third list IS a moderated list for PEWS members, for which you must sign 
up... last I check 7 or 8 had!

All of this is new in the last year, and made more complex by the triannual 
change of Sect- Treas.

C) I very much like Steve's suggestions about announcements discussions etc.
I am collecting stuff for the next newsletter.  I'll try to get it out in late 
Feb when ASA, the Roundtables, and PEWS25 are all finalized.  [Except for 
Roundtables, everything else is now closed for submissions and organizers are 
busy setting up the programs].

So to that end, those who have any of the following send them to me and I'll 
get them either in the Newsletter [which from now on is strictly electronic, 
except for the handful who explicitly request hard copies]:
New books they've Published
Books they want to recommend:
Conferences / CFPs to announce
URLS with interesting material
Individual URLS for PEWS members'homepages
etc.

tom hall
wsner, 
Secretary-Treasurer of PEWS

>===== Original Message From Threehegemons@aol.com =====
>Daniel--As it seems you have already made up your mind, this e-mail may be
>gratuitious.  But there are many of us on this list who have something in
>mind much closer to what you suggest than what we receive from the wsn.  I
>personally don't mind the occassional notices of things like causes or human
>rights violations but I am disappointed by the discussion and debate in
>general.
>
>  Some things I would want on a world systems network list--recommendations
>of recent books and articles we should be aware of (as well as discussion of
>them).  Suggestions for new theoretical directions for world systems.
>Attempts to understand current events through a world systems framework, or
>attempts to understand ways the world systems framework should be revised in
>light of current events.  Revisitations of old world systems debates,
>particularly if this can be done in a fresh manner.  Conference and job
>notification.  Notification of resources (such as useful websites).  I've
>seen some (many) of these things done from time to time, but obviously I am
>not the only one who feels they get drowned out by stuff many of us didn't
>bargain for.
>
>There are ways to shape a list.  One is moderation, which apparently is not
>present on this list.  Another might be only allowing people to post once a
>day, or not letting people post until at least 5 or 10 or whatever people
>have posted first.  Sometimes groups have a more moderated list and another
>where anyone can post anything.  As far as I know, PEWS does not have a
>functioning newsletter in which people put out semi-developed ideas and one
>gets announcements about the section (at least, of the three sections I
>signed up for at ASA last summer, PEWS is the only one which has not sent me
>such a newsletter).  But between the fully developed pieces in Review and the
>Journal of World Systems Research and the discourse on wsn, there is a
>yawning gap, and many of us would be thrilled if it could begin to be filled.
>
>Steven Sherman

Thomas D. [tom] Hall
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
c/o 420 Anderson Bldg #f
DePauw University
Greencastle, IN 46135
dept: 765-658-4519
off:  765-658-4519
web:  http://acad.depauw.edu/~thall/hp1.htm