Doctoral Dissertation Research in Sociology

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This dissertation will examine the contribution Catholic pastoral agents make to socioeconomic development in Latin America through a case study of the Diocese of Cuenca in the highland province of Azuay, Ecuador. The study will explore the development strategies of pastoral agents and the outcomes of efforts to promote social change. Special focus is on how and why pastoral agents adopt different methods of working in their parishes, and do so with varying rates of success and failure. Seven variables will be studied: ideology, the background and knowledge of pastoral agents, resource availability and mobilization, social networks, access and use of organizations, and parish structure.