Why would a sociologist study regional free-trade agreements? Isn't that more of a topic for economists or political scientists?

Well, if sociologists study the social factors and forces that shape our lives, issues of trade offer them a wealth of material. "Most economic activity, including free trade, is profoundly social," says Francesco Duina, associate professor of sociology. "It depends for its everyday occurrence on shared beliefs, assumptions, rules, viewpoints and so on."

A member of the Bates faculty since 2000, Duina is the author of The Social Construction of Free Trade: The European Union, NAFTA, and Mercosur, an analysis of free-trade agreements published in 2006 by Princeton University Press. The book was named an "Outstanding Academic Title" by Choice magazine, published by the Association of College & Research Libraries.

The book offers an innovative and compelling view of regional trade agreements. Duina challenges the common assumption that such agreements should be seen as fundamentally similar economic initiatives. Instead, he makes the case that such agreements are direct expressions of the diversity among the societies that produce them.

"Think about the fact that two of the most important efforts to liberalize trade between countries -- the European Union and Mercosur in South America -- have required the standardization of countless definitions," Duina points out.

For example, Duina says, a person who might legally or culturally be considered a migrant worker in one country may not fit that definition in another. Or different countries may have very different notions of what constitutes a safe toy -- or even of what can be called an apple.