DOCSLIB.ORG

The Chicago School

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Chicago School The Chicago School A Liberal Critique of Capitalism Dennis Smith [Text produced for teaching purposes. Pagination from original is indicated in the text in bold on left of page. In the list of contents below the equivalent page numbers within this file for the chapters and sections are indicated in the brackets,] M macmillan education © DENNIS SMITH 1988 Preface ix [3] 1 The Chicago Tradition and its Critics 1 (4) A beginner's guide 1 (4) The men and the themes 4 [5] The argument 7 [7] A vigorous tradition 9 [8] The radical critique 14 [10] 1126 and 1929 21 [14] 2 Dimensions of Liberalism 29 [18] The wicked city 29 [18] New discipline, new department, new city 31 [19] To Germany 34 [21] Back to America 38 [23] Capitalism and culture 44 [26] Simmel and Veblen 47 [28] 3 Making America Work 57 [33] 1 Pragmatism 59 [34] Veblen and Dewey 65 [37] Strategies for change 71 [40] 4 Albion Small 75 [42] Preach! preach! preach! 75 [42] A laboratory guide 79 [44] Against individualism 85 [47] 5 W. I. Thomas 92 [51] From coercion to cooperation 92 [51] Thomas and Small 97 [54] The Polish Peasant 102 [56] The quest for control 105 [58] Aftermath 108 [59] 6 Robert Park 111 [61] Sociology and the real world 111 [61] The big picture 115 [63] Intellectual influences 120 [65] Faces, races, places 123 [67] The comforts of paradox 127 [69] The press and the public mind 129 [70] Questions, not answers 131 [71] 7 From Park to Parsons 134 [72] The rebellion against Chicago 134 [72] From ecology to functionalism 136 [73] Talcott Parsons and Chicago 140 [75] Parting of the ways 144 [78] The tide from Europe 147 [79] Freud and Marx 149 [80] 8 Louis Wirth 153 [82] First generation, second generation 153 [82] The Ghetto 154 [82] The promise of America 156 [83] Objectivity and the intellectual 158 [84] From pessimism to optimism 161 [86] 9 William Ogburn 167 [74] More measurement 167 [74] Social trends and democracy 169 [74] Knowledge and values 170 [75] Freedom and organization 173 [76] Science and social change 175 [77] Happiness 180 [80] 10 Morris Janowitz 184 [98] The persuaders 184 [98] Back to Germany 185 [99] The modern military 188 [100] Macrosociology 191 [102] Prejudice and control 193 [103] Life at the local level 197 [105] Enlightenment and social control 201 [107] Beyond selfishness 204 [109] 2 11 Is Our Republic to Fail? 211 [112] A static agenda 211 [112] Unfinished business 213 [113] Janowitz and Habermas 214 [114] Bibliography 221 [117] [original page numbers are in bold within the text, located at the point where the page begins] ix Preface The front cover of this book depicts Liberty with her torch. In the mid-1880s she was delivered by her European creators to the American Ambassador in Paris. While this book was under way, the rusting statue was given a clean-up and general refurbishment followed by a magnificent firework display. These events celebrated the centenary of the original arrival in New York of Liberty in 1886. Apparently, it was a good deal easier to raise the cash for the fireworks than for the clean-up and refurbishment. Albion Small, the founding professor of Chicago University's sociology department, might well have found that rather symbolic. In fact, cleaning-up and refurbishing American liberty in its various expressions was a central objective of his life's work. He became very disillusioned. This book discusses the dilemmas and pitfalls confronting Small and a number of other Chicago sociologists who tried to construct a morally relevant and socially useful academic discipline. They took very seriously the goals and values lauded as 'the American Way 'and wrestled with their ambiguities. In doing so they often came up with conclusions which were unsympathetic to 'vested interests' and dedicated individualists. In other words, being a good American did not mean that you necessarily agreed with the person on the streetcar reading The Chicago Tribune - still less with those who owned the streetcar company and the newspaper house. Jack P. Diggins has recently speculated on the form that theAmerican declaration of Independence might take if it were rewritten by the sociologists: 'We hold these truths to be socially conditioned: that all men are created equal and mutually dependent. .. and so on (Diggins, 1979, p. 482). The point is that their x intellectual and moral location within the tradition of American liberalism provided the Chicago sociologists to be studied here with a critical perspective upon modern American society. However, it also imposed limits upon that critique. Some of these limits become more clearly visible when a comparative perspective is adopted. Like the statue, the rhetoric of 'liberty' was originally European. The fate of liberalism in Europe has been different. The European comparison, especially with Germany, has been stressed here in order to emphasise the extent to which the perceptions of men like Albion Small, W. I. Thomas, Robert Park, Louis Wirth, William Ogburn and Morris Janowitz have been shaped by the fact that they are Americans as well as the fact that they are sociologists. During a visit to Chicago in 1983, 1 met Morris Janowitz, Gerald Suttles and Albert Hunter. My conversations with them provided valuable background and insights. Needless to say, they are absolvedfrom any responsibility for the argument of this book. At Chicago I enjoyed the warm hospitality of Bert Hoselitz, his wife Gunhild and their daughter Ann. Their unstinting kindness was greatly appreciated. 3 1 Chapter I The Chicago Tradition and its Critics In this book I explore some aspects of the interplay between American sociology, American liberalism and American capitalism. The writings of members of the Chicago school provide a rich source of evidence upon which I draw selectively. Before outlining the argument and justifying the basis of my selection it will be useful to provide a potted history of Chicago sociology. A beginner's guide The new University of Chicago was founded in 1892. The enterprise was favoured by a strong tide of Baptist fervour and capitalist philanthropy. Albion Small, the first head of the sociology department, had trained as a Baptist minister. The research carried out by his colleagues and successors was to a considerable degree made possible by funds ultimately controlled by the Rockefeller family. Chicago sociologists were always aware of two potent influences. One consisted of the moral imperatives associated with being 'good Americans', a phrase that could be uttered without irony. The other was the power of private capital. However, that is to anticipate the argument. Two publications signalled the establishment of a distinctive styleand content for Chicago sociology. One was Robert Park's paper entitled ‘The City: Suggestions for the Investigation of Human Behavior in the City Environment' (1915). This paper set aside theprevailing tradition of abstract philosophising and sweeping generalisation in favour of sharp, researchable questions about institutions and processes that could be immediately observed and 2 investigated. Park did not pontificate. Instead, he puzzled out loud.The other breakthrough was The Polish Peasant in Europe and America by W. I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki. This was a potent mixture of analytical description, theoretical speculation and – most startling of all - empirical evidence consisting of hundreds of pages of direct quotations from newspapers, social-work agencies, immigrant societies and private letters. Taken together, the two works just described make up a kind of 'declaration of independence'. Social scientists were shown how to work in a new way, one which allowed them to use their intelligence and senses systematically and with self-confidence in a process of discovery. In more optimistic moments, it must have seemed as if anew urban frontier was being opened up by academic pioneers. Although it was new to the social sciences, this approach drew upon a powerful American myth, partly grounded in historical experience. For well over a decade after the end of the First World War Chicago sociology was, in effect, American sociology. Under the astute administrative guidance of Ernest Burgess and with funds drawn from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial and similar bodies American social life in Chicago and beyond was mapped, measured, examined and experienced. The energies of scores of graduate researchers were availabl e. Some idea of the range of topics covered is conveyed by the list of doctoral and master's dissertations in the period (given in Faris, 1967, pp. 135-50). They include investigations of: immigrant groups in America such as the Japanese, Czechs, Italians, Swedes, Germans, Jews, Chinese and Estonians; the dimensions of black life including slavery, the press, the family, theological seminaries, prejudice, race consciousness and bi-racial organisation; and aspects of the family, youth and gender such as desertion, personality formation, the play movement, family disorganisation, female mobility, birth control, intermarriage, divorce, demographic patterns. There are also investigations of: topics relating to deviance and marginality such as the county gaol, the juvenile court, pauper law, systems of punishment, hotel life, hobos, vice areas, gangs, suicide, insanity, prohibition and religious sects; media of communication, collective expression and culture change such as newspapers, religious missions, motion pictures and the radio; economic factors and institutions such as chain stores, the Chicago Real Estate 4 3 Board, the money market, strikes and land values; and, not least, studies of specific communities such as the Jewish ghetto in Chicago, the Finns in Michigan, Mennonite settlements in Kansas, Tepoztlan in Mexico, and Jackson in Tennessee. Lester. R. Kurtz (1984, p. 2) argues that in the period up to 1950there were three generations of Chicago sociology. Slightly revised, this framework can be extended to apply to the period from the1890s to the present.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Growth of Criminological Theories
    THE GROWTH OF CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES Jonathon M. Heidt B.A., University of Montana, 2000 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the School of Criminology OJonathon M. Heidt 2003 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY November 2003 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Jonathon Heidt Degree: M.A. Title of Thesis: The Growth of Criminological Theories Examining Committee: Chair: ~ridnkurtch,P~JJ$ . D;. Robert ~ordoi,kh.~. Senior Supervisor Dr. Elizabeth Elliott, Ph.D. Member Sociology Department University at Albany - SUNY Date Approved: PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay The Growth of Criminological Theories Author: Name ABSTRACT In the last 50 years, an extensive array of theories has appeared within the field of criminology, many generated by the discipline of sociology.
    [Show full text]
  • Urban-Race Reading List Elijah Anderson February 7, 2013
    1 Urban-Race Reading List Elijah Anderson February 7, 2013 Elijah Anderson, Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990). Elijah Anderson, Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City (New York: W.W. Norton, 1999). Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003). Elijah Anderson, The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life (New York: W.W. Norton, 2011). Digby Baltzell, Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class (New York: Free Press, 1958). Howard S. Becker, Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance (New York: Free Press, 1973). Herbert Blumer, “Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position,” The Pacific Sociological Review 1 (1) (1958). Alfred Blumstein, “On the Racial Disproportion in the United States’ Prison Populations,” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 73 (3) (1982): 1259–1281. Alfred Blumstein, “Racial Disproportionality of U.S. Prison Populations Revisited,” University of Colorado Law Review 64 (3) (1993): 743–760. Alfred Blumstein and Jacqueline Cohen, “A Theory of the Stability of Punishment,” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 64 (2) (1973): 198–207. Lawrence D. Bobo and James R. Kluegel, “Opposition to Race-Targeting: Self-Interest Stratification Ideology or Racial Attitudes,” American Sociological Review 58 (1993): 443–464. Lawrence D. Bobo and Victor Thompson, “Racialized Mass Incarceration: Poverty, Prejudice, and Punishment,” in Doing Race: 21 Essays for the 21st Century, ed. Hazel R. Markus and Paula Moya (New York: W.W. Norton, 2010), 322–355. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America, 2nd ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Concentric Zone Theory
    Lecture-04 M.A.(Semester-II) PAPER-8 Urban Sociology CONCENTRIC ZONE THEORY Dr. Shankar Kumar Lal University Department of Sociology Lalit Narayan Mithila University Kameshwarnagar,Darbhanga E-mail: [email protected] Mobile: +91-8252199182 CONCENTRIC ZONE THEORY ORIGIN . Developed in the 1920’s by Ernest Burgess and Robert Park, University of Chicago . Hypothesis of this theory is that cities grow and develop outwardly in concentric zones. Sought to explain the socioeconomic divides in and out of the city . Model was based on Chicago’s city layout . First theory to explain the distribution of social groups CONCENTRIC ZONE THEORY….? • Social structures extend outward from one central business area. • Population density decreases towards outward zones • Shows correlation between socioeconomic status and the distance from the central business district • Also known as the Burgess Model, the Bull’s Eye Model, the Concentric Ring Model, or the Concentric Circles Model. Concentric Zone Model ZONE 1: CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT(CBD) • Non-residential center for business. • “Downtown” area • Emphasis on business and commerce • Commuted to by residents of other zones Commercial centre . First, the inner most ring zone or nucleolus of the city is a commercial centre also called Central Business District (CBD) in North America and western countries. This zone is characterized by high intensity of commercial, social and civic amenities. It is the heart of the city which includes department stores, office buildings, shops, banks, clubs, hotels, theatres and many other civic buildings. Being the centre of commercial activities and location, it is accessible from all directions and attracts a large number of people.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Theorem and the Matthew Hfed?
    The Thomas Theorem and The Matthew Hfed? ROBERT K MERI'ON, Cohmbiu University and Russell Sage Foundation Eponymy in science is the practice of affixing the names of scientists to what they have discovered or are believed to have discovered,’ as with Boyle’s Law, Halley’s comet, Fourier’s transform, Planck’s constant, the Rorschach test, the Gini coefficient, and the Thomas theorem This article can be read from various sociological perspectives? Most specifical- ly, it records an epistolary episode in the sociointellectual history of what has ’ The definition of epw includes the cautionary phrase,“or are belkvedto have discovered,” in order to take due note of “Stigkr’s Law of Eponymy” which in its strongest and “simplest form is this: ‘No scientific discovery is named after its original discovereV (Stigler 1980). Stigler’s study of what is generally known as “the normal distribution” or “the Gaussian distribution” as a case in point of his ixonicaBy self-exemplifyingeponymous law is based in part on its eponymous appearance in 80 textbooks of statistics, from 1816 to 1976. 2 As will become evident, this discursive composite of archival dccuments, biography of a sociological idea, and analysis of social mechanisms involved in the diffusion of that idea departs from the tidy format that has come to be p&bed for the scientific paper. This is by design and with the indulgent consent of the editor of SocialForces. But then, that only speaks for a continuing largeness of spirit of its editorial policy which, back in 1934, allowed the ironic phrase “enlightened Boojum of Positivism” (with its allusion to Lewis Carroll’s immortal The Hunting of the &ark) to appear in my very fist article, published in this journal better than 60 Y- ago.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Theory's Essential Texts
    Conference Information Features • Znaniecki Conference in Poland • The Essential Readings in Theory • Miniconference in San Francisco • Where Can a Student Find Theory? THE ASA July 1998 THEORY SECTION NEWSLETTER Perspectives VOLUME 20, NUMBER 3 From the Chair’s Desk Section Officers How Do We Create Theory? CHAIR By Guillermina Jasso Guillermina Jasso s the spring semester draws to a close, and new scholarly energies are every- where visible, I want to briefly take stock of sociological theory and the CHAIR-ELECT Theory Section. It has been a splendid privilege to watch the selflessness Janet Saltzman Chafetz A and devotion with which section members nurture the growth of sociological theory and its chief institutional steward, the Theory Section. I called on many of you to PAST CHAIR help with section matters, and you kindly took on extra burdens, many of them Donald Levine thankless except, sub specie aeternitatis, insofar as they play a part in advancing socio- logical theory. The Theory Prize Committee, the Shils-Coleman Prize Committee, SECRETARY-TREASURER the Nominations Committee, and the Membership Committee have been active; the Peter Kivisto newsletter editor has kept us informed; the session organizers have assembled an impressive array of speakers and topics. And thus, we can look forward to our COUNCIL meeting in August as a time for intellectual consolidation and intellectual progress. Keith Doubt Gary Alan Fine The section program for the August meetings includes one regular open session, one Stephen Kalberg roundtables session, and the three-session miniconference, entitled “The Methods Michele Lamont of Theoretical Sociology.” Because the papers from the miniconference are likely to Emanuel Schegloff become the heart of a book, I will be especially on the lookout for discussion at the miniconference sessions that could form the basis for additional papers or discus- Steven Seidman sion in the volume.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago School (Sociology)
    Chicago school (sociology) In sociology and later criminology, the Chicago school (sometimes described as the ecological school) was the first major body of works emerging during the 1920s and 1930s specializing in urban sociology, and the research into the urban environment by combining theory and ethnographic fieldwork in Chicago, now applied elsewhere. While involving scholars at several Chicago area universities, the term is often used interchangeably to refer to the University of Chicago's sociology department. Following the Second World War, a "second Chicago school" arose whose members used symbolic interactionism combined with methods of field research (today often referred to asethnography ), to create a new body of work.[1] The major researchers in the first Chicago school included Nels Anderson, Ernest Burgess, Ruth Shonle Cavan, Edward Franklin Frazier, Everett Hughes, Roderick D. McKenzie, George Herbert Mead, Robert E. Park, Walter C. Reckless, Edwin Sutherland, W. I. Thomas [1], Frederic Thrasher, Louis Wirth, and Florian Znaniecki. The activist, social scientist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams also forged and maintained close ties with some of the members of the Chicago school of sociology. Contents Discussion Ecology and social theories Conclusions References References Other references Discussion The Chicago school is best known for its urban sociology and for the development of the symbolic interactionist approach, notably through the work of Herbert Blumer. It has focused on human behavior as shaped by social structures and physical environmental factors, rather than genetic and personal characteristics. Biologists and anthropologists had accepted the theory of evolution as demonstrating that animals adapt to their environments.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Copyright 2004 by the American Sociological Association Section on the History of Sociology
    A BRIEF CENTENNIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RESOURCES ON THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY/ASSOCIATION1 Compiled by the Centennial Bibliography Project Committee2 American Sociological Association Section on the History of Sociology ELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION provides the ritual occasion and reinforces the intellectual rationale for collectively exploring our Cprofessional and organizational roots. To guide us on our way, we have compiled a brief bibliography of relevant materials and exemplars that explicate the early history of the American Sociological Society and – to some degree – its subsequent evolution (the line separating “history” from “current events” is not always easily drawn). Practicing extreme parsimony, we have intentionally excluded literally thousands of otherwise important and instructive published works that focus primarily on specific departments of sociology, the ideas and accomplishments of individual sociologists, the development of sociological theories, the general intellectual history of the discipline as a whole, and myriad other matters of obvious historical and disciplinary interest. We hasten to add, however, that the structure and practical scope of a much more inclusive bibliography is now under consideration and is soon to be implemented. In the interim, we provide here a small down payment: a narrowly defined set of references for selected articles – and still fewer monographs – that specifically address, in various ways, the founding era and subsequent evolution of the American Sociological Society as a professional organization. To these citations, we add lists of relevant journals, abstracts, indexes and databases, and append the locations of archival deposits for the first ten presidents of the American Sociological Society, with the hope of encouraging ever more scholarship on the early history of the ASS/ASA per se.3 Corrections and suggested additions to this bibliography, focused specifically on the history of the ASS/ASA, are welcomed by the committee.
    [Show full text]
  • Centennial Bibliography on the History of American Sociology
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Sociology Department, Faculty Publications Sociology, Department of 2005 Centennial Bibliography On The iH story Of American Sociology Michael R. Hill [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sociologyfacpub Part of the Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, and the Social Psychology and Interaction Commons Hill, Michael R., "Centennial Bibliography On The iH story Of American Sociology" (2005). Sociology Department, Faculty Publications. 348. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sociologyfacpub/348 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Sociology, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Department, Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Hill, Michael R., (Compiler). 2005. Centennial Bibliography of the History of American Sociology. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association. CENTENNIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN SOCIOLOGY Compiled by MICHAEL R. HILL Editor, Sociological Origins In consultation with the Centennial Bibliography Committee of the American Sociological Association Section on the History of Sociology: Brian P. Conway, Michael R. Hill (co-chair), Susan Hoecker-Drysdale (ex-officio), Jack Nusan Porter (co-chair), Pamela A. Roby, Kathleen Slobin, and Roberta Spalter-Roth. © 2005 American Sociological Association Washington, DC TABLE OF CONTENTS Note: Each part is separately paginated, with the number of pages in each part as indicated below in square brackets. The total page count for the entire file is 224 pages. To navigate within the document, please use navigation arrows and the Bookmark feature provided by Adobe Acrobat Reader.® Users may search this document by utilizing the “Find” command (typically located under the “Edit” tab on the Adobe Acrobat toolbar).
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Eight: Deviance and Social Control
    Chapter Eight: Deviance and Social Control Chapter Summary Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to any violation of rules and norms. From a sociological perspective, deviance is relative. Definitions of “what is deviant” vary across societies and from one group to another within the same society. Howard S. Becker described the interpretation of deviance as, “…not the act itself, but the reaction to the act that makes something deviant.” This coincides with the symbolic interactionist view. In some cases, an individual need not do anything to be labeled a deviant. He or she may be falsely accused or discredited because of a birth defect, race, or disease. Even crime is relative when interpreting the deviance of the actor. Deviance is based on adherence to and violation of norms. Human groups need norms to exist. By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control, which involves formal and informal means of enforcing norms. Those who violate these norms face the danger of being labeled “deviant.” Violators can expect to experience negative sanctions for the violation of norms. Members of society who conform to societal norms, especially those who go above and beyond what is commonly expected, receive positive sanctions. In some societies, such as the Amish, shaming is a common negative sanction that acts strongly as a means of social control, minimizing deviance. Biologists, psychologists, and sociologists have different perspectives on why people violate norms. Biological explanations focus on genetic predispositions, psychologists concentrate on abnormalities within the individual (commonly known as personality disorders), and sociologists look at social factors outside the individual.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Extending the Legacy of Morris Janowitz: Pragmatism, International
    Extending the Legacy of Morris Janowitz: Pragmatism, International Relations and Peacekeeping Patricia Shields Texas State University [email protected] Joseph Soeters Netherlands Defence Academy Tilburg University [email protected] Presented at the European Group on Military and Society (ERGOMAS) Biannual Conference, June 4-7, 2013, Madrid 1 Introduction The use of force in international relations has been so altered that it seems appropriate to speak of constabulary forces, rather than of military forces. The constabulary concept provides a continuity with past military experiences and traditions ….. The constabulary outlook is grounded in, and extends, pragmatic doctrine Janowitz, 1971 p. 418 “Peacekeeping is intended to assist in the creation and maintenance of conditions conducive to long-term conflict resolution” (Bellamy et al, p.95). The resolution of these conflicts, however, is often facilitated by mediation efforts within and between nations and may not adhere to any particular traditional theory of international relations (IR). Peace support operations are carried out by dynamic international coalitions mostly under the aegis of the United Nations (UN), sometimes headed by other alliances such as NATO, the European Union or the African Union. Unfortunately, their record is mixed at best. They represent an important type of sub-national nexus event, which requires the development of new approaches to international relations theories. Throughout Europe, for example, nations are reshaping their militaries to take on new missions (Furst and Kummel 2011). Peace support and stability operations are chief among them. Conventional international relations theory, however, is weakly suited for making sense of and explaining these missions. Long-established approaches to international relations such as realism and liberal internationalism share assumptions about how the world operates.1 Unfortunately, in many international disputes strict adherence to fundamentalist thinking tends to reinforce 1 E.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Dept Newsletter Fa05 Copy.Indd
    Sociology Outlook I S ISSUE I 2005 Illinois Sociology Znaniecki Conference Draws International Speakers and Participants Florian Znaniecki was a Professor of Sociology at Illinois from 1940 to 1958. Though Professor Znaniecki was quite prolific in his scholarly career, his most famous contribution is his renowned immigration study (co-authored with W. I. Thomas), The Polish Peasant in Europe and America. In order to honor his legacy and to remain mindful of our own departmental history, we hosted The Znaniecki Conference and 6th Annual Transnational Workshop on April 21 and 22 of this year. These two days of panels and discussion were invigorating, lively, and even drew a few visitors from other university communities to our doorstep. Day 1 of the gathering was focused on Professor Znaniecki’s ideas and an extension of those ideas. Day 2 was a Transnational Workshop that remained in tune with the previous day’s proceedings by employing a theme of “Transmigration.” Therefore, we were able to observe some of the effects (direct and indirect) of Professor Znaniecki’s work not only in a historical sense, but in a contemporary one as well. Our keynote speaker on Day 1, Professor Elzbieta Halas of the University of Warsaw, opened up the days’ events with some thoughts on “Culture and Power.” Furthermore, Professor Halas was making a personal reconnection, as she had been a visiting scholar in our department during the 1980s. She remarked on how glad she was not only to be at the conference but also to be back in Urbana-Champaign, strolling on the Quad, and seeing old faces from her time here.
    [Show full text]
  • Making Power Visible: Racialized Epistemologies, Knowledge (Re)Production and American Sociology
    Making Power Visible: Racialized Epistemologies, Knowledge (Re)Production and American Sociology Jennifer Lynn Padilla Wyse Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Sociology David L. Brunsma, Committee Chair Ellington T. Graves Lakshmi Jayaram Wornie Reed September 23, 2014 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: race, U.S. American Sociology, knowledge reproduction, power, epistemology Copyright Making Power Visible: Racialized Epistemologies, Knowledge (Re)Production and American Sociology Jennifer Lynn Padilla Wyse ABSTRACT This dissertation methodologically analyzes triangulated qualitative data from a critical race and feminist standpoint theoretical approach in order to explore American Sociology’s contemporary process of institutionalized knowledge reproduction, as well as how race structures that process. American Sociology is institutionalized knowledge that is structured into academic departments or an “institutional-structure” (Wallerstein 2007). Prestige structures the discipline, where the top-20 departments enact social closure through hiring practices and as such represent an element of elite power within the institutional-structure (Burris 2004; Lenski 1966). To be sure, institutional-structures are sites of collective memory, knowledge reproduction, professionalization and cognitive socialization processes. Therefore this dissertation data includes PhD-level required theory course syllabi, interviews with faculty that study race, Ph.D. candidates that study sociology, and defended dissertations from the year 2011, from the top-20 U.S. sociology departments that read as cultural representations of how race structures the reproduction of American Sociology’s institutionalized knowledge. This study has implications for the teaching, learning, and practice of American Sociology, as well as future scholarly research on the reproduction of knowledge and the sociology of sociology.
    [Show full text]