George Caspar Homans, one of America's leading intellectual figures, presents here his collected papers, covering twenty-three years of work, on the nature of sound theory in social science. Subjects addressed include social structure, power, distributive justice, ethnomethodology, and behaviorism, all issues of concerns as well as continuing professional controversy. Homans also offers social histories that deal with social organization, political design, and the behavior of men and women in a time of fierce ideological conflict. He concludes by developing his viewpoint on the rightful place of general theory within social science. Homans' career has spanned many of the key periods in the development of twentieth century social science. His own work has been central to this process. He was the first and major sociologist to appreciate the sociologist implications of psychologists' work on learning and behavior theory. His contributions to modern sociology have had a major impact on the study of small groups, the problem of theory and methods of theory construction, and the study of basic characteristics of social behavior. George Casper Homans is a professor of sociology emeritus, Harvard University. He has taught at the Universities of Manchester, Cambridge, and Kent. He is the author of Coming to My Senses: The Autobiography of a Sociologist, (Transaction, 1984); The Human Group; Social Behavior; along with numerous other works on social behavior and social theory.
Those interested in the development of scientific theory and in the nature of academic life will appreciate this intellectual autobiography written by one of America's leading sociologists. Following his family tradition (The Education of Henry Adams was written by his great-uncle), George Caspar Homans describes how his ideas about the proper nature of theory in social science, both in form and content, have developed over time. The chief interest of the book lies in the description of this process.Homans' career has spanned many of the key periods of development in social research, and his own work has been central to the process. He was the first major sociologist to outline the sociological implications of psychologists' work on learning or behavior theory. His contributions to modern sociology have had a major impact on the study of small groups, the problem of theory and methods of theory construction, and the study of basic characteristics of social behavior. He is regarded as the father of social exchange theory.Homans considers academic and intellectual as well as nonacademic influences on his development: personalities of highly idiosyncratic individuals against whose views of culturalism, functionalism, and structuralism he reacted, discussions with colleagues, reading, as well as his ancestry, his childhood in Boston, his literary education and later social-life in Boston, and his experiences as a sea captain in the Navy in World War II. This is an absorbing book, both an autobiography and a history of the development of the social sciences in the post World War II era.
The study of even the smallest groups is extremely complex. Homans concentrates on certain activities and processes he observes in five carefully selected and differentiated case studies and from them draws common patterns and ideas that serve as the bases of testable propositions. In all five cases, Homans selects comparable phenomena for analysis with a contextually different emphasis and elaboration each time.
This book is designed to honor George Caspar Homans for his many and varied contributions to the development of modern sociology. The chapters have been written by sociologists and psychologists who value his work sufficiently to have made his basic approach their own. These original essays are intended to elucidate, assess, and give a progress report on the theoretical tradition Homans founded and to which he has given such significant impetus.
In earlier days, again, verse seems to have been as natural a mode in which to express oneself as prose. Even if it is not poetry, interesting things can still be said in verse. That is the way I have tried to treat it, and have used it to deal both with my more personal and with my more public interests."-from the Introduction. Though he is a sociologist and not a poet by trade, George Caspar Homans, from early childhood on, has read and loved poetry in English and other languages. In it he has found a vehicle for expressing his more personal thoughts and emotions. "The Witch Hazel consists "of poems, mostly lyrical, written from time to time in the course of his lifetime. Professor Homans has decided to preserve them in this volume in the hope that they will give pleasure or be of interest to others. The poems deal with a great variety of Homans' interests: women, the New England landscape and seascape, his personal anxieties and self-examinations, history, war, politics, and even sociology itself. The volume also includes a few of his translations from Greek, Latin, and Provencal verse. The sheer variety of its subjects adds further interest to the volume. Not incidentally they illumine our knowledge of Homans gleaned from his acclaimed autobiography, "Coming To My Senses. "Professor Homans may be the only sociologist who has published a volume of his poems. He has done so in the hope that they will reveal a sociologist as a living, breathing, passionate human being. As Karen Hunt commented in reviewing his autobiography, "There is Homans the Boston Brahmin, Homans the historian, Homans the literary critic, and, in what must be a rare glimpse into his soul, Homans the poet." "The Witch Hazel "Ounds out our understanding of one of the major intellectual figures of our time.
Those interested in the development of scientific theory and in the nature of academic life will appreciate this intellectual autobiography written by one of America's leading sociologists. Following his family tradition (The Education of Henry Adams was written by his great-uncle), George Caspar Homans describes how his ideas about the proper nature of theory in social science, both in form and content, have developed over time. The chief interest of the book lies in the description of this process.Homans' career has spanned many of the key periods of development in social research, and his own work has been central to the process. He was the first major sociologist to outline the sociological implications of psychologists' work on learning or behavior theory. His contributions to modern sociology have had a major impact on the study of small groups, the problem of theory and methods of theory construction, and the study of basic characteristics of social behavior. He is regarded as the father of social exchange theory.Homans considers academic and intellectual as well as nonacademic influences on his development: personalities of highly idiosyncratic individuals against whose views of culturalism, functionalism, and structuralism he reacted, discussions with colleagues, reading, as well as his ancestry, his childhood in Boston, his literary education and later social-life in Boston, and his experiences as a sea captain in the Navy in World War II. This is an absorbing book, both an autobiography and a history of the development of the social sciences in the post World War II era.
George C. Homans's classic volume The Human Group was among the first to study the small group as a microcosm of society. It introduced a method of analysis and a set of influential theories that cut across areas of specialization on the personality, community, and industry.The study of even the smallest groups is extremely complex, with the simplest associations involving an abundance of actions, relationships, emotions, motives, ideas, and beliefs. Homans concentrates on certain activities and processes he observes in five carefully selected and differentiated case studies and from them draws common patterns and ideas that serve as the bases of testable propositions.He divides his cases into static and dynamic groups. In all five cases, Homans selects comparable phenomena for analysis with a contextually different emphasis and elaboration each time. His results demonstrate that, different as these groups are, their behavior reveals fundamental similarities and social uniformities. A ground-breaking and authoritative work when it was first published in 1950, The Human Group continues to Inform and invigorate the study of small groups in sociology, psychology, management, and organizations.
The study of even the smallest groups is extremely complex. Homans concentrates on certain activities and processes he observes in five carefully selected and differentiated case studies and from them draws common patterns and ideas that serve as the bases of testable propositions. In all five cases, Homans selects comparable phenomena for analysis with a contextually different emphasis and elaboration each time.
The authors are proud sponsors of the SAGE Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award—enabling graduate students and early career faculty to attend the annual ASA pre-conference teaching and learning workshop. Modern Sociological Theory gives readers a comprehensive overview of the major theorists and schools of sociological thought, from sociology′s 19th century origins through the mid-20th century. Written by an author team that includes one of the leading contemporary thinkers, the text integrates key theories with with biographical sketches of theorists, placing them in historical and intellectual context.
Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Basics, is a brief survey of sociology′s major theorists and theoretical approaches, from the Classical founders to the present. The content is adapted from Ritzer/Stepnisky, Sociological Theory, and the authors connect many theorists together into chapters with broad headings (Contemporary Integrative Theories, Contemporary Theories of Everyday Life, etc.) that offer students a big-picture, synthesized view of sociological theory. Because of its size, price, and flexible organization, the text can be used in a variety of undergraduate sociological theory classes: Classical, Contemporary, or Combined.
George Caspar Homans, one of America's leading intellectual figures, presents here his collected papers, covering twenty-three years of work, on the nature of sound theory in social science. Subjects addressed include social structure, power, distributive justice, ethnomethodology, and behaviorism, all issues of concerns as well as continuing professional controversy. Homans also offers social histories that deal with social organization, political design, and the behavior of men and women in a time of fierce ideological conflict. He concludes by developing his viewpoint on the rightful place of general theory within social science. Homans' career has spanned many of the key periods in the development of twentieth century social science. His own work has been central to this process. He was the first and major sociologist to appreciate the sociologist implications of psychologists' work on learning and behavior theory. His contributions to modern sociology have had a major impact on the study of small groups, the problem of theory and methods of theory construction, and the study of basic characteristics of social behavior. George Casper Homans is a professor of sociology emeritus, Harvard University. He has taught at the Universities of Manchester, Cambridge, and Kent. He is the author of Coming to My Senses: The Autobiography of a Sociologist, (Transaction, 1984); The Human Group; Social Behavior; along with numerous other works on social behavior and social theory.
Now with SAGE Publishing, and co-authored by one of the foremost authorities on sociological theory, the Tenth Edition of Sociological Theory by George Ritzer and Jeffrey Stepnisky gives readers a comprehensive overview of the major theorists and schools of sociological thought, from sociology's origins through the early 21st century. Key theories are integrated with biographical sketches of theorists, and are placed in their historical and intellectual context. This text helps students better understand the original works of classical and modern theorists, and enables them to compare and contrast the latest substantive concepts. New to this Edition Chapter 1 now includes a discussion of colonialism as one of the forces that shaped modern society. The “Historical Sketch” chapters contain new material on the historical significance of early women founders, and on the contributions of W.E.B. Du Bois. Chapters on Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and Simmel now conclude with sections on contemporary applications of ideas from these 19th century thinkers. A new chapter focuses theories of race, racism, and colonialism, as well as theories about indigenous peoples and theories from the “Global South” that challenge the work of scholars from Europe and North America. The concluding chapter has a new section on theories of prosumption, one of the newest developments in consumer theory. New material on colonization, women classical theorists, and race theory, as well as new timelines, added to history chapters.
The ninth edition of Sociological Theory by George Ritzer gives readers a comprehensive overview of the major theorists and schools of sociological thought. Key theories are integrated with biographical sketches of theorists, and are placed in their historical and intellectual context. Written by one of the foremost authorities on sociological theory, this text helps students better understand the original works of classical and modern theorists, and enables them to compare and contrast the latest substantive concepts.
A memoir of a Quaker activist and master storyteller on his involvement in struggles for peace, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, labor justice, and the environment, whose life will be the subject of a new documentary film coming in 2023. From his first arrest in the Civil Rights era to his most recent during a climate justice march at the age of 83, George Lakey has committed his life to a mission of building a better world through movements for justice. Lakey draws readers into the center of history-making events, telling often serious stories with playfulness and intimacy. In this memoir, he describes the personal, political, and theoretical—coming out as bisexual to his Quaker community while known as a church leader and family man, protesting against the war in Vietnam by delivering medical supplies through the naval blockade in the South China Sea, and applying his academic study of nonviolent resistance to creative tactics in direct action campaigns. From strategies he learned as a young man facing violence in the streets to risking his life as an unarmed bodyguard for Sri Lankan human rights lawyers, Lakey recounts his experience living out the tension between commitment to family and mission. Drawing strength from his community to fight cancer, survive painful parenting struggles, and create networks to help prevent activist burnout, this book shows readers how to find hope in even the darkest times through strategic, joyful activism.
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