(1) Triem Sorokin.
1 and Triem Sorokin (P.A. Sorokin, 1889— 1968), Russian sociologists, founders of sociology department of Harvard University, are regarded as the last pioneers of the older generation of sociologists, and are listed as outstanding figures in the 20th century along with Bingler, Russell and Toynbee. His life is legendary and pioneering. He used to be a political activist with dramatic colors. Sorokin was deported from the former Soviet Union in 1922, and soon arrived in the United States. 1930 became an American citizen and transferred to Harvard University to teach until 1959 retired.
2. Sorokin, the most important achievement was achieved during his time at Harvard. Prior to this, Harvard University had not established a sociology department. He was initially placed in the economics department. 1930, at his initiative, the school established the Department of Sociology, with Sorokin as the first director for a term of 12. The newly established sociology department quickly attracted a large number of outstanding talents, making Harvard an academic center of American sociology in a short time. Important people who have taught or studied at Harvard include Parsons, homans and Merton. Many of them later became the main representatives of functional school and the giants of American sociology.
3. 1942, Sorokin resigned as department head and Parsons took over. Sorokin gradually deviated from sociological research. In the late 1940s, he founded the Harvard Center for Creative Altruism, turned to the study of altruism, and further developed comparative social studies and criticism of American society. In the 1940s and 1960s, Sorokin's image in American sociology was somewhat outdated. He attacked the modern centralized military industrial society and thought that the western society was facing a huge crisis.
② Parsons
1, Talcott Parsons (1902- 1979) took over as the head of the department of sociology, which opened a glorious period of Harvard sociology. The emergence of functionalism school founded by him also marks the beginning of modern sociology. Parsons taught at Harvard University in 1927, first in the Department of Economics, and then in the newly established Department of Sociology in 193 1, working under Sorokin. Although their cooperation was not successful, Parsons' heel became more and more stable. 1944 took over as the department head, 1946 was reorganized into the social relations department, and served until 1956. By the time 1973 retired, he had been teaching at Harvard for 46 years.
Parsons has been writing and writing all his life. His famous work is The Structure of Social Action published by 1937. This book has established his position in American sociology and is regarded as a classic with watershed significance for the development of American sociological theory. This achievement fundamentally changed the poor situation of American sociological theory and showed the important value of sociological theory research. Thus, American sociology entered the so-called "golden age".
3. Parsons is actually a rare theorist, and his achievements are mainly manifested in the inheritance and innovation of sociological theory. By the end of 1940s, Parsons' academic research had reached a turning point. Represented by social system, he formed a functionalist view with the characteristics of system theory. What is important is that he joined a large number of talents in the newly reorganized social relations department, thus establishing his sociological empire! As early as the mid-1930s, Parsons established a good interactive relationship with a group of talented graduate students in the Department of Sociology. These people include Merton, Davis, John Reilly, William, Moore and so on. This is the so-called Harvard circle They discussed the theoretical problems of functionalism with Parsons and Merton as the core. Through their efforts, functionalism became the first and most influential school of modern sociological theory.
③ robert merton.
1, robert merton, functionalist school. 1939 left Harvard, but formed an indissoluble bond with Harvard. Merton graduated with 193 1 and won a scholarship from Harvard University. He became the first graduate student in the newly established sociology department and was guided by famous teachers such as Sorokin. 1936 received a doctorate. After graduation, Merton worked as a lecturer and tutor at Harvard University for more than two years, and then taught in tulane university, New Orleans. From 194 1 to teach at Columbia University.
2. The scholar who has the greatest influence on Merton's academic career is Sorokin. Merton later recalled that he seemed to arrogantly choose Harvard University because Sorokin was there. He said that Sorokin was the mentor he sought, and it was Sorokin that attracted him to Harvard and exposed him to a wide range of European ideas. Merton became a research assistant and teaching assistant in Sorokin as soon as he entered school. He said that he even became body double in Sorokin and went to his office to do many things for him every day. So Merton participated in the research earlier, and the results kept coming out. For example, his first academic paper on French sociology published in 1934 was written for Sorokin. He also participated in the research of Durkheim's sociology earlier, and more importantly, he participated in the research project of Sorokin's Magnificent Social and Cultural Dynamics. These studies laid a solid foundation for Merton's later research, and even played a stereotyped role.
3. The second person who had a great influence on Merton's academic growth was Parsons, a young teacher at that time. Merton said that the person who really started his sociological thinking was not Sorokin, but Parsons. During his stay at Harvard, Parsons was both his teacher and his opponent. Together, they put forward a functionalist view. Merton and others often go to Parsons' theoretical class at that time and discuss it together after class. Parsons was writing The Structure of Social Action, and Merton had carefully read his manuscript and made critical comments. Merton's theoretical orientation and style are quite different from Parsons', and even his theoretical differences are bigger than we thought. Merton and Parsons are both called "giants" of functionalism, but their theoretical orientations are quite different. Parsons pursues the high abstraction and monism of theory and the "grand theory"; Merton, on the other hand, emphasizes the experience and diversity of theory and advocates the establishment of "middle-level theory". The former belongs to the hedgehog and the latter belongs to the fox. Therefore, from the beginning, Merton and Parsons took different theoretical paths.
④ George homans.
George homans (19 10- 1989) is also one of the masters of Harvard sociology. He entered Harvard University in the early 1930s and began to study English literature. Later, influenced by biochemist L Henderson, psychologist and Mayo, the main organizer of Hawthorne's experiment, he turned to sociology. He became the main member of Pareto Research Association of Harvard University at that time, and started Pareto research in the early days.
2. 1939, homans taught in the sociology department, but in 194 1 year, he was drafted into the army. It was not until 1946 that Parsons established the social relations department that he returned to the sociology department. 1970 to 1975, dean of sociology department. His major works are Human Groups (1950) and Social Behavior and Its Basic Forms (196 1). Influenced by B.F. Skinner in his later period, he mainly advocated a behaviorism research orientation and emphasized the psychological explanation of social phenomena, thus forming a sharp confrontation with the popular functionalist view.
3. When Parsons established the Department of Social Relations, the famous sociologist Samuel stouffer (1900-60) worked with homans. He has taught at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago, specializing in quantitative analysis methods. He established the "Social Relations Laboratory" at Harvard University and conducted a series of important research. The main work, American soldier (1949), has made outstanding contributions to group dynamics and social research methods. Christopher's more important influence at Harvard University lies in Parsons' courses for graduate students. Although he and Parsons have different academic research styles, one specializes in empirical research and the other in theoretical thinking, they have their own strengths and complement each other in the postgraduate courses they co-host, which has benefited students a lot.