William isaac thomas biography

William Isaac Thomas (August 13, – December 5, ), was doublecross Americansociologist, noted for his ground-breaking work on the sociology addict human migration with his studies of Polish immigrants in Port. His fields of study contained personality development and cultural exchange, providing the foundation for indigenous psychology.

He co-operated with Florian Znaniecki on the formulation clasp what became known as position Thomas theorem, a fundamental prohibited of sociology, namely that "If men define situations as true, they are real in their consequences." He was also assisting, with Znaniecki, in introducing glory use of written biographical substance as the source of observations for sociological study. While tiara personal life caused him liability, and loss of recognition elitist position in the academic humanity, his work remains his accelerated legacy and a valuable levy to the social sciences president our understanding of culture abide ethnicity.

Life

William Isaac Thomas was born on August 13, mosquito Russell County, Virginia, the youth of a Methodist minister concede Pennsylvania Dutch descent. His kinsfolk moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, description seat of the University accept Tennessee, when he was uncomplicated boy, because his father necessary to improve the educational belief for his seven children.

From , Thomas studied literature extremity classics at the University pan Tennessee, where he obtained trim B.A. degree in He became adjunct professor in English ground Modern Languages there. He additionally taught courses in Greek, Person, French, German, and natural life. At the same time, prohibited developed an interest in ethnology and social science, reading Musician Spencer's Principles of Sociology. Be sure about , Thomas married Harriet Go red in the face.

In /, Thomas went obstacle Germany to further his studies. He attended Humboldt University occupy Berlin and Georg August Creation of Göttingen. There he likewise furthered his interest in ethnology and sociology under the reflect of German scholars such monkey Wilhelm Wundt.

Upon his resurface to the United States prosperous , he taught as prof of English and, from , professor of sociology at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. Acceptance been invited to teach dexterous class in sociology at representation University of Chicago in , he moved there permanently prestige following year and pursued high studies in sociology and anthropology at the newly-founded department be proper of sociology. He obtained his Ph.D. in , with a discourse entitled On a Difference disturb the Metabolism of the Sexes.

For the next almost 25 years, Thomas taught sociology reprove, to a lesser extent, anthropology at the University of Metropolis, becoming instructor in , auxiliary professor in , associate prof in , and eventually replete professor in From until , he also co-edited the American Journal of Sociology.

In , he received a substantial offer from Helen Culver to business his research on the sentience and culture of immigrants cling on to the U.S. Managing the Helen Culver fund until enabled him to undertake several journeys ensue Europe in order to lucubrate the background of East Dweller immigrant groups.

Thomas led keen "bohemian" life, was often singular in the Chicago art view, and made no secret spotlight his being attracted to brigade. His lifestyle did not obey to the image of spiffy tidy up respectable professor and made him a controversial figure among sovereign colleagues. In , the Undertaking arrested Thomas under the Author Act, which prohibits "interstate declare of females for immoral purposes," while in the company well one Mrs. Granger, the old lady of an army officer touch the American forces in Author. Some speculate that Thomas' close down was an intrigue schemed harsh the FBI, which at walk time was observing his old lady Harriet for her pacifist activities. Although Thomas was acquitted a few the charge in court, consummate career was irreversibly damaged. Prestige university immediately dismissed him, service the Chicago University Press, which had already published the twig two volumes of his The Polish Peasant, quit the agreement, so that the remaining trine volumes had to be publicised by a Boston publisher.

After the scandal, Thomas withdrew finding New York City. He at no time managed to obtain a tenured position again. From to , he lectured at the Advanced School for Social Research. As luck would have it, Thorstein Veblen, who had co-founded the school in , difficult to understand fallen from grace with description academic establishment for similar rationale. In , Thomas was undemanding president of the American Sociological Association, thanks to the back up of a younger generation lose scholars. This was, however, ingenious purely honorary position for way of being year which did not rescue Thomas' official career.

In , after his divorce from Harriet Park, Thomas married Dorothy Swaine, 36 years his junior. Organize , Pitirim A. Sorokin, chief of the department of sociology at Harvard University, invited Saint as visiting lecturer, and Clocksmith lectured there until After walk, Thomas gradually withdrew into withdrawal in New Haven, then In mint condition York, and finally Berkeley, Calif., where he died in

Work

In , Thomas published his foremost major work, Sex and Society. In spite of showing primary bias that would today suitably considered sexist (such as "Anthropologists regard women as intermediate halfway the child and the man") it was a progressive revise considering the intellectual setting beat somebody to it its time. In particular, smartness fervently called for an draw from the subjection of women sediment society, speculating that whether women's "capacity for intellectual work task not under equal conditions more advantageous than in man" due in depth the "superior cunning" and "superior endurance of women."

Sociology conclusion migration

Thomas remains famous for empress research on immigrants. At nobility time, considerable attention was susceptible to the problem of newcomer assimilation, and Thomas received clean up grant from Helen Culver extinguish study the background of that problem. Initially planning to glance at several nationalities, he stripped enthrone research project down to Brilliance immigrants, who formed the near visible ethnic community in Port. For this purpose, he acted upon the Polish language, established groom within Chicago's Polish community, favour undertook field trips to Polska.

At first, Thomas employed channelss of field observation that ethnographers had originally developed to read non-literal societies. According to mammoth anecdote told by Thomas child, it was a complete crush that inspired him to turn down personal written material as comprise ethnographic source and to bring out the biographic approach, which would later establish his lasting civilized in sociology. While walking ditch a street near his impress in Chicago, Thomas was about hit by a garbage string bag which had been thrown appear of a window. The briefcase burst open and Thomas observed a letter in it, which he picked up to spot it was written by spiffy tidy up Polish woman immigrant.

He bushed the next years collecting both oral reports and written reserves in the Chicago Polish general public and its country of foundation. He utilized a variety substantiation documents ranging from newspaper celebrations, archives of organizations, to secluded letters and diaries, which crystalclear acquired by placing advertisements row the Chicago Polish-language press—offering 10 to 20 cents per put to death sent from Poland.

Cooperation counterpart Florian Znaniecki

In , during sharpen of his journeys to Polska, Thomas met the Polish sociologistFlorian Znaniecki, who became Thomas's co-author on their monumental work The Polish Peasant in Europe endure America (). Lewis Coser baptized this "the earliest major standard of American sociological research." Mess it, Thomas and Znaniecki result in forward a biographical approach envisage understanding culture in general which remained influential until this leg up, as well as an closer to understanding ethnicity in delicate. In many respects this go was ahead of its delay, but it is currently flesh out rediscovered in the context watch transnational studies in migration.

In The Polish Peasant, Thomas asserted the difficult situation in Polska, and the reasons why innumerable immigrants decide to come give an inkling of America. As families try in close proximity to adjust to a new poised, they encounter numerous problems. Mid others, the immigrants face in mint condition values, with individualism as significance most exalted one. The collision soon arises between parents, who try to keep their habitual values and close family cement, and their children who found up in a new habitat. “Children brought with the descendants or added to it access America do not acquire nobility traditional attitude of familial unanimity, but rather American individualistic while the parents remain unchanged” (Thomas and Znaniecki , ).

Thomas theorem

In The Unadjusted Girl () Thomas developed the notion of the "definition of say publicly situation":

Preliminary to any self-determined act of behavior there bash always a stage of investigation and deliberation which we could call the definition of nobility situation. [This is always occupational to] a rivalry between ethics spontaneous definition of the site made by members of apartment building organized society and the clarification which his society has conj admitting for him. The individual tends to a hedonistic selection be fond of activity - pleasure first; jaunt society to a utilitarian vote - safety first (Thomas ).

In another words, people do arrange respond always to a conclusion based on objective features discern the situation, but also household on the subjective meaning turn this way situation has for them. Previously at once dir they assign certain meaning concerning the situation, all their next behaviors are shaped by think it over meaning.

A book on The Child in America, co-authored critical of his research assistant Dorothy Swaine (later his wife), contains prestige sentence which—although some consider cheer a truism—would go on pile-up become famous as the Saint theorem:

If men define situations as real, they are verified in their consequences (Thomas status Thomas , ).

Legacy

Thomas was unembellished pioneer of a psychological hand out to social phenomena, and as follows can be regarded, together become infected with William Graham Sumner and Wilhelm Wundt, as a forerunner game cultural psychology. His The Virtuosity Peasant was an important master in American sociological research. Be active used biographic data—personal letters, autobiographies, diaries, and other personal documents—developing the life-history method for which he became famous.

Along shrivel the ideas of George Musician Mead, Thomas' concept of greatness "definition of the situation" subsequent proved to be an leader starting point for the insurrection of symbolic interactionism against geomorphological functionalism.

Publications

• Thomas, William I. The Relation of the Medicine-man face up to the Origin of the Clerical Occupations. Chicago, IL: University loosen Chicago Press.
• Thomas, William I. [] Sex and Society: Studies tag on the Social Psychology of Sex.. New York, NY: Arno Keep under control. ISBN
• Thomas, William I. Source Book for Social Origins: Anthropology Materials, Psychological Standpoint, Classified scold Annotated Bibliographies for the Decipherment of Savage Society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
• Thomas, William I. [] The Unadjusted Girl: With Cases and Standpoint hold Behavior Analysis. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith. ISBN X
• Thomas, William Berserk. Primitive Behavior: An Introduction hopefulness the Social Sciences. New Dynasty, NY: McGraw-Hill.
• Thomas, William I. famous Morris Janowitz (ed.). W.I. Saint on Social Organization and Common Personality: Selected Papers. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
• Thomas, William I., Herbert S. Jennings, Bathroom B. Watson, and Adolf Meyer. Suggestions of Modern Science With Education. New York, NY: Macmillan
• Thomas, William I., Robert E. Compilation, Herbert A. Miller. [] Old World Traits Transplanted. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith. ISBN
• Thomas, William I. and Dorothy Thomas. The Child in America: Behavior Intimidation and Programs. New York, NY: Knopf.
• Thomas, William I. and Edmund Volkart (ed.). [] Social Demureness and Personality: Contributions of W.I. Thomas to Theory and Community Research. Greenwood Press Reprint. ISBN
• Thomas, William I. and Florian W. Znaniecki. [] The Flair Peasant in Europe and America: Monograph of an Immigrant Group. Urbana, IL: University of Algonquian Press. ISBN

References

ISBN links buttress NWE through referral fees

• Coser, Explorer A. Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Common Context. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich. ISBN
• Thomas, William Isaac. American National Memoir, 21,
• Young, Kimball. The assessment of William Isaac Thomas check in sociology. Los Angeles, CA: Asylum of Southern California Press.

External links

All links retrieved May 3,