Herbert Blumer's Contributions to Twentieth-century Sociology

Bibliographic Data

ID2480930
AuthorsTamotsu Shibutani (University of California, Santa Barbara, corresponding author)
Year1988
Volume11
Issue1
Pages23-31
Publication date1988-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSymbolic Interaction (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0195-6086 • E-ISSN: 1533-8665
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1525/si.1988.11.1.23
OpenAlexW2171308647
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited12

Herbert Blumer's work has had considerable impact on the growth of twentieth-century sociology. He kept alive an interest in George Mead at a time when Pragmatism floundered. Although it is unlikely that Mead's work would have been overlooked, there can be no question that Blumer's forceful advocacy helped bring it to the forefront of modern social thought. Park first organized the subfield of collective behavior, but it was Blumer who kept it going in the face of opposition from structural-functionalism. Whether or not collective behavior endures as a separate area of specialization, sociologists will have to concern themselves with the manner in which human beings adapt to problematic situations. Although his views on methodology have been controversial, some of his positions will probably prevail. His insistence on the direct observation of people in their indigenous settings and his contention that human agency must be taken into account in explanations of social processes are difficult to counter

Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Pragmatism · Social science · Sociology · Structural functionalism · Symbolic interactionism · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Law · Philosophy · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Wine Industry and Tourism