Autobiographical Portraits

In: International social science journal: ISSJ, Band 25, Heft 1-2, S. 11-168

Abstract

11 autobiographical sketches by soc sci'ts are presented. In "A. P. Elkin: Dean of Australian Anthropologists," Elkin describes his field work, professional career, publications, & res interests, noting, the official recognition he received in the 1960's. "Celso Furtado: Adventures of a Brazilian Economist," shows how his childhood world, dominated by tyranny & violence, induced him to study soc org, planning & econ's, & led him to connect soc structure & the notion of a decision center under a historical perspective. "Otto Klineberg: Reflections of an International Psychologist of Canadian Origin," stresses the influence of a bilingual & bi-cultural atmosphere which led him to a concern with intergroup relations & the study of relations between nations, culminating in his work for UNESCO & the Internat'l Center for the Study of Intergroup Relations. "Rene Konig: Sketches by a Cosmopolitan German Sociologist," traces how through his own life experience he arrived at an understanding of a multiplicity of cultural forms & how he aimed to combine the teaching of sociol with res through his editorship of the Kolner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie & other publications. "A. R. Luria: The Long Road of a Soviet Psychologist," explains his efforts to promote the application of psychol'al methods to the study of the functional org of the brain & recent concern with the influence of soc activity & soc org upon the basic patterns of human thought. "T. H. Marshall: A British Sociological Career," stresses internat'l aspects of sociol & the need for synthesis in the soc sci'ts. "Ali A. Mazrui: The Making of an African Political Scientist," shows in a sketch of his "yrs as a Sch 'dropout' " how he discovered soc processes in operation Africa. "Wilbert E. Moore: An Interim Report on the Calling and Career of an American Sociologist," describes the character of his career as influenced by the opportunities to exchange ideas with scholars from many countries & rejects the recent notion that sociol is in crisis. "M. N. Spinivas: Itineraries of an Indian Social Anthropologist," traces his emergence as a soc sci'ts from the specific context of Indian culture & his conversion to functionalism under the influence of E. R. Radcliffe-Brown. "Jan Szczepanski: Tribulations of a Polish Sociologist," describes his background as a forced unskilled industr worker in Hitler's totalitarian state, & his efforts to reconstruct sociol in post-WWII Poland & to promote internat'l understanding among sociol'ts. "John Vaizey: Emergence of a British Economist," relates his socialist orientation & work at various instit'al settings to his insights into soc processes, concern with soc justice, & a deep pessimism re whether a rational soc sci can be developed. M. Maxfield.