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The article introduces the issue focusing on diverse essays discussing Matteo Bortolini's book "A Joyfully Serious Man: The Life of Robert Bellah." on topics including Bellah's career and intellectual context, Bellah's ambition and its impact, and the complexities of his concept of "civil religion."

This article has presented a vision of what a field of altruism and social solidarity could potentially involve. An additional perspective on the nature of this field and how it could contribute to the discipline and to society is provided by the science of psychology. In the last decade a fundamental new orientation has developed in this discipline, growing from the pioneering work of Martin E.P. Seligman. Generally identified as "positive psychology" it represents a shift from a focus on trying to understand and find solutions to mental illness and various pathologies of thought and behavior in a "disease model" to a focus on human strengths, virtues, and other positive characteristics. This shift in focus is regarded as making a direct contribution to understanding what is best in human emotions and traits and how society can support the psychological flourishing of individuals. This new perspective in turn provides increased awareness of how the problems studied in the disease model can more effectively be prevented (Seligman, 2003, 2005). The importance of this focus on the positive for sociology and a call to action is stated by Seligman (2003): The third pillar of positive psychology is the study of positive institutions and positive communities.

An editorial is presented on sociologists conceptualizing and studying hope along with several other papers on diverse topics. Topics include refection on the state of historical consciousness in U.S. sociology, and a discussion of the recent trend toward the pre-registration and registration of research designs; and study of "social pathology" such as poverty, illness, racial/ethnic discrimination.

An editorial is presented on sociology of intellectual property. Topics include presenting an historical and sociological analysis of the concept and practice of intellectual property rights; and especially capitalism, militarism, racism, poverty and homelessness, and also to engage in “unusual forms of activism.”.

An editorial is presented on the canons in the field of sociology, the contributions of forgotten or under-recognized scholars and activists, mutual influences across national and cultural boundaries. It highlights issues of methodology and the proper uses of methods by sociological researchers. An overview of particular conception of how canonization is problematic, in terms of representation is presented.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses the various topics within the issue, including sociology, social classes, social conflict, and Israeli-Palestinian relations.

An editorial is presented on theoretical reflections on disorder, change, and the content of sociological discourse. Topics include lack of participation by sociologists in the recent debate over biosociology and provocative findings in the biological sciences; examining the importance of the study of religion in the historical development of sociology in Europe and in the US; and revival of Confucianism in China, the spread of yoga, and the emergence of a discourse of spirituality.

The article discusses various reports within the issue on topics, including the history of sociology, a critique of the teaching of sociological theory history, and the rise of Erving Goffman from the margins of a Russian Jewish immigrant community in Canada to the center of U.S. sociology.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on the career, relevance and human side of U.S. sociologist Talcott Parsons.

An introduction to a series of articles that focus on the book "The Unmasking Style in Social Theory" by Peter Baehr is presented.

The paper builds on Joel Isaac's analysis of "interstitial" arrangements that generate scientific knowledge, and also draws upon the networking model of theory groups articulated by Nicholas and Caroline Mullins. I consider how the "interstitial academy" at Harvard, as well as Talcott Parsons's navigation of it, facilitated his professional rise from a vulnerable young instructor in economics in 1927 to one of the most prominent social scientists in the United States in 1951. I examine Parsons's engagement with curriculum-building committees in sociology and social ethics, in "the area of social science" and in social relations, as well as with undergraduate courses on institutions and on sociological theory, including a graduate student discussion circle, and with seminars on Pareto, on rationality and on "basic social science." In some instances, Parsons's involvement as a newcomer or junior participant led to important peer alliances, or to the support of higher-ranking faculty and administrators who sponsored his advancement. In other instances, especially as his ascent progressed, Parsons played the more powerful role of "indispensable hub" who gained stature by organizing cross-disciplinary interaction. Parsons's interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration also placed him an initial administrative role that would prepare him to serve as chair of two academic departments. The final and most important outcome of the process of upward mobility was the creation of a "theory school" that elevated Parsons to a unique status as the most boundary-spanning theorist of the social sciences. The paper thus supplements existing accounts of the rise of Parsons while also offering a mode of analysis that might be widely applied to the careers of other social scientists, both contemporary and historical (e.g., to figures such as Jane Addams and W. E. B. DuBois), in diverse academic settings and national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been much recent debate within sociology regarding academic versus applied approaches, as well as how to integrate these during a career. Sociologists interested in such issues might find both inspiration and an exemplar in social psychologist Gordon W. Allport. Well known for his leadership role in both personality and psychological social psychology, Allport has still not gained widespread recognition for his sociological contributions, especially his "public sociology." As an undergraduate, Allport embraced the tradition of "social ethics" as taught at Harvard, which focused on social problems and social policy, and on individual engagement. Over the first two decades of a half-century career, Allport adapted to his "hard science" organizational and professional contexts and earned a tenured position primarily by building up a naturalistic psychology. But beginning in the early 1940s, he increasingly re-engaged with social ethics and overt reform efforts, with a focus on the social psychology and sociology of rumor, prejudice and racial and religious discrimination. Though a key architect of the interdisciplinary Department of Social Relations, he came to see that project as excessively value-neutral and he lobbied to revive a clear ethical commitment. Fittingly, Allport ended his career as the first incumbent of the Richard Clarke Cabot Professorship of Social Ethics. In this way, he bridged naturalistic psychology, sociology and social ethics in order to create an integral science oriented toward social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including constructing social problems; discussions on the social construction of reality; and the social reality of crime and critique of legal order.

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including possibility of revitalizing older approaches in sociology; how sociologists doing research on impoverished groups and revitalization of the subfield of collective behavior.

An editorial is presented which offers reflections and researches on the economic sociology. Topics include efforts to become political relevant in sociology with a vision of the best path; examines the important issue of how to use pilot studies in sociological research; and discussion on importance of symbol Gino Germani for the development of sociology in Argentina.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue including the politicization in sociology, the professional discourse in academic fields, and the debate on politics and science.

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including how Rational Choice Theory a perspective long rejected in sociology, gap between the fields of economics and sociology and knowledge production in science.

An introduction is presented wherein the author discusses topics within the issue, including sociology of media, the pedagogical reintegration of theories, methods and historical analysis, and an instrument for measuring social capital based on the General Social Survey database in Canada.

This article examines, the faired convergence of sociology, social psychology, cultural anthropology, and clinical psychology in Harvard's Department of Social Relations. The analysis shows that from its inception, the department was torn by fundamental contradictions involving membership criteria, stratification, the opposed needs of faculty and students, and the requisites of disciplinary autonomy. These conflicts, which were especially intense with regard to psychology, ultimately made the department ungovernable and led to the restoration of earlier administrative boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides information on the topics that will discussed in the "American Sociologist" journal, including constructions of the sociological tradition, life in academic departments, sociology and spirituality, social, business and economics and sociology and public policy.

This article examines gender stratification in sociology by analyzing how the subject was presented to undergraduates at Harvard and Radcliffe from the late nineteenth century to the mid-1940s. Data for relevant courses in economics and social ethics, as well as sociology, demonstrate that women were disadvantaged throughout the period. The analysis also shows, however, that women gradually attained relative equality, and argues that gender integration was always a covert goal of Harvard's policy of "coordinate education." The article explains the process of equalization in terms of cooperative relationships in informal work groups. Ironically, however, integration disempowered Harvard faculty and Radcliffe administrators while augmenting the power of Harvard's centralizing administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented discussing articles in the issue on topics including career of Harriet Martineau focusing on her involvement in government-sponsored research and public campaigns, evolutionary theories of societal development and relationship between Erving Goffman and Thomas Schelling.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the shift in sociology in the U.S., an analysis of national sociologies, and how raw data become sociological knowledge.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including attitudes of contemporary sociologists in the U.S., influence of social scientists to the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and history of sociology.

The article offers a set of wide ranging reflections and empirical research on the nature of knowledge in the field of sociology. The author's engagement with the problem of sociological knowledge was deeply influenced by his encounter with Pitirim Sorokin's study "Social and Cultural Dynamics." Sorokin situated what he regarded as the crisis of sociology within the much broader crisis of Western culture.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one by Steven P. Dardeneau and Robin M. Dodsworth that contributes a profile of a contemporary sociological theorist George Ritzer and another by Gary T. Marx that shares a retrospective account of travels with his sociological mentor.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including the assessment on the influential writings on symbolic interactionism of Herbert Blumer by Joel Best, the influence of sociologists C. Wright Mills and Howard Becker in sociology by James R. Abbott, and the vision of sociological works in altruism and social solidarity by Vincent Jeffries.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Michael DeCesare on the field sociology and another by Michael Lewis, Melissa Fugiero, Dana Huyser and Hilton Kelly on the results of an effort to change the way in which sociology is presented to undergraduates.

This article discusses various reports published in this issue, including several articles centered around Michael Burawoy's proposal that social sciences embrace and nurture a "public sociology" that connects the work of sociologists with broader, non-academic audiences.

This article reflects on the author's experience as a graduate student. He characterizes the experience of professional socialization from the perspective of a student as an "ordeal" in the sense of a test that requires displays of skill and courage in the face of danger. The self-image of aspiring sociologists who have been seen by family and friends as possessing talents in teaching and scholarship faces a certain amount of risk even though universities offer a relatively protected type of environment. The process of researching and writing the doctoral dissertation is part of the ordeal of graduate education when the student is thrown back upon their own resources.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by S.N. Eisenstadt on social and evolutionary change, and another by Paul Tibbetts on delusional misidentification syndromes.

Presents an introduction to the June 2004 issue of the journal "The American Sociologist."

Introduces the papers published in the December 1, 2003 issue of the journal "The American Sociologist."