Abstract
Alvin W. Gouldner (1920--1980) was a prolific sociologist of the post-World War II era who spent the early part of his career (the 1950s) in the field of industrial sociology. A case study of Gouldner's early life and career is useful insofar as it intertwines with the development of industrial sociology as a distinct subfield within sociology. Through this analysis we are also better able to understand how and in what ways a burgeoning organizational studies program developed at Columbia University during the 1940s. This analysis of the historical and cultural contexts within which Gouldner came to prominence as an industrial sociologist at Columbia, and the intellectual program that resulted, can also help shed light on more recent trends in organizational studies.
Highlights
Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clsoc_crim_facpub Part of the Criminology Commons, and the Work, Economy and Organizations Commons
Altliougli Weber's analysis of bureaucracy grew out ofliis concern witli tlie patliological conditions of modernity associated with secularization, rationalization, and the overweening empliasis being placed on efficiency and tlie values of tlie marketplace, many early studies in tlie field of industrial or organizational sociology did not necessarily adopt Weber's latent critical perspective
Aside from the fact that there was a close affinity between City College of New York (CCNY) and Columbia University during this time, the prestige of Columbia's sociology department had been rising ever since the arrival of William Ogburn in 1928 (Turner & Turner, 1990, p. 49)
Summary
Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clsoc_crim_facpub Part of the Criminology Commons, and the Work, Economy and Organizations Commons. Gouldner and Industrial Sociology at Columbia University" (2001). An examination of Gouldner's early life and career af fords a case study in tlie rise of industrial sociology as a special subfield witliin sociology beginning in tlie 1920s, as well as tlie creation and growtli of tlie Columbia University de partment of sociology, concentrating especially on tlie 1930s tlirougli tlie 1950s. Beyond tlie importance of Gouldner's ideas, tlie story of Gouldner's life as a man, as a sociologist, as an intellectual, and as an outlaw Marxist, is interesting and worth telling.
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