Everything about Pitirim Sorokin totally explained
Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin (
Russian: Питирим Александрович Сорокин) (
January 21,
1889 –
February 11,
1968) was a
Russian-American sociologist. Academic and political activist in Russia, he immigrated from
Russia to the
United States in 1923. He founded the Department of
Sociology at
Harvard University. Like
C. W. Mills, he was a vocal opponent of
Talcott Parsons' theories. He is best known for his contributions to the
social cycle theory.
Biography
Supporting himself as artisan and clerk, he was able to study at the
University of St. Petersburg and to teach sociology. Sorokin was imprisoned three times by the czarist regime of
Russian Empire; during the
Russian Revolution he was a member of
Alexander Kerensky's
Russian Provisional Government. After the
October Revolution he engaged in anti-
Bolshevik activities, for which he was condemned to death by the victorious Bolshevik government; the sentence was commuted to
exile. He emigrated in 1923 to the United States and was
naturalized in 1930. Sorokin was professor of sociology at the
University of Minnesota (1924–30) and at
Harvard University (1930–55), where he founded the Department of Sociology.
Works
His writings cover the breadth of sociology; his controversial theories of social process and of the historical typology of cultures are expounded in
Social and Cultural Dynamics (4 vol., 1937–41; rev. and abridged ed. 1957) and many other works. He was also interested in
social stratification, the
history of sociological theory, and
altruistic behavior.
Sorokin is author of books such as
The crisis of our age and
Power and morality, but his
magnum opus is
Social and Cultural Dynamics (1937-1941). His unorthodox theories contributed to the
social cycle theory and inspired (or alienated) many sociologists.
In his
Social and Cultural Dynamics he classified societies according to their 'cultural mentality', which can be ideational (reality is spiritual), sensate (reality is material), or idealistic (a synthesis of the two). He has interpreted the contemporary
Western civilisation as a sensate civilisation dedicated to
technological progress and prophesied its fall into decadence and the emergence of a new ideational or idealistic era.
Sorokin's papers are currently held by the
University of Saskatchewan in
Saskatoon,
Canada where they're available for researchers and the public.
Further Information
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