William I. ThomasBorn 13 Aug 1863; died 5 Dec 1947 at age 84.William I(saac) Thomas was an American sociologist and social psychologist whose fields of study included cultural change and personality development and who made important contributions to methodology. He earned his PhD in sociology at the University of Chicago where he joined the faculty in 1894. After he was dismissed from there after a sex scandal in 1918, his career was was limited to obtaining research funding and visiting professorships. An empiricist, he helped to make sociology a scientific discipline; he also pioneered the study of social psychology. His most important books were Source Book for Social Origins (1909) and coauthor The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (ed, 5 vols 1918-20). |
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