Talcott Parsons
Of his time, Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) was considered the most admired American sociologist. Parsons was bread into a well-to-do family and was given a strong educational foundation as a child. Starting as a biologist, Parsons felt out of place and transferred to economics and sociology. As he excelled in these fields, Parsons began studies in Europe, giving him a wide view on different societies. He began teaching at Harvard, and there he exposed his sociological thoughts. Although very controversial, Parsons' works had influences on all aspects of Sociology. He generally focused on social action and systems and believed that morality in social action is the main element to help preserve social order. In The Structure of Social Action (1937), Parsons developed earlier sociologists' views into a theory of social action, or the action theory. These ideas look into today's society and it's institutional structures, which work to clarify action and to gain from it. His second book, The Social System (1951), extends and further explains his prior theories, including a structural-functional strategy. Talcott Parsons' functionalistic ways, influenced by Bronislaw Malinowski, became the center of
Methods for Securing Information Miller-Shaivitz, Patricia. "Major Theorists." Palm Beach Community College. 9 Sept. 1998. During his teachings at Harvard University, Talcott induced his and other views into the minds of many young students. So, you can say that he bread a strong herd of sociologists. Parsons assisted in the movement for a sociology department at Harvard and ran it for many years. This new department was where the elite sociologists learnt their basics and graduated as leading theorists. Parsons also merged three fields of study, anthropology and psychology with sociology, which is still used by modern day sociologists. His studies continued at Harvard University until 1973, when he retired. Not much is said about his after life, but he may have continued his views on society. He was very controversial and had a broad view, however, he was still an extremely influential Sociologists and contributed a lot to the field. On May 8, 1979, Talcott Parsons died in Munich, Germany. Living a long life, Parsons achieved many goals and left his mark in Sociology. In sociological history, there were two happenings that took place. Both losses were of the same subject and transpired around the same time. In 1917, Emile Durkeim, a French sociologist who was known for his suicide study, died. Then, three years later, Max Weber passed away. Patricia Miller-Shaivitz claims that Max Weber was a German sociologist, who was recognized for his study on institutions. These were considered two big losses for sociology. I would like to add that from the 50's to 60's, Parsons' life and career was awfully complex. He was involved in many views on society, and he had numerous writings. I was not able to include that whole part of his life because it was too in depth and detailed. However, I pointed out the major elements of that time frame. Also, information on the last ten years of his life was out of my grasp. It is either unknown or exceptionally hard to locate. As his views formed, he received much controversy on his subjects because they were so broad and varied. Although, Parsons continued his studies and developed an even wider view over time. He thought of society as four main parts, which were specialized for their purposes. He began using these examples for many studies in his later career. Also, Parsons looked at ancient civilizations as references. His study ran through the investigation of these societies and how they evolved to today's people. He examined all aspects of society and tried to incorporate them into one social science. found these events on the Society in History: Time Lines in my sociology text book. I noted the events and relied on the internet. I used the same method as before, search engines and websites. I listed the keywords on the subjects and found many different articles. I printed the useful documents and reviewed them for significant points. Last, I highlighted the main topics and noted the major facts.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2250
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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