Albion Woodbury Small

Albion Woodbury Small (born May 11, 1854 in Buckfield , Maine , † March 24, 1926 in Chicago ) was an American sociologist. He founded and directed the world's first university institute for sociology at the University of Chicago .

Career

After studying theology (1876–1879) at Colby College in Waterville , Small traveled to Germany and from 1879 to 1881 studied economics and political science at the Universities of Leipzig and Berlin . Upon his return, he became Professor of History and Economics at Colby College for ten years . In 1892 he went to Chicago as a professor of sociology, where he also headed the world's first academic sociology institute. Small was President of the Institut International des Sociologie in 1913 and fourth President of the American Sociological Association from 1912 to 1914 , and he also founded the American Journal of Sociology in 1895 , of which he was editor for over 30 years.

effect

Together with his student George E. Vincent, Small published the world's first textbook on sociology ("An Introduction to the Study of Society") in 1894. His own sociological work, which revolved around the concept of interest as a motive for all human action, had no lasting effect. As an organizer, on the other hand, Small was "probably the personality who has contributed most to the advancement of sociology as an academic discipline." Administratively, he was instrumental in the development of the Chicago School of Sociology . He is also considered an early interpreter of German sociology in the USA.

Fonts (selection)

An Introduction to the Study of Society , New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: American Book Company, 1894 (with George Edgar Vincent )
General Sociology , Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1905
Adam Smith and Modern Sociology , Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1907
Origins of Sociology , Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1924.

literature

J. Maier: Small, Albion Woodbury , in: Wilhelm Bernsdorf / Horst Knospe (eds.): Internationales Soziologenlexikon , Vol. 1, Enke, Stuttgart ² 1980, p. 393.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Small Online Biography of the American Sociological Association
↑ J. Maier: Small, Albion Woodbury , in: Wilhelm Bernsdorf / Horst Knospe (eds.): Internationales Soziologenlexikon , Vol. 1, Enke, Stuttgart ² 1980, p. 393.

personal data
SURNAME	Small, Albion Woodbury
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH	May 11, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH	Buckfield, Maine , United States
DATE OF DEATH	March 24, 1926
Place of death	Chicago , Illinois , United States

[1] Small Online Biography of the American Sociological Association

[2] J. Maier: Small, Albion Woodbury , in: Wilhelm Bernsdorf / Horst Knospe (eds.): Internationales Soziologenlexikon , Vol. 1, Enke, Stuttgart ² 1980, p. 393.