Frank Bechhofer

Frank Bechhofer (born October 10, 1935 in Nuremberg ; † December 10, 2018 in Edinburgh ) was a British sociologist .

Life and research

Bechhofer was born in Nuremberg on October 10, 1935. He left Germany at the age of three and his parents settled in Nottingham . Bechhofer attended Nottingham Grammar School and took a degree in engineering at Cambridge, which he graduated in 1959, followed by a master's degree in 1962. He took a job as a research student in the Department of Engineering and was elected Foundation Scholar of Queens College in 1960.

His early research dealt with industrial sociology and the sociology of work. He joined the research team in the Department of Applied Economics led by John Goldthorpe , David Lockwood and Jennifer Platt . Their research, carried out between 1962 and 1965, was published in three jointly written volumes from 1968–69 and subsequently translated into German, Swedish, French and Italian.

Bechhofer's interests changed and in 1965 he went to the University of Edinburgh as a lecturer , where he dealt with inequality, strata and class society. In 1971 he was promoted to reader and in 1987 was appointed chair of social research . More at the request of the head of the sociological faculty, Tom Burns , Bechhofer also taught methods of sociology, for which he founded a seminar that was mostly held in Cambridge. The seminar forced him to study the matter intensively in order to, by his own account, be at least one lesson ahead of his students. His methodological work culminated in his work Principles of Research Design in the Social Sciences , published with Lindsay Patterson in 2000 . This method work did not remain theoretical. Bechhofer examined various sociological issues such as medium-sized shopkeepers with Brian Elliot, SME politics and medium-sized businesses in the UK with Brian Elliot and David McCrone.

In 1975 he went to Warsaw University as a visiting professor . His research now focused on Scottish demographics and occupational structures. In the late 80s he coordinated the Edinburgh team consisting of Michael Anderson, David McCrone, and Bob Morris in the study of social change in Kirkcaldy / Glenrothes. This resulted in a study of national identity and nationalism , which culminated in 2015 with the publication of Understanding National Identity .

In addition to his research and teaching activities, Bechhofer also cared for the community of researchers, served in various sociological societies in Great Britain on the supervisory bodies, assumed responsibility as chairman or deputy chairman and sat on examination committees in various universities. In 1997 he took early retirement and became emeritus. His goal was not retirement, but the necessary rest to prepare for further publications.

In 2008 Bechhofer was appointed to the Royal Society of Edinburgh . The statement of inclusion highlights his contributions to sociology in Scotland.

Fonts (selection)

(as ed.) Population Growth and the Brain Drain , Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 1969, ISBN 978-0852240663
(with Lindsay Paterson ) Principles of Research Design in the Social Sciences , 2000
(with Lindsay Paterson and David McCrone ) Living in Scotland: Social and Economic Change since 1980 , 2004
(with David McCrone) National Identity, Nationalism and Constitutional Change , 2009
(with David McCrone) Understanding National Identity , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2015, ISBN 978-1107100381

literature

Frank Parkin (Editor): The Social Analysis of Class Structure (International Behavioral and Social Sciences Library), Routledge Chapman & Hall, Reprint October 2003

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Rob Adams: Obituary: Frank Bechhofer, professor of social research and prominent figure in the Scottish folk scene. In: The Herald. December 21, 2018, accessed December 22, 2018 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u David McCrone: Frank Bechhofer, FAcSS. 10 October 1935 - 10 December 2018. In: Website of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. RSE, accessed January 3, 2019 .

personal data
SURNAME	Bechhofer, Frank
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH	October 10, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH	Nuremberg
DATE OF DEATH	December 10, 2018
Place of death	Edinburgh

[Herald-2018-12-21-1] Rob Adams: Obituary: Frank Bechhofer, professor of social research and prominent figure in the Scottish folk scene. In: The Herald. December 21, 2018, accessed December 22, 2018 .

[RSE-Obit-Bechhofer-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u David McCrone: Frank Bechhofer, FAcSS. 10 October 1935 - 10 December 2018. In: Website of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. RSE, accessed January 3, 2019 .