James Samuel Coleman

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James Samuel Coleman (born May 12, 1926 in Bedford , Indiana , † March 25, 1995 in Chicago , Illinois ) was an American sociologist with a great influence on the theory of sociology. He was the 83rd president of the American Sociological Association .

Life

James Coleman was born to the two teachers James Fox and Maurine Coleman (née Lappin). First he began in 1947 to study natural sciences at Purdue University , which he completed in 1949 with a bachelor's degree in process engineering. He then worked as a chemical engineer for the Eastman Kodak Company . Because the application-oriented work did not fill him intellectually, he decided in 1951 to study sociology at Columbia University in New York . During his doctorate he was strongly influenced by the social scientists Robert K. Merton and Paul Felix Lazarsfeld , who taught there . The latter in particular aroused his interest in quantitative empirical social research and the mathematical modeling of social processes. In 1955 Coleman completed his graduate studies as a Ph.D. His doctoral supervisor was the sociologist and political scientist Seymour Martin Lipset .

After an initial position at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto , Coleman was an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago from 1956 to 1959 . While he held his first full professorship from 1959 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , he completed two enormously influential projects: on the one hand, his monograph Introduction to Mathematical Sociology , a fundamental work in mathematical sociology , and on the other hand, the Coleman Report , one of the later so-called Coleman Report largest social science research projects in history. This controversial work at the time was a comprehensive study of educational inequality in America commissioned by the US Department of Education. In 1966 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , in 1970 to the American Philosophical Society, and in 1972 to the National Academy of Sciences . In 1973 he returned as a professor at the University of Chicago, where he remained until the end of his life. Together with the economist Gary Becker , James Coleman led an interdisciplinary research seminar on the theory of rational decision there for over ten years . In 1991 he was elected President of the American Sociological Association. He died of cancer on March 25, 1995.

During his time as a university professor, James Coleman trained a large number of well-known sociologists such as Aage B. Sørensen , Ronald S. Burt and Norman Braun .

Work and effect

He made contributions to the theory of action , according to which system transitions from a macro level to a micro level and via the meso level back to a macro view are to be analyzed. This is the case when complex social systems are to be explained.

Classification of his "Foundations of Social Theory" in sociology

In sociology, Coleman can be assigned to methodological individualism and the representatives of the theory of rational decision . This school of thought is contrary to that of the systems theorists , who are representatives of methodological collectivism .

Theoretical approach

In his explanation of social structures (macro phenomena), Coleman starts at the individual level ( micro level ). That means that he explains society through the behavior of its constituent parts, the actors .

There are two types of actors for him: individuals and corporate actors . The latter are larger social entities: z. B. companies, trade unions, but also states and NGOs . In his concept he treats both types of actors in the same way, but establishes an inequality of power between the actors to the detriment of individuals due to different resources. Ultimately, there are fewer options for action for individuals than for social structures. For individuals in an increasingly intertwined world, it is rational to hand over power to corporate actors.

The basis of his concept is the concept of the rational, cost-minimizing or utility-maximizing actor , which is based on the theory of " homo oeconomicus " from economics . He expands it to include the macro level and further exchange options for the actors. According to Coleman, in a society the actors not only exchange goods, but above all rights of action and control.

The model of the macro-micro-macro scheme

Coleman's bathtub

A central component of his theory is his model of the macro-micro-macro scheme. This model is intended to explain the effect of social phenomena (1 - macro level ) on the behavior of the actors (2–3 - micro level ) and from there back on society (4 - macro) : One macro phenomenon x1 (1) causes another Macro phenomenon x2 (4) , in that it first “acts” on the actors and sets the boundary conditions on which they align their actions (2) . It then comes to the actual actions of actors (3) , which then add up to a new macro phenomenon (4) . [in James Coleman Fundamentals of Social Theory. P. 10ff .; 1991 Oldenbourg Verlag]

The first step from the macro level (1) to the micro level (2) must be made plausible by the logic of situation (a) . The actions of the actors are explained by theoretical decision rules. This step is called the logic of selection (b) . The final step is to move from the micro level back to the macro level. In the logic of aggregation (c) , rules must again be used to infer the macro-phenomenon from the actions of the actors.

The macro-micro-macro scheme is also called Coleman's bathtub or boat, but it has many precursors and cannot be traced back to him alone.

Coleman shows the application of logic, for example, using Max Weber's Protestantism thesis .

See also

Fonts (selection)

Monographs

  • with Seymour Lipset and Martin Trow: Union Democracy: The Internal Politics of the International Typographical Union. Free Press, New York 1956.
  • The Adolescent Society. Free Press, New York 1961.
  • Introduction to Mathematical Sociology. Free Press, New York 1964.
  • with others: Equality of Educational Opportunity . US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 1966 (also known as the Coleman Report ).
  • The Asymmetrical Society. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York 1982.
    • German: The asymmetrical society: growing up with impersonal systems. Beltz, Weinheim 1986.
  • Foundations of Social Theory. Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1990.
    • German: Basics of social theory. Three volumes. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1991.

Magazine articles

literature

  • Norman Braun : James S. Coleman (1926-1995). In: Dirk Kaesler (Ed.): Classics of Sociology. Volume 2. 5th edition. Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 216-239.
  • Norman Braun and Thomas Voss : On the topicality of James Coleman. Introduction to his work. Springer-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2014.
  • Karl-Dieter Opp : The Individualistic Explanatory Program in Sociology. Development, status and problems. Journal of Sociology 38: 26‐47 (2009).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Norman Braun and Thomas Voss: On the actuality of James Coleman. Introduction to his work. Springer-Verlag, 2014, pp. 13–15
  2. ^ Norman Braun and Thomas Voss: On the actuality of James Coleman. Introduction to his work. Springer-Verlag, 2014, pp. 18–22
personal data
SURNAME Coleman, James Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Bedford , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1995
Place of death Chicago , Illinois