Robert MacIver

Robert Morrison MacIver (born April 17, 1882 in Stornoway , Outer Hebrides , Scotland ; † June 15, 1970 in New York City , New York ) was an American sociologist from Scotland , who was particularly well known through his book The Web of Government became known.

Life

The son of a businessman studied after attending school at the University of Oxford and graduated in 1907 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). Afterwards he was first lecturer for political science at the University of Aberdeen , before he was then lecturer for sociology there between 1911 and 1915 . In addition, he continued his own studies and acquired a Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.) at the University of Edinburgh in 1915 .

In 1915 he moved to Canada , where he was Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto from 1915 to 1927 . He was also an employee of the Canadian War Labor Board during the First World War .

He then became a professor at Barnard College in New York City in 1927 and continued teaching until 1936. In addition, he was also between 1929 and 1950 Professor of Sociology at Columbia University there . MacIver, who was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1934) and the American Philosophical Society , became president of the American Sociological Association (ASA) for one year in 1940 .

Most recently he was President of the New School for Social Research from 1963 to 1965 and then Chancellor of this institution between 1965 and 1966 .

The Robert M. MacIver Chair of Sociology and Government at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst , which was held by Hans Speier between 1969 and 1973, among others, was founded in his honor .

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In his writings he occupied himself a. a. the Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes and the concept of causality . He pointed to the loss of function of the (small) family, but took the position that these functions could be better taken over by other organizations in society so that the family could be relieved of emotional strain.

Publications

• Community: A Sociological Study (1917)
• Elements of Social Science (1921)
• The Modern State (1926)
• Society: Its Structure and Changes (1931)
• Society: A Textbook of Sociology (1937)
• Leviathan and the People (1939)
• Social Causation (1942)
• The More Perfect Union (1948)
• The Pursuit of Happiness (1955)
• Academic Freedom in Our Time (1955)
• The Nations and the United Nations (1959)
• Life: Its Dimensions and Its Bounds (1960)
• The Challenge of the Passing Years (1962)
• Power Transformed (1964)
• The Prevention and Control of Delinquency (1966)
• As a Tale That Is Told (1968) ( memoir )
• Politics and Society (1969)
• On Community, Society, and Power: Selected Writings (1970)

Web links

• Robert MacIver in the nndb (English)