Self, War, and Society: George Herbert Mead's Macrosociology - Hardcover

Deegan, Mary Jo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765803925 ISBN 13: 9780765803924

Publisher: Transaction Publishers, 2008

Synopsis

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) is a founding figure in the field of sociology. His stature is comparable to that of his contemporaries Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Mead's contribution was a profound and unique American theory that analyzed society and the individual as social objects. As Mead saw it, both society and the individual emerged from cooperative, democratic processes linking the self, the other, and the community. Mary Jo Deegan, a leading scholar of Mead's work, traces the evolution of his thought , its continuity and change. She is particularly interested in the most controversial period of Mead's work, in which he addressed topics of violence and the nation state.

Mead's theory of war, peace, and society emerged out of the historical events of his time, particularly World War I. During this period he went from being a pacifist, along with his contemporaries John Dewey and Jane Addams, to being a strong advocate for war. From 1917-1918 Mead became a leader in voicing the need for war based on his theory of self and society. After the war, he became disillusioned with President Woodrow Wilson, with Americans' failure to support mechanisms for international arbitration, and with the political reasons for American participation in World War I. He returned to a more pacifist and co-operative model of behavior during the 1920s, when he became less political, more abstract, and more withdrawn from public debate.

The book includes Deegan's interpretation of Mead's early social thought, his friendship and family networks, the historical context of America at war, and the importance of analysis of violence and the state from Mead's perspective. She also provides illustrative selections from Mead's work, much of which was previously unpublished.

About this title

Review:

"In this book based on the posthumous publication of lecture notes transcribed by his students, George Herbert Mead is seen as the philosophical precursor to symbolic interactionism, which is generally depicted as a version of microsociological theory... Scholars should thank Deegan for making this collection available... Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty."

--P. Kivisto, Choice

"In this book based on the posthumous publication of lecture notes transcribed by his students, George Herbert Mead is seen as the philosophical precursor to symbolic interactionism, which is generally depicted as a version of microsociological theory... Scholars should thank Deegan for making this collection available... Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty."

--P. Kivisto, Choice

-In this book based on the posthumous publication of lecture notes transcribed by his students, George Herbert Mead is seen as the philosophical precursor to symbolic interactionism, which is generally depicted as a version of microsociological theory... Scholars should thank Deegan for making this collection available... Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty.-

--P. Kivisto, Choice

Synopsis:

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) is a central founder of the field of sociology. His stature in the discipline is comparable to that of his contemporaries Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Mead's contribution was a profound and unique American theory, one that analyzed society and the individual as social objects. As Mead saw it, both society and the individual emerged from cooperative, democratic processes linking the self, the other, and the community. In this volume, Mary Jo Deegan, a leading scholar of Mead's work, traces the evolution of his thought in both its continuity and change. Her main purpose is to analyze and document the most controversial period of Mead's work, in which he addressed the topics of violence and the nation state. Mead's theory of war, peace, and society emerged out of the historical events of his time, particularly World War I. During this time, Mead went from being a pacifist, along with his contemporaries John Dewey and Jane Addams, to being a strong advocate for war. During America's participation in World War I, from 1917-1918, Mead became a public and intellectual leader on the need for war based on his theory of self and society.

After the war, he became disillusioned with President Woodrow Wilson, Americans' failure to support mechanisms for international arbitration, and the political reasons for American participation in World War I. Mead also returned to a more pacifist and co-operative model of behavior during the 1920s, he became less political, more abstract, and more withdrawn from public debates than he was prior to the conflict. The book includes Deegan's interpretation of Mead's early social thought, his friendship and family networks, the historical context of America at war, and the importance of analysis of violence and the state from Mead's perspective. Deegan also provides illustrative selections from Mead's work, much of which was previously unpublished. This volume will definitively establish Mead as one of the most significant classical sociologists to write on war and peace, and will also contribute to contemporary debates on the politics and morality of war.

About this edition

• Publisher: Transaction Publishers
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0765803925
• ISBN 13: 9780765803924
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 370