Thomas Janoski

Thomas Janoski is a comparative sociologist studying political and economic sociology, especially in examining 18 industrialized countries. He has three books coming out in 2020: The New Handbook of Political Economy (Cambridge University Press, March), Framing and Managing Lean Organizations in the New Economy (Routledge, March), and The International Handbook of Lean Production (Cambridge University Press, submitted for production in March). The first book examines the most current developments in political sociology since the last handbook in 2005. The last two books try to move sociological studies or organizations and the economy toward accepting lean production as the new division of labor. Thanks go to his co-editors and co-authors on each book.

Background: He grew up in a working class suburb or Detroit, worked as a piston-shooter on the automotive assembly line and in 20 other blue collar jobs. He was drafted into the Army with an 11B10 MOS (advanced infantry), but ended up on a nuclear weapons depot in Korea. From 1973 to 1974 he traveled for two years around the world. Upon his return to the US, he received a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California-Berkeley in 1986. He received the ASA "Distinguished Contribution for Scholarship" in Political Sociology in 1991 for The Political Economy of Unemployment. In all, he has published three research monographs, four co-authored research books, and three edited volumes. He has taught at the University of California-Berkeley, Duke University, and at the University of Kentucky for a total of 31 years. The Fall of 2020 will be his last semester teaching sociological theory and international comparative studies.