Ogburn, William Fielding

Ogburn, William Fielding

▪ American sociologist
born June 29, 1886, Butler, Georgia, U.S.
died April 27, 1959, Tallahassee, Florida

      American sociologist known for his application of statistical methods to the problems of the social sciences and for his introduction of the idea of “cultural lag” in the process of social change.

      Ogburn was a professor at Columbia University (1919–27) and the University of Chicago (1927–51). He frequently served as a labour mediator and was research director of the President's Research Committee on Social Trends (1930–33) during the administration of Herbert Hoover.

      Ogburn's insistence on the verification of social theories by quantitative methods helped to shift the emphasis in sociology from social philosophy and reform programs toward the development of a more exact science of social phenomena. Ogburn considered what he termed invention—a new combination of existing cultural elements—to be the fundamental cause of social change and cultural evolution. Noting that an invention directly affecting one aspect of culture may require adjustments in other cultural areas, he introduced the term cultural lag to describe delays in adjustment to invention. Although lags are generally imperceptible over long periods of history, they may be so acute at a given moment as to threaten the complete disintegration of a society. For example, a major innovation in industrial processes may disrupt economics, government, and the social philosophy of a nation. In time, a new equilibrium will be established out of those disruptions.

      Among Ogburn's writings are Social Change (1922) and Sociology (1940; with Meyer F. Nimkoff).

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  • Ogburn, William Fielding — (1886 1959) An early Chicago sociologist , President of the American Sociological Association in 1929, his prime interest was in processes of social change , and in this context he developed the concept of cultural lag . A good selection of his… …   Dictionary of sociology

  • William Fielding Ogburn — William Fielding Ogburn, (June 291886 April 271959) was an American sociologist who was born in Butler, Georgia and died in Tallahassee, Florida. He was also a statistician, and an educator. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia… …   Wikipedia

  • William Fielding Ogburn — (* 29. Juni 1886 in Butler, Georgia; † 27. April 1959 in Tallahassee, Florida), war ein US amerikanischer Soziologe. Ogburn lehrte von 1914 bis 1927 als Professor an der Columbia University und anschließend bis zu seiner Versetzung in den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ogburn — Ogburn, William Fielding …   Dictionary of sociology

  • Ogburn — William Fielding Ogburn (* 29. Juni 1886 in Butler, Georgia; † 27. April 1959 in Tallahassee, Florida), war ein US amerikanischer Soziologe. Ogburn lehrte von 1914 bis 1927 als Professor an der Columbia University und und anschließend bis zu… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • OGBURN (W. F.) — OGBURN WILLIAM FIELDING (1886 1959) Ancien chairman du département de sociologie de l’université de Chicago, W. F. Ogburn a consacré sa vie à la recherche empirique quantitative. Il est généralement regardé comme l’un de ceux qui ont le plus… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ogburn —   [ ɔgbən], William Fielding, amerikanischer Soziologe, * Butler (Georgia) 29. 6. 1886, ✝ Tallahassee (Fla.) 27. 4. 1959; war 1914 27 Professor in New York, 1927 51 in Chicago (Illinois); beschäftigte sich besonders mit dem Einfluss der Technik… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Ogburn — /og berrn/, n. William Fielding, 1886 1959, U.S. sociologist and educator. * * * …   Universalium

  • Ogburn — /og berrn/, n. William Fielding, 1886 1959, U.S. sociologist and educator …   Useful english dictionary

  • Charlton Ogburn — Charlton Ogburn, Jr. (15 March 1911, Atlanta, Georgia – 19 October 1998, Beaufort, South Carolina) was a journalist and author of memoirs and non fiction works. He was also a well known advocate of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship.… …   Wikipedia

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