A. Javier Treviño - The Anthem Companion to Talcott Parsons

Anthem Companions to Sociology offer authoritative and comprehensive assessments of major figures in the development of sociology from the last two centuries. Covering the major advancements in sociological thought, these companions offer critical evaluations of key figures in the American and European sociological tradition and will provide students and scholars with an in-depth assessment of the makers of sociology and chart their relevance to modern society.

Bryan S. TurnerCity University of New York, USA and Australian Catholic University, Australia

The Anthem Companion to Talcott Parsons

Edited by A. Javier Trevio

Anthem Press

An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company

This edition first published in UK and USA 2016

by ANTHEM PRESS

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or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK

and

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2016 A. Javier Trevio editorial matter and selection; individual chapters individual contributors

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All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Names: Trevio, A. Javier, 1958 editor.

Title: The Anthem companion to Talcott Parsons /

edited by A. Javier Trevio.

Description: London; New York, NY : Anthem Press, 2016. | Series: Anthem

companions to sociology | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016002467 | ISBN 9780857281838 (hardback : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Parsons, Talcott, 19021979. | SociologistsUnited States. |

SociologyUnited StatesHistory.

Classification: LCC HM479.P38 A58 2016 | DDC 301.092dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016002467

ISBN-13: 978 0 85728 183 8 (Hbk)

ISBN-10: 0 85728 183 6 (Hbk)

This title is also available as an e-book.

CONTENTS

A. Javier Trevio

There is perhaps no sociologist whose theories, sentiments and political activities have been more misunderstood and subject to mistreatment than Talcott Parsons. This state of affairs stems partly from Parsonss seemingly inscrutable communicative style and partly from ideologically motivated libelbut it is perhaps mostly due to an actively pursued ignorance of his ideas, stemming from any number of reasons. And while Uta Gerhardts splendid book Talcott Parsons: An Intellectual Biography has done much to clarify and put into proper perspective Parsonss thinking and actions, it has yet to command the attention it deserves in all quarters of the sociological community.1

In light of these circumstances, this volume is intended to achieve several objectives. First, it is the latest in a continued effort to inform a rising generation of scholars about the life and work of one of, if not in fact, the most influential American sociological theorist of the twentieth century.2 Second, it is meant as a corrective to the misinformed but still pervasive notion that Parsons was no more than a mindless structural functionalist, a tool of elitist interests and a grand theorist who had no understanding of actual social problems. And while it took only one generation of sociologists to unjustly characterize Parsons in these ways, it will doubtlessly take several years more before a full rectification, a truly balanced and fair treatment of him, can be realized. Finally, it is, to say the least, regrettable to have to begin a book on the social thought of a prominent thinker by stating what he is not, and so the third and main reason for this volume is an affirmative one: to enter into an earnest discussion of the many important contributions that Parsons made to sociology, sociological theory and particularly to understanding the various social events of the daythen and now.

Before discussing the 11 original chapters that constitute this volume, written by scholars enlisted to address the aforementioned three objectives, I first present a brief life-and-work profile of Parsons for the purpose of providing context for the chapters. For good or ill, the following intellectual portrait (if I may use such a lofty term for what follows) is composed of information derived from one source: Harvard Universitys daily newspaper, The Harvard Crimson.3 While hardly an exhaustive or even a supposedly accurate record of Parsonss ideas and engagements, the Crimson did chronicle many events, some highly significant, other less so, that directly or indirectly involved him throughout his four decadesfrom the 1930s through the 1970sas a faculty member at the university. Admittedly, exclusive reliance on the Crimson admits of a certain selectivity given that the portrait rendered is limited to information about Parsons that the editors of the newspaper deemed worthy of printing and given that I depend only on those articles in which Parsonss involvement figures prominently or that pertain to an event that was of some significance to him. All this notwithstanding it nonetheless provides, I think, a good aperture into Parsons and his lifework. What follows is a chronological account arranged by decade.