Merton, Robert King

Merton, Robert King
▪ 2004
Meyer R. Schkolnick 
      American sociologist (b. July 4, 1910, Philadelphia, Pa.—d. Feb. 23, 2003, New York, N.Y.), made wide-ranging contributions to the field, especially the sociology of science; he coined such expressions as “self-fulfilling prophecy,” “role model,” “unanticipated consequences,” “theories of the middle range,” “opportunity structure,” and “focused interview” (from whence “focus group”). Merton earned a B.A. (1931) from Temple University, Philadelphia, and a Ph.D. (1936) from Harvard University. He stayed on as an instructor at Harvard until 1939, when he moved to Tulane University, New Orleans, and then in 1941 to Columbia University, New York City, where he remained until 1985. At Columbia he collaborated with Paul F. Lazarsfeld at the university's Bureau of Applied Social Research until Lazarsfeld's death in 1976. Among Merton's publications were Science, Technology, and Society in Seventeenth Century England (1938), a seminal work in the sociology of science that explored the relationship between Puritanism and the rise of modern science; “Social Structure and Anomie” (1938), a widely reprinted paper that argued that some nonconformist behaviour is a result of the social structure; Social Theory and Social Structure (1949; rev. ed., 1968), a collection of papers that advanced a structural-functional approach to sociology; and On the Shoulders of Giants (1965), which traced the use of Sir Isaac Newton's statement “If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Merton's work assisted Kenneth Brown in the preparation of the report on segregation that figured in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case. Merton served as president of the American Sociological Association in 1957 and was the first sociologist to receive a National Medal of Science (1994). His son, Robert C. Merton, won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1997.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • MERTON, ROBERT KING — (Meyer Schkolnick; 1910–2003), U.S. sociologist. Born in Philadelphia, Merton received his B.A. from Temple University in 1931 and his M.A. (1932) and Ph.D. (1936) from Harvard. A student of George R. Simpson, Pitirim Sorokin, and Talcott Parsons …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Merton,Robert King — Mer·ton (mûrʹtn), Robert King. Born 1910. American sociologist who proposed that deviant behavior results when a society offers no acceptable means of achieving acceptable goals. * * * …   Universalium

  • Robert King Merton — (* 5. Juli 1910 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania als Meyer Robert Schkolnick; † 23. Februar 2003 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Soziologe. Merton ist Vater von Robert C. Merton, dem Wirtschafts Nobelpreisträger von 1997. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Robert King Merton — Robert King Merton, sociologue américain né à Philadelphie en Pennsylvanie le 5 juillet 1910 et décédé à New York le 23 février 2003. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Les prophéties auto réalisatrices …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Merton, Robert K. — ▪ American sociologist in full  Robert King Merton , original name  Meyer Robert Schkolnick   born July 4, 1910, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. died February 23, 2003, New York, New York       American sociologist whose diverse interests… …   Universalium

  • Robert King Merton — noun United States sociologist (1910 2003) • Syn: ↑Merton, ↑Robert Merton • Instance Hypernyms: ↑sociologist …   Useful english dictionary

  • Robert K. Merton — Robert King Merton Robert King Merton, sociologue des américain né à Philadelphie en Pennsylvanie le 4 juillet 1910 et décédé à New York le 23 février 2003. Etudiant à Harvard, il a été l élève de Pitirim Sorokin et de Talcott Parsons. Il est le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Robert k merton — Robert King Merton Robert King Merton, sociologue des américain né à Philadelphie en Pennsylvanie le 4 juillet 1910 et décédé à New York le 23 février 2003. Etudiant à Harvard, il a été l élève de Pitirim Sorokin et de Talcott Parsons. Il est le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • MERTON (R. K.) — MERTON ROBERT KING (1910 ) Sociologue américain, professeur à l’université Columbia, Robert K. Merton est généralement considéré comme le principal fondateur de la sociologie fonctionnaliste. Réagissant à la fois contre le développement d’une… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • King — /king/, n. 1. Billie Jean (Moffitt) /mof it/, born 1943, U.S. tennis player. 2. Clarence, 1842 1901, U.S. geologist and cartographer. 3. Ernest Joseph, 1878 1956, U.S. naval officer. 4. Martin Luther, Jr., 1929 68, U.S. Baptist minister: civil… …   Universalium

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