Albion Woodbury Small (May 11, 1854 – March 24, 1926) founded the first independent Department of
Sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
in 1892. He was influential in the establishment of sociology as a valid field of academic study.
Biography
Albion Woodbury Small was born in
Buckfield, Maine
Buckfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Buckfield is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. It is a member of Regional School Unit 10 along with nearby Hartford and Sumner. The t ...
to parents Reverend Albion Keith Parris Small and Thankful Lincoln Woodbury. He lived in
Bangor, Maine
Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121).
Modern Bangor ...
, and then
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
where he attended public schools in both places.
He attended Colby University, now known as
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...
, from 1872 until he graduated in 1876.
He studied
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
from 1876 to 1879 at the
Andover Newton Theological School
Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) was a graduate school and seminary in Newton, Massachusetts. Affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was the product of a merger between Andover Theological ...
. From 1879 to 1881 he studied at the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
and the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
,
social economics
Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...
and
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
.
While in Germany, he married Valeria von Massow in June 1881,
with whom he had one child.
From 1888 to 1889 he studied history at the
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and was promoted in 1889 with a
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thesis (''The Beginnings of American Nationality'') at the same time continuing to teach at
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...
. From 1889–1892 he was the 10th President of Colby.
In 1892 he founded the first Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago. He chaired this department for over 30 years. In 1894 he, along with George E. Vincent, published the first textbook in sociology: An introduction to the study of society. In 1895 he established the
American Journal of Sociology
The ''American Journal of Sociology'' is a peer-reviewed bi-monthly academic journal that publishes original research and book reviews in the field of sociology and related social sciences. It was founded in 1895 as the first journal in its disci ...
. From 1905 to 1925 he served as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Literature at the University of Chicago.
Albion Woodbury Small was a member of the
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
fraternity (Xi chapter).
Influence on sociology
Albion Small can be attributed with many "firsts" in the field of sociology. In 1892, he helped to create a Department of Social Science at the University of Chicago, which was the first ever sociology department in the United States.
Then, in 1894, along with colleague
George E. Vincent
George Edgar Vincent (March 21, 1864 – February 2, 1941) was an American sociologist and university president.
Biography
He was born at Rockford, Illinois, the son of Bishop John H. Vincent. He studied at Yale, where he was a member of De ...
, he wrote the first sociology textbook titled ''An Introduction to the Study of Society.''
Lastly, he founded the first Sociology Journal in the United States in 1895, the ''American Journal of Sociology.''
Works
* ''An Introduction to the Study of Society'' (1894)
* ''General Sociology'' (1905)
* ''Adam Smith and Modern Sociology'' (1907)
* ''The Cameralists'' (1909)
* ''The Meaning of the Social Sciences'' (1910)
* ''Between Eras: From Capitalism to Democracy'' (1913)
See also
*
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim ( or ; 15 April 1858 – 15 November 1917) was a French sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science, al ...
*
Florian Znaniecki
Florian Witold Znaniecki (15 January 1882 – 23 March 1958) was a Polish philosopher and sociologist who taught and wrote in Poland and in the United States. Over the course of his work he shifted his focus from philosophy to sociology. H ...
*
List of liberal thinkers
Individual contributors to classical liberalism and political liberalism are associated with philosophers of the Enlightenment. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement towards self-government and ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Guide to the Albion W. Small Papers 1904-1924at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Albion Woodbury
1854 births
1926 deaths
American sociologists
Colby College faculty
Johns Hopkins University alumni
People from Bangor, Maine
Presidents of the American Sociological Association
Presidents of Colby College
People from Buckfield, Maine
American Journal of Sociology editors