Charles Lemert (born 1937) is an American born social theorist and sociologist. He has written extensively on
social theory
Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.Seidman, S., 2016. Contested knowledge: Social theory today. John Wiley & Sons. A tool used by social scientists, social theories rel ...
,
globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...
and
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
. He has contributed to many key debates in social thought, authoring dozens of books including his best-selling text ''Social Things: An Introduction to the Sociological Life'', 5th edition (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011), which the historian
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist thinker and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a politica ...
, the author of ''
A People's History of the United States'', has called "one of those rare ruminations on the human condition that makes you want to return to it after your first reading to ponder its ideas." From 1982 to 2010, he taught at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
in
Middletown, Connecticut.
He currently lives in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...
with his family.
Lemert is distinguished as a theorist in the US, most notably for introducing French theory to American sociology. His first book ''Sociology and the Twilight of Man: Homocentrism and Discourse in Sociological Theory'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 1979) drew from theoretical contributions of the likes of
Michel Foucault and
Jacques Derrida in order to critique humanism in sociological theory. His article "Language, Structure, and Measurement: Structuralist Semiotics and Sociology" (1979) published in the
American Journal of Sociology and his ''French Sociology: Rupture and Renewal since 1968'' (Columbia University Press, 1981), which brought together scholarly contributions from leading French intellectuals, and ''Michel Foucault: Social Theory as Transgression ''(Columbia University Press, 1982) co-authored with Garth Gillan, helped to set in stone his reputation as the leading sociological interpreter of French theory.
Lemert is also known for his best-selling instructional texts: ''Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classic Readings ''(Westview Press, 2004) and ''Thinking the Unthinkable: The Riddles of Classical Social Theories'' (Paradigm Publishers, 2007).
Lately, he has written on a wide range of subjects. His most recent works have dealt with globalization and culture. His co-authored work with Anthony Elliott, ''The New Individualism'' (Routledge, 2005), explores the figure of the individual looking at the emotional costs of globalization. His ''Durkheim's Ghosts'' (Cambridge University Press, 2006) reclaims the legacy of the early sociologist to offer a radical different intellectual trajectory than those who have recently taken ownership of
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 ...
, namely the strong program of cultural sociology espoused by sociologist
Jeffrey C. Alexander
Jeffrey Charles Alexander (born 1947) is an American sociologist, and a prominent social theorist. He is the founding figure in the school of cultural sociology he refers to as the "strong program".
Career
He was born May 30, 1947, in Milwauke ...
. In addition to co-editing a reader with Elliott, and former students, Daniel Chaffee, and Eric L. Hsu, on
Globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...
for
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
, he has recently published a major work on Protestant theologian
Reinhold Niebuhr
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...
for
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous.
, Yale Universi ...
.
In 2014, a two-day international workshop was held at the Hawke Research Institute at the
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
to celebrate and assess Lemert and Elliott's work on the ''New Individualism'', 2nd edition (Routledge, 2009), nearly a decade after its publication. Workshop participants hailed from countries such as Japan, the United States, Australia and Ireland.
He maintains a column called Slow Thoughts for Fast Times for the online journa
Fast Capitalismand edits the Great Barrington Books series for
Paradigm Publishers
Paradigm Publishers was an academic, textbook, and trade publisher in social science and the humanities based in Boulder, Colorado.
History
Paradigm was founded in 2003 by Dean Birkenkamp. Its authors included Charles Tilly, Noam Chomsky, Henry ...
and New Social Formations series for
Rowman & Littlefield.
Career
Education
Lemert received his PhD from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in 1972 after completing work at
Andover Newton Theological School and
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...
in Ohio. While a graduate student in the Harvard Department of Social Relations, Lemert studied with Talcott Parsons and Robert Bellah. His dissertation advisor was the theologian Harvey Cox. At the time he completed his dissertation he was a fellow of the Center for Urban Studies (a joint center with MIT and Harvard). He also received an honorary doctorate from the
University of the West of England
The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England.
The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...
in 2004.
Positions
Lemert is John C. Andrus Emeritus Professor of Sociology at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
, where he taught from 1982-2010. Currently, he is Senior Fellow of the Center for Comparative Research at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
and he teaches at the
Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis.
In 2014, he was appointed the inaugural Vice Chancellor's Professorial Fellow at the
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
, where he contributes to the Hawke Research Institute. He has delivered numerous public lectures and masterclasses at the Hawke Research Institute,
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
's flagship research institute in the social sciences, humanities and creative arts. Some of his lectures have appeared on programs broadcast by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
(ABC).
Previously, he was Professor of Sociology at
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...
from 1977-1981. He has also held several visiting scholarships at various institutions, including Centre de Sociologie Européenne: Education et Culture, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Centre d'Etudes Sociologiques,
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut.
Coeducational since 1969, the college enrolls 2,235 students. Tr ...
,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, and
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
. He is a member of the
Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences is a learned society founded in 1799 in New Haven, Connecticut "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest and happiness of a free and virtuous people." Its purpose is the ...
.
He is currently Pastoral Associate for the Homeless,
Trinity Church on the Green
Trinity Church on the Green or Trinity on the Green is a historic, culturally and community-active parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut in New Haven, Connecticut, of the Episcopal Church. It is one of three historic churches on the Ne ...
, an Associate in Community Relations and Board Member, at Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven, a Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellow at The Hawke Institute,
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
, Adelaide, and Senior Research Scholar, Sociology,
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
.
Recent works
*Introduction to Contemporary Social Theory, with Anthony Elliott (Routledge, 2014)
*Uncertain Worlds: World-Systems Analysis in Changing Times, with Immanuel Wallerstein and Carlos Aguirre Rojas, (Paradigm, 2013)
*The Structural Lie: Small Clues to Global Things (Paradigm, 2011)
*Why Niebuhr Matters (Yale University Press, 2011)
*Globalization: A Reader, with Anthony Elliott, Daniel Chaffee, Eric L. Hsu (Routledge, 2010)
*Thinking the Unthinkable: The Riddles of Classical Social Theories (Paradigm Publishers, 2007)
*Durkheim’s Ghosts: Cultural Logics and Social Things (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
*The Souls of W.E.B. Du Bois, with Alford A. Young, Jr., Jerry G. Watts, Manning Marable & Elizabeth Higginbotham (Boulder & London: Paradigm Publishers, 2006)
*Deadly Worlds: The Emotional Costs of Globalization, with Anthony Elliott (Rowman & Littlefield NA, 2006; world rights: Routledge, UK, 2005 as The New Individualism)
*Social Things (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005; 3e revised & enlarged; 2005). 2e 2001; 1e 1997. German and Danish editions, 2004
*Postmodernism Is Not What You Think (Paradigm Publishers, 2005; 2e revised & enlarged; forthcoming) Original publisher: Blackwell, 1997. Portuguese/Brazilian Edition, 2001; with a new preface
*Sociology After the Crisis (Paradigm Publishers, 2004; 2e revised & enlarged). Original publisher: Perseus Books, 1995-2002
*Globalization: An Introduction to the End of the Known World (Routledge/Paradigm, 2015)
*Americans Thinking: An Introduction to American Social Theory (Routledge/Paradigm, 2018)
* Silence and Society (Routledge/Paradigm, 2018)
* Uncertain Futures: Theories of Capitalism, with Kristin Plys (Routledge/Paradigm, 2018).
References
External links
Faculty Page at University of South AustraliaVideo of Lecture entitled "Future of the World" delivered at Flinders University of South Australia, March 14, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemert, Charles
1937 births
American sociologists
Columbia University staff
Harvard University alumni
Southern Illinois University faculty
Wesleyan University faculty
Miami University alumni
Living people