Douglas A. Harper (born 1948) is an American sociologist and photographer. He is the holder of the Rev. Joseph A. Lauritis, C.S.Sp. Endowed Chair in Teaching with Technology at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

, a chair funded by a grant from the

Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

Biography

Harper was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, United States. He earned a B.A. from

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

in 1970 and a PhD in sociology from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

. While doing research for his PhD dissertation about railroad tramps, he rode

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

s for in the western United States.

Career

After graduation, Harper wrote a book, Good Company, about railroad tramps. Harper made extensive use of

photo elicitation Photo-elicitation is a method of interview in visual sociology and marketing research that uses visual images to elicit comments. The types of images used include photographs, video, paintings, cartoons, graffiti, and advertising, among others.Elisa ...

interviews in his 1987 book, ''Working Knowledge'', a sociological treatment of the rural bricoleur in America. His 2001 publication, ''Changing Works'', applied the same method to the historical reconstruction of cultural memory. Harper later co-authored books on post-colonial culture in Hong Kong, Italian food culture, and the semiotics of Italian fascism, in which he researched images as method of cross-cultural communication. In 2014, he studied the sociology of public space in the Italian

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

and in the de-industrialized regions of the American

Rust Belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions and ...

. Harper has taught sociology at SUNY Potsdam, the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, and

, and as a guest professor at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

and

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

. He edited the academic journal ''Visual Studies'' during its first thirteen years and wrote five works of visual

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

published by the

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...

. His ''Visual Sociology'' (Routledge 2012) is a comprehensive treatment of the topic. Harper was co-founder of the International Visual Sociology Association with

Leonard M. Henny Leonard (Melchior) Henny (The Hague, 4 August 1935 Amsterdam, 17 September 2011) was a Dutch filmmaker, teacher, and writer, known for his socially engaged documentaries, and his pioneering work in the field of visual sociology. Biography Henny ...

and others; in 2013 he was elected its president. He has had many photographic exhibitions in the US and abroad.

Books

*2014: ''I Simboli del fascismo nella Roma del XXI secolo, cronache di un' oblio''. Douglas Harper, Francesco Mattioli. Aciraele-Roma: Bonnano. ("The symbols of fascism: Reports of an oblivion"). In Press. *2012: ''Visual Sociology''. Douglas Harper. London:

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, and ...

. *2009: ''The Italian Way: Food and Social Life''. Douglas Harper and Patrizia Faccioli. Chicago:

. *2009: ''Hong Kong: Migrant Lives, Landscapes, and Journeys''. Caroline Knowles and Douglas Harper. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. *2006: ''Good Company: A Tramp Life''. Boulder: Paradigm. Douglas Harper. (Revised and expanded third edition). *2003: ''The Cultural Study of Work''. Douglas Harper and Helen Lawson, editors. Boulder:

Rowman Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

. 2004 Outstanding Title, designation by the American Library Association. *2001: ''Changing Works: Visions of a Lost Agriculture''. Douglas Harper. University of Chicago Press. Scholarly Achievement Award, North Central Sociological Association and Collier Award, Society for Visual Anthropology. *1998: ''Mondi Da Vedere: Verso una sociologia piu visuale''. Patrizia Faccioli and Douglas Harper, editors. Milan:

FrancoAngeli FrancoAngeli is one of the largest Italian publishing houses specialized in books and journals for university and post-university studies, as well as for professionals. Based in Milan and founded in 1955, it has one of the largest Italian catalog ...

. *1994: ''Cape Breton, 1952: The Photographic Vision of

Timothy Asch Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries. People Given name * Timothy (given name) ...

'' (editor).

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

: Ethnographics Press; International Visual Sociology Association. *1993: ''Eyes Across the Water, vol. II: Essays on Visual Sociology and Anthropology''. Robert Boonzajer Flaes and Douglas Harper, editors. Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis Press. *1987: ''Working Knowledge: Skill and Community in a Small Shop''. Douglas Harper. University of Chicago Press. Paperback edition, University of California Press, 1992."Working Knowledge: Skill and Community in a Small Shop by Douglas Harper"
Peter F. Murphy ''The Oral History Review'' Vol. 16, No. 2 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 157–159,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

*1982: Good Company. Douglas Harper. University of Chicago Press. Second edition translations: Good Company: Un sociologo tra I vagabondi. Milan: FrancoAngeli, 1999 in Italian; Les Vagabonds du Nord-Ouest Américain. Paris:

L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...

, 1998 in French.

Films

*2013: ''The First Step to Recovery''. (a 60-minute documentary film, in process.) Douglas Harper and Margaret Patterson, co-directors. *1983: ''Ernie's Sawmill''. Douglas Harper and Stephen Papson, co-directors. A 16 mm, 20-minute

ethnographic film An ethnographic film is a non-fiction film, often similar to a documentary film, historically shot by Western filmmakers and dealing with non-Western people, and sometimes associated with anthropology. Definitions of the term are not definitive. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Douglas 1948 births Living people People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Macalester College alumni Brandeis University alumni Duquesne University faculty American sociologists American photographers