Frederic Milton Thrasher (1892–1962) was a sociologist 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 ...

. He was a colleague of Robert E. Park and was one of the most prominent members of the Chicago School of Sociology in the 1920s. Thrasher was born in Shelbyville,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

in 1892; he graduated B.A. from

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

in 1916 in

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...

; he then did an MA in 1918, at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

with a thesis on ''"The Boy Scout Movement as A Socializing Agency."'' He then took a PhD in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1926, on Gangs. Thrasher's epic work: ''The Gang: a study of 1313 gangs in Chicago,'' was published in 1927. It said that "neighborhoods in transition are breeding grounds for gangs." Thrasher’s work on gangs was one of a series of outstanding doctoral studies completed under Robert E. Park’s direction in the "golden era" of the

Sociology Department. In the 1930s he then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he taught at the Steinhardt School of Education of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, becoming Professor of

educational sociology The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is mostly concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion o ...

and retiring in 1959. While there he initiated a

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostl ...

programme where he began a series of studies of the effects of

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s on children. His courses on the subject were path breaking, including a course, begun in 1934, named ''“The Motion Picture: Its Artistic, Educational and Social Aspects.”'' He also served widely as a consultant to groups concerned with motion pictures,

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes ...

, and prevention of

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a perso ...

Publications

* 1927: ''The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago'', University of Chicago Press, * 1931: ''"Social Attitudes of Superior Boys in an Interstitial Community"'' In K. Young (ed) Social Attitudes. New York: Henry Holt (1931): 236-264. * 1933: ''Juvenile delinquency and crime prevention.'' Journal of Educational Sociology, 6, 500-509 * 1935: ''Young Lonigan: A Boyhood in Chicago Streets'' by James T Farrell, with an Introduction by Frederic M. Thrasher. Vanguard Books. First edition, with an additional Introduction by Robert Morss Lovett * 1946: ''Okay for Sound: How the Screen Found its Voice,'' New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce * 1949: ''"The Comics and Delinquency: Cause or Scapegoat,"'' 23 J. Educ. Sociology 195 (1949) * 1954: ''“Do the Crime Comic Books Promote Juvenile Delinquency?”'' The

Congressional Digest The ''Congressional Digest,'' published by Congressional Digest Corporation, is a scholarly independent monthly publication with offices in Washington, DC. Congressional Digest was founded in 1921 by suffragette Alice Gram Robinson with the goal of ...

, 33(12), December

External links

A bibliography on the sociological study of Gangs

Useful background to his teaching at New York University

Young Lords Origins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrasher, Frederic 1892 births DePauw University alumni American sociologists Thrasher, Frederic M. University of Chicago faculty New York University faculty 1962 deaths

Publications

See also

External links