Kurt Heinrich Wolff (May 20, 1912 – September 14, 2003) was a German-born American
sociologist. A major contributor to the
sociology of knowledge
The sociology of knowledge is the study of the relationship between human thought and the social context within which it arises, and the effects that prevailing ideas have on societies. It is not a specialized area of sociology. Instead, it dea ...
and to qualitative and phenomenological approaches in sociology, he also translated from
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and from
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
many important works by
Georg Simmel
Georg Simmel (; ; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.
Simmel was influential in the field of sociology. Simmel was one of the first generation of German sociologists: his neo-Kantian approach l ...
,
Emile Durkheim
Emil or Emile may refer to:
Literature
*'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life
*'' Emil and the Detecti ...
and
Karl Mannheim
Karl Mannheim (born Károly Manheim, 27 March 1893 – 9 January 1947) was an influential Hungarian sociologist during the first half of the 20th century. He is a key figure in classical sociology, as well as one of the founders of the sociolo ...
. While carrying out anthropological field research in the 1940s in a small community in the southwestern United States, Wolff initially discovered, and began to articulate and to advocate, a new qualitative methodological approach for the study of human society. The approach later proved applicable in any field of inquiry or area of human endeavor. He called it "Surrender and Catch". For more than 60 years, Wolff taught and wrote about this new approach.
Karl Mannheim was Wolff's main intellectual influence, yet Wolff was certainly open to a variety of intellectual currents other than Mannheimian sociology. Wolffean thought can be traced to a number of different sources in world sociology, philosophy and anthropology. Like many Central European polymaths he was fluent in a number of languages including English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.
Life
After graduating in
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
, Wolff began his
philosophical
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and
sociological
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
studies at the University of Frankfurt (1930–31 and 1932–33) and the University of Munich (1931–32) where he studied with Karl Mannheim. As the Nazis expelled all Jews from academic positions, he and Mannheim were forced to leave. Mannheim went to London, Wolff to Italy. In Italy, Wolff learned Italian well enough in one year to be able to study at the University of Florence from 1934-35 to obtain his Laureate (doctorate in philosophy) with a thesis titled "La Sociologia del Sapere."
Meaningful in those years was a friendship with his classmate, Aurelio Pace, the future Historian of Africa and the
Joseph Pace
Joseph Pace (born 18 November 1959) is an Italian painter and sculptor.
Early life and education
Joseph Pace was born in Morbegno (Lombardy) and raised in Congo-Kinshasa (Africa). Grandson of Camillo Pace, he was introduced to the visual art ...
the artist's father, who in those years helped him translate from
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
into
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
his doctoral thesis "Sociology of Knowledge" which Wolff discusses in 1935 with Ludovico Limentani. Until 1939 Wolff remained in Italy and with the support of his wife and his friend Pace got a job as a teacher, first in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
and later in
Camogli
Camogli (; lij, label= Genoese, Camoggi ) is a fishing village and tourist resort located on the west side of the peninsula of Portofino, on the Golfo Paradiso in the Riviera di Levante, in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, northern Italy. ...
. Because of
the fascist racial laws, Wolff and his wife Carla (née Bruck), left Italy in 1939. After a three-month stay in London, England arranged by Mannheim, Wolff emigrated to the United States. In 1945, Wolff became a United States citizen.
With financial assistance provided by the Oberlander Trust and the International Refugee Service Wolff got a position as a research assistant in sociology from 1939 to 1943 at
Southern Methodist University in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. While there he taught an introductory course in statistics during his final year. In 1943-44 he took a
Social Science Research Council
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it today maintains a he ...
Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Chicago, allowing him to conduct anthropological field research in the spring and summer in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. His field work was conducted under the guidance of leading American anthropologists Robert Redfield and Sol Tax. The following year, 1944–45, he taught at
Earlham College in
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 s ...
, and in 1945 was appointed an assistant professor at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
. Wolff became an associate professor at Ohio State where he remained until 1959.
In 1959 he moved to
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
where he taught until 1993. From 1964, Wolff was a
Sociological Abstracts
CSA (formerly ''Cambridge Scientific Abstracts'') was a division of Cambridge Information Group and provider of online databases, based in Bethesda, Maryland before merging with ProQuest of Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2007. CSA hosted databases of ...
Council member and a visiting professor for one year to the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...
(1966–67). He was the first translator and divulger in English of
Georg Simmel
Georg Simmel (; ; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.
Simmel was influential in the field of sociology. Simmel was one of the first generation of German sociologists: his neo-Kantian approach l ...
and
Karl Mannheim
Karl Mannheim (born Károly Manheim, 27 March 1893 – 9 January 1947) was an influential Hungarian sociologist during the first half of the 20th century. He is a key figure in classical sociology, as well as one of the founders of the sociolo ...
.
[Joseph Pace Filtranisme, intervista, introduzione di Giampiero del Pozzo, Quattrochhi Lavinio Arte, p. 17 and 18, 2012, Anzio, Italia]
From 1966 to 1972, Kurt H. Wolff was the Chairman of the Research Committee's of Sociology of Knowledge of the
International Sociological Association
The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national sociolo ...
, and from 1972 to 1979 President of the "International Society for the Sociology of Knowledge". Wolff was also an honorary member of
German Society for Sociology The German Sociological Association (''Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie'', DGS) is a professional organization of social scientists in Germany. Established in Berlin on January 3, 1909, its founding members included Rudolf Goldscheid, Ferdina ...
.
In 1987 in
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
, his hometown, he was honored with the Medal of
Johann Heinrich Merck
Johann Heinrich Merck (11 April 1741 – 27 June 1791), German author and critic, was born at Darmstadt, a few days after the death of his father, a chemist.
He studied law at Gießen, and in 1767 was given an appointment in the paymaster's depar ...
.
References
Selected works
*''A Whole, A Fragment'' (2002).
*''What It Contains'' (2002).
*''Soziologie in der gefährdeten Welt'' (1998).
*''Transformation in the Writing'' (1995).
*''Survival and Sociology'' (1991)
*''O'' ''Loma!'' (1989)
*''Die persönliche Geschichte eines Emigranten'', in: Srubar, Ilja (Hg.), ''Exil, Wissenschaft, Identität. Die Emigration deutscher Sozialwissenschaftler 1933-1945'', Frankfurt am Main: suhrkamp, 1988, S. 13-22 (hier auch Quelle).
*''Surrender and Catch'' (1976).
*''Trying Sociology'' (1974).
*''Versuch zu einer Wissenssoziologie'' (1968).
*''Hingebung und Begriff. Soziologische Essays'' (1968).
Bibliography
* Editors (2003). "Publications of Kurt H. Wolff". ''Human Studies''. 26: 343–352 – via JSTOR.
*
External links
Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek(in German)
(in Italian)
*
ttp://lts.brandeis.edu/research/archives-speccoll/findingguides/archives/faculty/wolff.html Kurt Heinrich Wolff, Brandeis University, Biography(In English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Kurt Heinrich
1912 births
2003 deaths
Writers from Darmstadt
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Italy
German sociologists
Jewish sociologists
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States
Brandeis University faculty
Earlham College faculty
American sociologists
German male writers