Piotr Sztompka (born 2 March 1944, in
Warsaw,
Poland) is a Polish
sociologist known for his work on the theory of social trust. He is professor of sociology at the
Jagiellonian University in
Kraków,
Poland, and has also frequently served as visiting professor at the
University of California, Los Angeles, and at
Columbia University in
New York City.
From 2002 to 2006 he was the 15th president 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 soci ...
.
Life
Sztompka studied law and sociology at the
Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, obtaining a Ph.D. degree there in 1970.
Two years later, he was awarded a
Fulbright scholarship to the
University of California, Berkeley. Since 1974 he has been on the faculty of its Sociology Department, as a teaching assistant and subsequently as a professor.
In the 1970s, Sztompka established a close collaboration with
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton (born Meyer Robert Schkolnick; July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003) was an American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, and a major contributor to the subfield of criminology. He served as th ...
, which greatly influenced Sztompka's view of the discipline.
Sztompka has also taught as visiting professor at
Columbia University, the
University of Michigan,
Johns Hopkins University, the
University of Rome, and
Tischner European University. He is a fellow of the
Collegium Invisibile
Collegium Invisibile is an academic society founded in 1995 in Warsaw that affiliates outstanding Polish students in the humanities and science with distinguished scholars in accordance with the idea of a liberal education. The association ...
.
Contributions
Sztompka's principal sociological interests include the social phenomenon of
trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
,
social change
Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations.
Definition
Social change may not refer to the notion of social progress or sociocult ...
, and, recently,
visual sociology
Visual sociology is an area of sociology concerned with the visual dimensions of social life.
Theory and method
Visual sociology can be theoretically framed around three themes. Luc Pauwels suggests that the framework is based on the origin ...
.
Works
* ''System and Function'' (Studies in Anthropology, 1974).
* ''Sociological Dilemmas'' (1979).
* ''
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton (born Meyer Robert Schkolnick; July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003) was an American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, and a major contributor to the subfield of criminology. He served as th ...
: an Intellectual Profile'' (1986)
* ''The New Technological Challenge and Socialist Societies'' (editor, 1987).
* ''Rethinking Progress'' (with Jeffrey C. Alexander, 1990).
* ''Society in Action: the Theory of Social Becoming'' (1991).
* ''Sociology in Europe: in Search of Identity'' (with Birgitta Nedelmann, 1993).
* ''The Sociology of Social Change'' (1993).
* ''Agency and Structure: Reorienting Social Theory'' (International Studies in Global Change, vol. 4; editor, 1994).
*
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton (born Meyer Robert Schkolnick; July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003) was an American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, and a major contributor to the subfield of criminology. He served as th ...
, ''On Social Structure and Science'' (editor), Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1996, .
* ''Trust: a Sociological Theory'' (1999).
See also
*
Polish sociology
Sociology in Poland has been developing, as has sociology throughout Europe, since the mid-19th century. Although, due to the Partitions of Poland, that country did not exist as an independent state in the 19th century or until the end of World W ...
References
External links
Short biographyInterview with SztompkaInterview with Sztompka as a President of ISA
:
1944 births
Living people
Polish sociologists
Columbia University staff
University of Michigan faculty
Johns Hopkins University faculty
Jagiellonian University faculty
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Fellows of Collegium Invisibile
Presidents of the International Sociological Association
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