Richard Swedberg (born 18 May 1948) is a Swedish sociologist. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the Department of Sociology at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...

Education

He received a PhD in sociology from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

(1978); he also holds a law degree ("juris kandidat") from

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, soci ...

(1970).

Research

Swedberg's two specialties are social theory and economic sociology. The focus in his work on social theory is currently on theorizing or how to learn to theorize.

Publications

So far he has produced a monograph on theory, with practical instructions for how to theorize (''The Art of Social Theory'',

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...

, 2014) and an anthology (''Theorizing in the Social Sciences: The Context of Discovery'', Stanford University Press, 2014). Swedberg is also the co-author, together with Peter Hedstrom, of ''Social Mechanisms'' (1998, Cambridge University Press). As to economic sociology, he has been a contributor to this field since its renewal in the mid-1980s ("new economic sociology"). Swedberg has written extensively on the works by Max Weber and Joseph Schumpeter and is currently working on the financial crisis. He is the author of e.g. ''Economics and Sociology'' (1990; Princeton University Press), ''Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology'' (1998, Princeton University Press) and ''Tocqueville's Political Economy'' (2009, Princeton University Press). His edited work includes ''The Economics and Sociology of Capitalism'', ''Handbook of Economic Sociology'' (with

Neil Smelser Neil Joseph Smelser (1930–2017) was an American sociologist who served as professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. He was an active researcher from 1958 to 1994. His research was on collective behavior, sociological theo ...

) (1994, 2005, Russell Sage Foundation & Princeton University Press) and ''Sociology of Economic Life'' (with

Mark Granovetter Mark Sanford Granovetter (; born October 20, 1943) is an American sociologist and professor at Stanford University. He is best known for his work in social network theory and in economic sociology, particularly his theory on the spread of infor ...

(1992, 2001, 2011, Westview). His vitae as well as some of his writings are available at his webpage at Cornell University.

Honours

On 29 January 2016 Swedberg received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the Faculty of Social Sciences at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

for his insights in "how useful the work of classical thinkers can be in understanding contemporary society".

References

External links

Cornell University Faculty Page

Curriculum Vitae of Richard Swedberg

Online papers of Richard Swedberg
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Cornell University faculty Living people Stockholm University alumni Swedish sociologists 1948 births {{Europe-sociologist-stub