Wendell Bell (September 27, 1924 – November 3, 2019) was a futurist and

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. His areas of specialization included sociology, social class, race, family life and future studies.

Early career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Bell was a naval aviator and served in the

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. Bell graduated in

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

from California State University, Fresno in 1948. He then attained his Ph.D. from

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in 1952 and served on the faculties of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

(1952-4; directed Stanford Survey Research Facility),

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

(1954–57), and UCLA (1957–63; headed

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Study Program). From 1963 to 1964, he was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, California.

Yale career

Joining the Yale faculty in 1963, Bell went on to become chairman of the Yale Department of Sociology and helped found the Yale Program of African American Studies. He retired from Yale in 1995.

Research interests

While Bell's early research interests focused on the sociology of US cities, and some later research interests focused on the sociology of

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

countries (Bell served as president of the

Caribbean Studies Association The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

from 1979 to 1980), Bell is primarily known for his research and other works as a futurist.

Futurist career

Bell worked as a professional futurist for over 40 years. The World Futures Studies Federation awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. In 2008, the Association of Professional Futurists selected Bell's two-volume work '' The Foundations of Futures Studies'' as one of the ten most important

futures studies Futures studies, futures research, futurism or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will li ...

books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Wendell 1924 births 2019 deaths American futurologists American sociologists Northwestern University faculty Military personnel from Chicago People from Fresno, California Stanford University faculty United States Navy pilots of World War II California State University, Fresno alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty Yale University faculty Military personnel from California