Willard Walter Waller (July 30, 1899 – July 27, 1945) was an American sociologist. Much of his research concerned the

sociology of the family Sociology of the family is a subfield of the subject of sociology, in which researchers and academics study family structure as a social institution and unit of socialization from various sociological perspectives. It can be seen as an example of ...

sociology of education 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 of ...

and the

sociology of the military Military sociology is a subfield within sociology. It corresponds closely to C. Wright Mills's summons to connect the individual world to broader social structures.Crabb, Tyler and Segal, David. 2015. "Military Sociology" in ''Encyclopedia of Pu ...

. His ''The Sociology of Teaching'' (1932) was described as an "early classic" in the field of the sociology of education. Before his sudden death, he was recognized as one of the most prominent scholars in the field of sociology.

Biography

Waller was born on July 30, 1899, in

Murphysboro, Illinois Murphysboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,093 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area. The mayor of Murphysboro is Will Stephens. The government consi ...

. He spent several years as a high school teacher at the

Morgan Park Military Academy Morgan Park Academy (MPA) is a coeducational, college preparatory, independent day school serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade . It is located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1873, Morg ...

. He obtained his BA from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, MA from 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 ...

, and PhD from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. He was a faculty member at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

in the early 1930s, and at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

from 1937 until his death. He was an editor and stockholder of the Dryden Press. He died in

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 ...

, from a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, on July 27, 1945.

Impact and recognition

Waller's studies were often qualitative in nature (

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

al), and he opposed excessive specialization. Much of his research concerned the

(with focus on courtship and divorce),

(pioneering the analysis of schools as

social institution Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

s) and the

(with focus on veterans). He coined the term

principle of least interest The Principle of Least Interest is the idea in sociology that the person or group that has the least amount of interest in continuing a relationship has the most power over it. In the context of relationship dynamics, it suggests towards which party ...

. His most notable studies include ''The Sociology of Teaching'' (1932), described as an "early classic" in the sociology of education. Before his sudden death, he was recognized as one of the most prominent scholars in the field of sociology. An

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

for him was published in the

American Sociological Review The ''American Sociological Review'' is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of sociology. It is published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the American Sociological Association. It was established in 1936. The editors- ...

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...

's annual award for the outstanding publication in the sociology of education is named after Waller.

Works

*''The Old Love and the New'' (1929) *''The Sociology of Teaching'' (1932)
online
*''The Family: A Dynamic Interpretation'' (1938) *''The Veteran Comes Back'' (1944) *''On the Family, Education, and War: Selected Writings'' (1970) University of Chicago Press.

References

External links

Willard Waller Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Willard 1899 births 1945 deaths People from Murphysboro, Illinois American sociologists Barnard College faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Nebraska faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni Sociologists of education

Biography

Impact and recognition

Works

References

Further reading

External links