Benjamin Nelson (1911 – September 17, 1977) was a sociologist who explored the historical development and nature of civilizations. He held positions at

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

and after 1966,

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

. Nelson was a Guggenheim Fellow for the academic year 1945–1946. He was a founder member and vice president (1976–1977) of the

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (was founded at Harvard University in 1949) was formed to advance research in the social scientific perspective on religious institutions and experiences. The ''Journal for the Scientific Study of ...

and the first America President (1971–1977) of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations.

Major publications

*B. Nelson, The Idea of Usury: From Tribal Brotherhood to Universal Otherhood (Princeton University Press, 1949; 2nd ed., University of Chicago Press, 1969) *B. Nelson, "The Future of Illusions," Psychoanalysis 2, 4(1954):16-37 *B. Nelso
Preface to ''The Point Of View For My Work As An Author''
by Soren Kierkegaard 1962 *B. Nelson, "Scholastic Rationales of 'Conscience', Early Modern Crises of Credibility, and the Scientific-Technocultural Revolutions of the 17th and 20th Centuries," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 7(1968):157-177 *B. Nelson, "Max Weber's 'Author's Introduction' (1920)," Sociological Inquiry 44(1974):269-278 *B. Nelson, "Max Weber, Ernst Troeltsch, and Georg Jellinek as Comparative Historical Sociologists," Sociological Analysis 36(1975):229-240 *B. Nelson, "On Orient and Occident in Max Weber," Social Research 43(1976):114-129 *B. Nelson, On the Roads to Modernity, Conscience, Science and Civilizations (Totowa, N.J.: Rowman & Little-field, 1981).

Books on Benjamin Nelson

* Vytautas Kavolis, E.V. Walter, E. Leites, M.C. Nelson. Civilizations East and West: A Memorial Volume for Benjamin Nelson. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press 1985.

References

External links

Finding aid to Benjamin Nelson papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Benjamin 1911 births 1977 deaths American sociologists