Integralism, Altruism and Reconstruction

Integralism, Altruism and Reconstruction: Essays in Honor of Pitirim A. Sorokin presents the Russian sociologist Pitirim A. Sorokin (1889-1968) from the perspective of contemporary sociological thought. The nine authors in this book, who come from different universities in the United States and Spain, reflect on the bright and dark periods of Sorokin's academic career. Having experienced a very active political life in Russia, Sorokin emigrated to the United States in the 1930s, where he became a highly prestigious academic figure. He became head of the sociology department at Harvard University from 1930 to 1944, founded the Harvard Research Center in Creative Altruism in 1949, and was nominated as president of the American Sociological Association in 1964. But despite his distinguished and prolific academic career, much of his work was, and has been, largely ignored by mainstream sociology. This book describes why Sorokin's fate took such an unfortunate direction and highlights the existence today of a growing group of scholars interested in revitalising this important theorist and author.