William Fielding Ogburn

William Fielding Ogburn

William Fielding Ogburn, (June 291886—April 271959) was an American sociologist who was born in Butler, Georgia and died in Tallahassee, Florida. He was also a statistician, and an educator. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University and taught there from 1919 to 1927 as a professor of sociology.

He served as the president of American Sociological Society in 1929. He was the Editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association from 1920 to 1926. In 1931, he was elected as the president of American Statistical Association. He was also known for his idea of "culture lag" in society's adjustment to technological and other changes. He played a pivotal role in producing the groundbreaking Recent Social Trends during his research directorship of President Herbert Hoover's Committee on Social Trends from 1930 to 1933.

He was one of the most prolific sociologists with 175 articles under his name.

Social Change

Perhaps Ogburn's most enduring intellectual legacy is the theory of social change he offered in 1922. [Ogburn, William Fielding. 1922. "Social Change with Respect to Culture and Original Nature." New York: B.W. Huebsch.] He suggested that technology is the primary engine of progress, but tempered by social responses to it. Thus, his theory is often considered a case of Technological determinism, but is really more than that. Ogburn posited four stages of technical development: invention, accumulation, diffusion, and adjustment.

"Invention" is the process by which new forms of technology are created. Inventions are collective contributions to an existing cultural base that cannot occur unless the society has already gained a certain level of knowledge and expertise in the particular area. "Accumulation" is the growth of technology because new things are invented more rapidly than old ones are forgotten, and some inventions (such as writing) promote this accumulation process. "Diffusion" is the spread of an idea from one cultural group to another, or from one field of activity to another, and as diffusion brings inventions together, they combine to form new inventions. "Adjustment" is the process by which the non-technical aspects of a culture respond to invention, and any retardation of this adjustment process causes cultural lag.

References

External links

* [http://asanet.org/page.ww?name=William+F.+Ogburn&section=Presidents American Sociological Association]


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  • William Fielding Ogburn — (* 29. Juni 1886 in Butler, Georgia; † 27. April 1959 in Tallahassee, Florida), war ein US amerikanischer Soziologe. Ogburn lehrte von 1914 bis 1927 als Professor an der Columbia University und anschließend bis zu seiner Versetzung in den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ogburn, William Fielding — ▪ American sociologist born June 29, 1886, Butler, Georgia, U.S. died April 27, 1959, Tallahassee, Florida       American sociologist known for his application of statistical methods to the problems of the social sciences and for his introduction …   Universalium

  • Ogburn — William Fielding Ogburn (* 29. Juni 1886 in Butler, Georgia; † 27. April 1959 in Tallahassee, Florida), war ein US amerikanischer Soziologe. Ogburn lehrte von 1914 bis 1927 als Professor an der Columbia University und und anschließend bis zu… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ogburn, William Fielding — (1886 1959) An early Chicago sociologist , President of the American Sociological Association in 1929, his prime interest was in processes of social change , and in this context he developed the concept of cultural lag . A good selection of his… …   Dictionary of sociology

  • OGBURN (W. F.) — OGBURN WILLIAM FIELDING (1886 1959) Ancien chairman du département de sociologie de l’université de Chicago, W. F. Ogburn a consacré sa vie à la recherche empirique quantitative. Il est généralement regardé comme l’un de ceux qui ont le plus… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ogburn —   [ ɔgbən], William Fielding, amerikanischer Soziologe, * Butler (Georgia) 29. 6. 1886, ✝ Tallahassee (Fla.) 27. 4. 1959; war 1914 27 Professor in New York, 1927 51 in Chicago (Illinois); beschäftigte sich besonders mit dem Einfluss der Technik… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Ogburn — Ogburn, William Fielding …   Dictionary of sociology

  • Ogburn — /og berrn/, n. William Fielding, 1886 1959, U.S. sociologist and educator. * * * …   Universalium

  • Ogburn — /og berrn/, n. William Fielding, 1886 1959, U.S. sociologist and educator …   Useful english dictionary

  • Charlton Ogburn — Charlton Ogburn, Jr. (15 March 1911, Atlanta, Georgia – 19 October 1998, Beaufort, South Carolina) was a journalist and author of memoirs and non fiction works. He was also a well known advocate of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship.… …   Wikipedia

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