Thomas Fararo

Thomas Fararo (born 1933) is Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh. After earning a Ph.D. in sociology, he held a three-year postdoctoral fellowship for studies in pure and applied mathematics at Stanford University (1964-1967). In 1967 he joined the faculty at University of Pittsburgh.

In addition to numerous articles in theoretical and mathematical sociology, he has published a number of books in these areas. Some of these works are edited books that relate to his career-long interest in making mathematical ideas relevant to the development of sociological theory. In 1998, he received the Distinguished Career Award from the Mathematical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association.

Aims and Methods

Fararo has been both an originator and an explicator of ideas and methods relating to the use of formal methods in sociological theory. In his original work, he has employed theories and methods relating to social networks in combination with a focus on social processes. This combination is illustrated by the theoretical method he has called E-state Structuralism (where E stands for Expectations) with work on this done with former student John Skvoretz. He often employs the axiomatic method in such work, as in the 2003 monograph with his student Kenji Kosaka that sets out a formal theory of how images of stratification are generated.

In his expository work, he has attempted to move the field of sociology closer to a conception of theorizing that is more formal, as in his 1973 book Mathematical Sociology and in various papers and edited books, including the 1984 volume Mathematical Ideas and Sociological Theory.

One of his objectives has been to articulate a coherent vision of the core of sociological theory: its philosophy, its key theoretical problems, and its methods, especially those employing formal representation. This objective is represented in his 1989 book, The Meaning of General Theoretical Sociology: Tradition and Formalization. The general vision that informs his theoretical work is "the spirit of unification," a theme that is set out in Social Action Systems: Foundation and Synthesis in Sociological Theory, a 2001 book that analyzes key theories from the standpoint of the aspiration of synthesis, moving toward more comprehensive theories of social life.

elected Works

*"A Study of a Biased Friendship Net" (with M. Sunshine).(1964)
*"Mathematical Sociology." (1973)
*"Mathematical Ideas and Sociological Theory" (ed.) (1984)
*"The Meaning of General Theoretical Sociology: Tradition and Formalization." (1989)
*"Rational Choice Theory: Advocacy and Critique" (ed. with J. S. Coleman). {1992)
*"The Problem of Solidarity: Theory and Models" (ed. with P. Doreian) (1998)
*"Social Action Systems: Foundation and Synthesis in Sociological Theory." (2001)
*"Generating Images of Stratification: A Formal Theory." (with K. Kosaka) (2003)
*"Purpose, Meaning and Action: Control System Theories in Sociology." (ed. with K. McClelland) (2006)

References

* [http://www.bsos.umd.edu/socy/meeker/TheMathematicalSociologistSu04%20.pdf PDF] , The Mathematical Sociologist, Newsletter of the Mathematical Sociology, Section of the American Sociological Association, Summer Supplement 2004 - mentions Thomas Fararo being awarded the DCA

External links

* [http://www.pitt.edu/~socdept/faculty/fararo.html UP webpage] , has a link to a CV
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~socdept/files/newsletter2006.pdf PDF] . Pittt Sociology News #11, Spring Term, 2006 has an extensive bio of Thomas Fararo