Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

A Small Unassuming Man Walked Up To Me, Shook My Hand And Told Me, “I Really Enjoyed Your Paper”, David R. Dickens Jr.

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

Dr. David Dickens, Professor of Sociology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, wrote this memoir at the invitation of Dmitri Shalin and gave his approval for posting the present version in the Erving Goffman Archives.

2005- 2008 Unlv Mcnair Journal, Valerie Avery, Shana Bachus, Karmen K. Boehlke, Andrea Flores, Alden Kelly, Erick Lopez, Carol Preussler, Heather Shay, Ava Bookatz, Shaun Elsasser, Veronica Hicks, Shaida A. Jetha, Anthony Quinn, Thurithabhani Seneviratne, Teddy Boado Sim Jr., Liza Ward, Amris Henry-Rodgers, Jacquelynn Kaaa-Logan, Jason Orozco, Juan C. Plata, Bonnie Bartlett, Kathleen Bell, Vacheral M. Carter, Nydia Diaz, Kimberly Hackstock, Julio A. Luna, Charles Mao, Sandra Ramos, Precious Rideout, Benjamin Lee Watrous, Chet R. Whitley

McNair Journal

Journal articles based on research conducted by undergraduate students in the McNair Scholars Program

Table of Contents

Biography of Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Statements:

Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, UNLV President

Dr. Juanita P. Fain, Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. William W. Sullivan, Associate Vice President for Retention and Outreach

Mr. Keith Rogers, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach

McNair Scholars Institute Staff

Architectural Sociology And Post-Modern Architectural Forms, Ronald Smith, Valerie Bugni

Sociology Faculty Research

Architectural sociology examines how architectural forms are both the cause and effect of sociocultural phenomena. As illustration of both but especially the former relationship, we could examine the role of architecture in the creation of contemporary Las Vegas, a city that has experienced almost unparalleled growth in residents (1.4 mil.) and tourists (35 mil.annually) since 1990. We consider the postmodern characteristics of Las Vegas and architecture’s role in creating this image.

Cross-Sectional Study Of Strength In Sharing: Philanthropy In Girl Scouting, Juergen Barbusca

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

On the morning of September 11th, the world was witness to a tragedy that represented the very worst and the very best of what human beings are capable. Marked by heroic deeds with life-saving consequences, caring acts performed by complete strangers, and charitable giving carried out by a shocked but generous country, the events of September are prime exemplars of America's philanthropic tradition. For some, these humanitarian acts were instinctive, for others more purposeful and conscious, and for still others perhaps an appeal to duty. The response to the immediate and longer-term needs of the victims, their families and communities …

Critical Theory And The Pragmatist Challenge, Dmitri N. Shalin

Sociology Faculty Research

Habermas's theory breaks with the Continental tradition that has denigrated pragmatism as an Anglo-Saxon philosophy subservient to technocratic capitalism. While Habermas deftly uses pragmatist insights into communicative rationality and democratic ethos, he shows little sensitivity to other facets of pragmatism. This article argues that incorporating the pragmatist perspective on experience and indeterminacy brings a corrective to the emancipatory agenda championed by critical theorists. The pragmatist alternative to the theory of communicative action is presented, with the discussion centering around the following themes: disembodied reason versus embodied reasonableness, determinate being versus indeterminate reality, discursive truth versus pragmatic certainty, rational consensus versus …

G. H. Mead, Socialism, And The Progressive Agenda, Dmitri N. Shalin

Sociology Faculty Research

Mead is known today primarily for his original philosophy and social psychology. Much less familiar to us is Mead the reformer, a man who sought to balance political engagement with academic detachment and who established himself as an astute critic of contemporary American society. This paper examines Mead's political beliefs and his theory of the reform process. Drawing on little known sources and archival materials, it demonstrates that Mead shared socialism's humanitarian ends and that, following the dominant progressive ideology of his time, he sought to accomplish these ends by constitutional means. An argument is made that Mead's ideological commitments …

Romanticism And The Rise Of Sociological Hermeneutics, Dmitri N. Shalin

Sociology Faculty Research

Although biblical exegesis and rhetoric, from which modern hermeneutics derived its first principles, are ancient arts, an effort to establish hermeneutics as a universal science, and especially to extend its principles to the science of society, is of a decidedly recent origin. "There is little doubt," states Gouldner, "that hermeneutics' roots in the modern era are traceable to Romanticism." Why is this so, what makes romanticism fertile ground for hermeneutical speculations? Hans-Georg Gadamer, a leading authority on hermeneutics, makes this intriguing suggestion about its origins:

The hermeneutical problem only emerges clearly when there is no powerful tradition present to absorb …

Marxist Paradigm And Academic Freedom, Dmitri N. Shalin

Sociology Faculty Research

The Russian October Revolution dealt a devastating blow to Marxism from which Marxist sociology did not begin to recover until recently. Stalin's "contributions" to Marxist theory and practice had a particularly adverse effect on the fate of Marxism in the West. Whatever hopes were generated by the de-Stalinization campaign in the Soviet Union proved short-lived. By the time Soviet tanks entered Prague and Soviet authorities resumed show trials, few intellectuals in the capitalist West could speak of Soviet Marxism without acute resentment or at least tacit embarrassment.

In Mills's words, ". . . marxism-leninism has become an official rhetoric with …

The Genesis Of Social Interactionism And Differentiation Of Macro- And Microsociological Paradigms, Dmitri N. Shalin

Sociology Faculty Research

This paper presents an historical outlook on the macro-micro distinction in modern sociology. It links the genesis of social interactionism and microsociology to the rise of Romantic philosophy and attempts to elaborate methodological principles dividing macro- and microscopic perspectives in sociology. Six ideal-typical distinctions are considered: natural vs. social universality, emergent properties vs. emergent processes, morphological structuralism vs. genetical interactionism, choice among socially structured alternatives vs. structuring appearance into reality, structural vs. emergent directionality, operational vs. hermeneutical analysis. The complementarity of the languages of macro- and microsociological theories is advocated as a foundation for the further elaboration of conceptual links …