An analysis of selected sociological writings of Robert Ezra Park

174 Pages·06.831 MB·English

by  Horwitz, James

AN ANALYSIS OP SELECTED SOCIOLOGICAL WHITINGS OP
ROBERT EZRA PARK
A Thesis
Presented to the
Faculty of the Department of Sociology
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
by
James Horwitz
June 1950
UMI Number: EP65682
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This thesis, written by
JAMES HORWITZ
under the guidance of h5,JS.... Faculty Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been
presented to and accepted by the Council on
Graduate Study and Research in partial fulfill­
ment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
Faculty Committee
/ ChairmatvV j
TABLE OP CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION........... 1
The s t u d y .................................... 1
Statement of the problem.................... 1
Importance of the s t u d y .................. 2
Methodology .................................. 4
Sources of data and method ofp rocedure . . 4
Organization of thesis . ... ................ 6
Statement of limitations ................... 7
II. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES............................ 9
yPark’s early academic preparation in
philosophy........................... * . . 9
U'His career in journalism and its relation
to his later work as a sociologist . . . . 11
His entrance into the field ofs ociology . . 13
£/The social significance of his academic
and vocational pursuits in the develop­
ment of his sociology................. 18
III. v MAJOR FIELDS OF INTEREST................ 28
The newspaper....................... 28
The urban community............... . 44
Americanization ......................... 58
Collective behavior . ................. 75
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
Raee relations............................ 87
IV. SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS. . . . . ............. 100
The social processes ............ 100
Communication .............................. 101
Competition................................ 105
Conflict ................. 107
Accommodation ................. Ill
Assimilation ................................ 114
V. SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS, CONTINUED ............ 117
The ecological processes............ 117
Position.................................... 120
f
^ Isolation • ............. 122
Dominance.................................. 125
, Locomotion........................... 127
ii
|
^ Succession.................................. 130
VI. ADDITIONAL CONCEPTS .......................... 133
The individual and the p e r s o n .......... . 133
Social distance ................... 137
/
VII. INDICATIONS OF THE INFLUENCE OF PARK . . . . . 145
tfTII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS..................... 156
S u m m a r y .................................... 156
Conclusions................................ 159
BIBLIOGRAPHY................... 160
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Robert Park will be remembered in history as one of
the great American Sociologists. Largely through his efforts
sociology progressed from social philosophy to an inductive
science. Since the work of Professor Park is conveniently
dated as beginning with World War I and ending with World
War II, the present time--shortly after the end of World War
II--is an appropriate one for which to make an analysis of
his work.
I. THE STUDY
Statement of the problem. The purpose of this study
has been to review selected sociological writings of Robert
Park, noting original thought where such original thought has
occurred, calling attention to particular ideas deemed im­
portant by authorities in the field of sociology, comparing
his writing with the work of others in the sociological lit­
erature, and indicating specific contributions Park has made
to sociology. Since Park's writing is more impressive for
its quality than for its bulk, it has also been the aim of
this study to give mention to written works in which Park
has been influential. Much of the written work of Park has
2
been projected in collaboration with colleagues. One of
the aims of this study, therefore, has been to isolate, as
far as possible, the specific work of Park; in such cases
in which such isolation is not possible, to credit all
authors equally. Finally, it has been the purpose of this
study to discuss selected sociological concepts of Park and
their significance for sociology.
Importance of the study. According to Ellsworth
Faris, a partial list of the fields in which Park has made
significant contributions would include: social psychology
and the theory of personality; studies on the community; the
city; human ecology; the newspaper as an institution; the
social survey as an institution; crowd and public— the field
of collective behavior; and ohiefest of all, race relations
and the conflicts of cultures*
Parkfs rise in the academic world was phenomenal,
and within eleven years after his formal entry into sociology,
he was elected president of the American Sociological Society.
Faris reports, "He (Park) held it better to induce ten men
to write ten books than to take time off to write one him­
self."1 It is true that Park did not write much during his
^ Ellsworth Faris,. "Robert E. Park, 1864-1944,"
American Sociological Review, 9:323> June, 1944.
3
thirty years in sociology. His close associate., Ernest
Burgess, says, "More significant than his (Park's) writings
were his two other contributions to sociology, namely, the
charting of new fields of study and the impress of his re-
search zeal and method upon his students." A list of the
names of those in sociology who, at some time or other,
came under the influence of Dr. Park, reads like a "Who's
Who" in the field of sociology. Included in the list,
compiled by Charles Johnson, are the names of Reuter, Fra­
zier, K. Young, Wirth, Thompson, Doyle, Bogardus, Stonequist,
Pierson, Detweiler, and others. The text Park wrote in
collaboration with Burgess, Introduction to the Science of
Sociology,^ has commanded wide attention wherever people
have read it. Park has written authoritatively for the many
sociological journals and his work has been regarded as such
by professors of sociology. The name of Park has been ac­
corded acclaim and recognition. Ample reason exists for
Burgess calling him "one of the great American sociologists."5
^ Ernest W. Burgess, "The Contribution of Robert E.
Park to Sociology," Sociology and Social Research, 29*261,
March-April, 19^5*
3 Charles Johnson, "Robert E. Park: In Memorium,"
Sociology and Social Research, 28:35^ May-June, 19^4.
^ Robert E. Park, and Ernest W. Burgess, Introduction
to the Science of Sociology (Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 1921).
5 Burgess, op. cit., p. 261.
4
II. METHODOLOGY
Sources of data and method of procedure. As yet a
limited amount of subject matter has been penned concern­
ing the life of Robert Park, including a handful of articles
appearing in the sociological periodicals shortly after the
time of his death in February, 1944. These were written,
for the most part, in*tribute to Park, and calling attention
to the fact that a great loss was incurred in his passing.
The New York Times, in its issue of February 8, 1944, in­
cluded a short summary of his life.^ These articles have
been incorporated into the study.
The thesis is based upon library research, and the
writer has freely availed himself of the materials found in
the Los Angeles Public Library and the Doheny Memorial Lib­
rary of the University of Southern California. The writer
has had verbal contact with many former students of Professor
Park. However, all the material used for the purpose of the
study has been from published sources only. The sources
consulted have been, in the main, the sociological journals,
the published proceedings of the American Sociological Society,
and books, which have either been written or edited by Park,
or which have been written as a result of his influence.
Obituary in the New York Times, February 8, 1944.
5
Much of the material used in the section of the thesis deal­
ing with Americanization came from Park’s book The Immigrant
Press and Its Control,? and the book Old World Traits Trans­
planted,® which was written by Park in collaboration with
Herbert A. Miller. Similarly, much of the information on
urbanization was gained from The City by Park, Burgess, and
others.9 The source for the material on the social processes
and the sociological concepts has been, for the most part,
the text by Park and Burgess, Introduction to the Science of
Sociology.
Many sociologists have, at one time or another, refer­
red to Park in their writings, or have included sections in
their books on Park. Bogardus has included a chapter on
11
Park in his Development of Social Thought. Burgess, in
editing The Urban Community, saw fit to include a chapter
? Robert E. Park, The Immigrant Press and Its Control
(New York: Harper and Brothers^ 1922)•
® Robert E. Park, and Herbert A. Miller, Old World
Traits Transplanted (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1921).
^ Robert E. Park, Ernest W. Burgess., and others,
The City (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1925).
10 Robert E. Park, and Ernest W. Burgess, Introduction
to the Science of Sociology (Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 1921).
Emory S. Bogardus, The'Development of Social Thought
(Neft York:' Longman’s, Green and Company, 19WJ.