Stalking the Sociological Imagination: J. Edgar Hoover's FBI Surveillance of American Sociology

252 Pages·1999·7.191 MB·English

by  Mike Forrest Keen

jtalking the
Sociological
Imagination
J. EDGAR HOOVER'S
FBI
SURVEILLANCE
OF AMERICAN
SOCIOLOGY
Stalking the
Sociological
Imagination
J. EDGAR HOOVER'S
FBI SURVEILLANCE OF
AMERICAN SOCIOLOGY
MIKE FORREST KEEN
It is now common knowledge that the FBI and
its long-time director, J. Edgar Hoover, were
responsible for the creation of a massive internal
security apparatus that undermined the very
principles of freedom and democracy they were
sworn to protect. While no one was above
suspicion, Hoover appears to have held a
special disdain for sociologists and placed many
of American sociology’s most prominent figures
under surveillance. Using documents obtained
through the Freedom of Information Act, this
volume portrays the FBI’s stalking of the
sociological imagination, offering a detailed
account of its investigations within the context of
an overview of the history of American sociology.
This groundbreaking analysis of a previously
hidden chapter of American intellectual history
suggests that the activities of Hoover and the
FBI marginalized critical sociologists such as
W.E.B. Du Bois and C. Wright Mills, suppressed
the development of a Marxist tradition in
American sociology, and likely pushed the main¬
stream of the discipline away from a critique
of American society and towards a more quanti¬
tative and scientific direction. The author also
turns sociology back upon the FBI, using the
writings and ideas of the very sociologists
Hoover had under surveillance to examine and
explain the excesses of the Bureau and its boss.

STALKING
THE SOCIOLOGICAL
IMAGINATION
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STALKING
THE SOCIOLOGICAL
IMAGINATION
/. Edgar Hoover's FBI Surveillance
of American Sociology
Mike Forrest Keen
Contributions in Sociology, Number 126
Dan A. Chekki, Series Adviser
CRHENWOOI) PRESS
WnNt port, Connoi I lent * London
UN
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US
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Knnn, Mike Forrest.
Stalking the sociological imagination : J. Edgar Hoover's FBI
niii veil lance of American sociology / Mike Forrest Keen.
I> cm. — (Contributions in sociology, ISSN 0084-9278 ; no.
120)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-313-29813-0 (alk. paper)
I. Sociology—United States—History—20th century. 2. United
States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. I. Title. II. Series.
IIM22.U5K44 1999
301'.0973’0904—dc21 98-47819
lliilish Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 1999 by Mike Forrest Keen
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-47819
ISBN: 0-313-29813-0
ISSN: 0084-9278
First published in 1999
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies wiht the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 987654321
For Gabrielle
Where suspicion fills the air and holds scholars in line for
fear of their jobs, there can be no exercise of the free intel¬
lect. Supineness and dogmatism take the place of inquiry.
A ‘‘party line”—as dangerous as the “party line” of the
Communists—lays hold. It is the “party line” of the ortho¬
dox view, of the conventional thought, of the accepted
approach. ... A deadening dogma takes the place of free
inquiry. Instruction tends to become sterile; pursuit of
knowledge is discouraged; discussion often leaves off
where it should begin.
—Justice William O. Douglas
Adler v. Board of Education of New York, 1952
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
2 W.E.B. Du Bois: Sociologist beyond the Veil 11
3 Ernest W. Burgess: Security Matter-C 33
4 William Fielding Ogburn: Scientist, Statistician,
Schizophrene 55
5 Robert and Helen Lynd: From Middletown to Moronia 69
6 E. Franklin Frazier: Enfant Terrible 85
7 Pitirim A. Sorokin: Sociological Prophet in a Priestly Land 105
8 No One above Suspicion: Talcott Parsons under Surveillance 123
9 Testing a Concept: Herbert Blumer’s Loyalty 143
10 Samuel Stouffer: Patriot and Practitioner 155
11 Our Man in Havana: C. Wright Mills Talks, Yankee Listens 171
12 The Crimefighter and the Criminologist: The Case of
Edwin H. Sutherland and J. Edgar Hoover 187
13 Conclusion 203
Bibliography 211
Index 225