Glenn Jacobs

Influence and canonical supremacy: An analysis of how George Herbert Mead demoted Charles Horton Cooley in the sociological canon

This analysis assesses the factors underlying Charles Horton Cooleys place in the sociological canon as they relate to George Herbert Meads puzzling diatribe-echoed in secondary accounts-against Cooleys social psychology and view of the self published scarcely a year after his death. The illocutionary act of publishing his critique stands as an effort to project the image of Meads intellectual self and enhance his standing among sociologists within and outside the orbit of the University of Chicago. It expressed Meads ambivalence toward his precursor Cooley, whose influence he never fully acknowledged. In addition, it typifies the contending fractal distinctions of the scientifically discursive versus literary styles of Mead and Cooley, who both founded the interpretive sociological tradition. The contrasting styles and attitudes toward writing of the two figures are discussed, and their implications for the problems of scale that have stymied the symbolic interactionist tradition are explored.

History, Crisis, and Social Panic: Minority Resistance to Privatization of an Urban School System.

While privatization is not new on the American scene, privatized management of a complete urban public school system is. This article takes an in-depth look at the first such instance in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The citys history and that of its schools are examined to determine the context for privatization and its implications for citizen participation. It is seen that this context contains the ingredients of intergroup responses to loss of dominance and urban decline. From this standpoint, the coming of Boston University and the resistance offered by Chelseas Latinos to the takeover of the schools is examined. Finally, the implications of this case for minority politics and educational reform are analyzed.