Howard S. Becker and visual sociology

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DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This group included Anselm Strauss, Erving Goffman, Blanche Geer, Elliot Friedson, Tamotsu Shibutani, and others. If you count from when sociology was established at the University of Chicago under Albion Small in 1892, then Becker’s is the fourth generation; or the third if you date its distinctive approach to empirical and ethnographic research to when Robert E. Park’s joined the department in 1915. Becker has a detailed discussion of the history and players in the Chicago School drama on his website (https://www.howardsbecker.com/articles/chicago.html).

2 Cf. Doug Harper’s (2023) personal portrait of Everett Hughes in Visual Studies, 38.3-4: 324–325.

3 Howie’s most well-known book is still Outsiders: studies in the sociology of deviance (1963).

4 Subsequent codifications of Grounded Theory include but are not limited to: Strauss and Corbin Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques (1990); Glaser Doing grounded theory – Issues and discussions (1998), and Charmaz Constructing grounded theory (2006). A very useful attempt to update and go beyond Grounded theory is Stefan Timmermans and Iddo Tavory’s Data Analysis and Qualitative Research (2022).

5 Other Chicago Students may have written their own books devoted to developing theory. Tamotsu Shibutani’s Social Processes: An Introduction to Sociology (1986) is one that comes readily to mind.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Grady

John Grady is Professor of Sociology, Emeritus at Wheaton College (MA). He is currently a co-editor of Visual Studies.