George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) is a central, founding figure of modern sociology, comparable to Karl Marx and Max Weber. Mead's early work, prior to his posthumous publications that appeared after 1932, is believed to be a series of articles contemporary scholarship defines as disconnected. A previously unknown, never published set of galleys for a book of essays by Mead, written between 1892 and 1910, unites these articles into a logical perspective. Essays on Social Psychology, Mead's "first" book, clearly locates him within a significantly different tradition and network than documented in his posthumous volumes. The discovery of this work is a major scholarly event. Instead of being abstract and unemotional, as some scholars argue, Mead's early scholarship focused on the significance of emotions, instincts, and childhood as well as political issues underlying political problems in Chicago. During these early years, he was involved with the emerging Laboratory Schools at the University of Chicago which was then the center of progressive education. These early topics, interpretations, and scholarly networks are dramatically different in these writings from those of Mead as a mature scholar. They demonstrate that he was clearly making a transition from psychology to social psychology at a time when the latter was in its infancy. Mary Jo Deegan, a world-renowned Meadian scholar, has comprehensively edited this volume, footnoting now obscure references and authors. Her introduction explains how this previously lost manuscript affects contemporary Meadian scholarship and how it reflects the city and times in which he lived. Unlike the posthumous volumes, assembled from lecture notes, Essays in Social Psychology is the only book actually written by Mead and challenges most current scholarship on him. The selections are highly readable, surprisingly timely yet historically significant. Psychologists, sociologists, and educators will find it immensely important. George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) taught at the University of Chicago from 1894 to 1931. His posthumous volumes are The Philosophy of the Present, Mind, Self, and Society, and The Philosophy of the Act. Mary Jo Deegan is professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She is the author of Jane Addams and the Men of the Chicago School, 1892-1918, named by Choice as among the outstanding academic books of 1989.
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"Deegan should be lauded for bringing this material to light and framing it in a manner that is helpful for the seasoned Meadian scholar and the uninitiated alike." -- Contemporary Sociology
About the Author
George H. Mead (1863-1931) taught at the University of Chicago from 1894 to 1931. His posthumous volumes are The Philosophy of the Present, Mind, Self, and Society, and The Philosophy of the Act.
Mary Jo Deegan is professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln where she specialies in the areas of the history of sociology, social thought, gender, race, and disability. She is the author of Jane Addams and the Men of the Chicago School, editor of George H. Mead’s Essays in Social Psychology, and co-editor (with Ana-Maria Wahl) of Ellen Gates Starr’s On Art, Labor, and Religion. In addition, her writings have appeared in numerous professional journals, including Contemporary Sociology, American Sociologist, and Sociological Origins.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Useful complementary reading,
By Filipe Carreira da Silva (Lisbon, Portugal) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Essays on Social Psychology (Hardcover)
For anyone interested in G. H. Mead's work, this volume is certainly of great interest. The editor, Mary Jo Deegan, is a reputed Mead scholar even if I would not subscribe to all her theses. A case in point is Deegan's claim that Mead had "intended his brilliant, early essays to be published as a book. This dream never materialized, and the course of his career and ideas were dramatically reshaped as a result" (Introd., p. xliii). This is not true. Even if the history behind Mead's decision not to go ahead with the publication of this selection of essays in 1911/2 is not completely clear, one thing is for sure: it was Mead's decision not to publish it. A reasonable explanation for this is the profound change in Mead's ideas at this time, from his early functionalism (exemplified by the essays included in this volume) to a sort of social functionalism, closer to his mature positions (as found in the 1928 lecture transcripts that gave origin to the famous "Mind, Self and Society"). Anyway, this is just a minor issue between two Mead scholars; as I said in the beggining, this is a crucial publication for anyone interested in one of America's most misunderstood thinkers.
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