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W. I. Thomas

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W. I. Thomas

$merican socioloist and educator 

Born

William Isaac Thomas

%& $uust %'&

Russell ounty, *irinia, #nited +tates

Died -ecem"er %/0 (aed '/)

1erkeley, alifornia

Nationality $merican

Fields +ocioloy

Institutions

#niversity of Tennessee, 2"erlin

ollee, #niversity of hicao

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Alma mater#niversity of Tennessee, #niversity of

hicao

Doctoral advisor $l"ion W. +mall and harles $.3enderson

Known for Thomas theorem

Influences 4a"riel Tarde

Influenced 3er"ert 1lumer 

Notable awards3ihest oratory honors of the #niversity

of Tennessee

William Isaac Thomas (%& $uust %'& 5 -ecem"er %/0) 6as an $mericansocioloist. Workin 6ith !olish socioloist Florian 7naniecki, W.I. Thomas developedinnovative 6ork on the socioloy of miration. Thomas then 6ent on to formulate afundamental principle of socioloy, kno6n as the Thomas theorem. Throuh histheorem, Thomas contended that, 8If men define situations as real, they are real in theirconse9uences8. %;

Contents

 hide;

• % 1ioraphy

• < ontri"ution to social research and miration studies

• & The !olish !easant in =urope and $merica

• / The 8+candal of %%'8

• >ater years

• ?uotes

• 0 Works

• ' References

• Further readin

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• %@ =Aternal links

Biora!hy"edit#

Thomas 6as "orn in Russell ounty, *irinia on %& $uust %'&, to his mother +arah!rice Thomas and his father Thaddeus !eter Thomas, a <;  Bethodist minister of!ennsylvania -utch descent. 3is family moved to CnoAville, home of the #niversity ofTennessee, 6hen he 6as a "oy, "ecause his father 6anted to improve the educationalopportunities of his children.

From %''@, Thomas studied literature and classics at the #niversity of Tennessee, 6herehe o"tained a 1.$. deree in %''/ and "ecame $dDunct !rofessor in =nlish andBodern >anuaes. While at CnoAville, Thomas also tauht courses in 4reek , >atin,French, 4erman, and, interestinly, natural history. $t the same time, he developed aninterest in ethnoloy and social science after readin 3er"ert +pencer Es Principles of

Sociology.

In %''', Thomas married the first of his t6o 6ives, 3arriet !ark. -urin %'''%'', heattended the 4erman universities of 1erlin and 4Gttinen to pursue studies of classicand modern lanuaes. -urin his time in 4ermany, he also furthered his interest inethnoloy and socioloy under the influence of 4erman scholars such as WilhelmWundt.

#pon his return to the #nited +tates in %'', Thomas tauht at 2"erlin ollee in2"erlin, 2hio from %'' to %' as a professor of =nlish and then socioloy.&;

In %'/, Thomas 6as invited to teach a class in socioloy at the #niversity of hicao.The neAt year, he relocated to the #niversity of hicao permanently in order to pursueraduate studies in socioloy and anthropoloy in the universityEs ne6 department ofsocioloy, 6here he finished his !h.-. thesis, On a Difference in the Metabolism of the

Sexes, in %'. $fter that, he returned to =urope to conduct field studies in variousethnic and cultural pro"lems in preparation for the 6ritin of a comparative 6ork on=uropean nationalities that he never completed.

For nearly the neAt < years, Thomas tauht socioloy and anthropoloy at the#niversity of hicao, "ecomin instructor in %', assistant professor in %',associate professor in %@@, and professor in %%@. From %' until %%0, he also coHedited the $merican Journal of +ocioloy.

%@0 sa6 the pu"lication of ThomasEs first maDor 6ork, Sex and Society. -espite a "ioloical "ias that 6ould no6adays "e considered seAist "y many (8$nthropoloists ...reard 6omen as intermediate "et6een the child and the man8), the "ook 6as

 proressive for its time. In 8+eA and +ociety8, Thomas speculated that 6omenEs intellectmiht actually "e superior to menEs 8due to their superior cunnin8 and 8superiorendurance8.

In %<0, Thomas 6as elected president of the $merican +ocioloical +ociety. 3e

 "eloned to a roup often referred to as the earlier psycholoical school of socioloists

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alon 6ith Franklin 3enry 4iddins, =.$. Ross, harles ooley, and =lls6orth Faris.Thomas never pu"lished any material on the su"Dect, "ut did use it as lecture material.<;

When discussin his interests, Thomas 6rites 8The sociopsycholoical aspects ofculture history, or other6ise stated, social psycholoy as eAamined in relation to races,

nationalities, classes, interest roups, etc., in different cultural situations and historicalepochs and second, personality development in normal, criminal and psychopathicindividuals in relation to cultural situations and particular trains of eAperience as seenthrouh their lifeHhistories, 6hich may "e in the form of auto"ioraphies, case studies,continuous and oranied interHvie6s, etc. (I do not say KpsychoanalysisE "ecause of themeanin 6hich this term has ac9uired).8 Furthermore, 6hen eAplainin a"outsocioloists 6hom influenced him, Thomas 6rites 8I do not feel that I have "een reatlyinfluenced "y any of my teachers of socioloy. By interests, as I have indicated, 6ere inthe marinal fields and not in socioloy as it 6as oranied and tauht at that time, thatis, the historical and methodoloical approach of !rofessor +mall and the remedial andcorrectional interests of !rofessor 3enderson.8<" %;

%. $um! u! % !illiam "saac #homas $ %merican Sociological %ssociation$

Contribution to social research and miration

studies"edit#

In %@', Thomas received a su"stantial rant from 3elen ulver  throuh the 3elenulver Fund for Race !sycholoy. The rant 6as to "e used to finance research on thelife and culture of immirants for ten years. #ntil %%', Thomas utilied the rant toundertake several Dourneys to =urope in order to study the "ackround of =ast =uropeanimmirant roups. Initially plannin to study several nationalities, he narro6ed his topicdo6n to immirants from !oland, 6ho formed the larest and most visi"le ethniccommunity in hicao. For this purpose Thomas studied the !olish lanuae,intervie6ed mem"ers of hicaoEs !olish community, and made field trips to !oland.

onsidered a pioneer of the "ioraphical approach in social research and mirationstudies, Thomas employed methods of field o"servation that ethnoraphers haddeveloped previously to study nonHliterate societies. $ccordin to an anecdote told "yThomas himself, it 6as an accident that inspired him to use personal 6ritten material as

 primary ethnoraphic sources and to develop the "ioraphical approach to socioloy

that 6ould make his lastin reputation in the field. $ccordin to ThomasE anecdote,6hile he 6as 6alkin do6n a street near his home, Thomas 6as nearly hit "y a ar"ae "a that had "een thro6n out of a 6indo6. The "a "urst open on the side6alk. Then,Thomas discovered a letter in it that had "een 6ritten "y a !olish immirant.

3e spent the neAt several years collectin oral and 6ritten reports from hicaoEs !olishcommunity as 6ell as from !oles in their native land. Thomas utilied ne6spaperreports, archives of oraniations, personal letters, and diaries, 6hich he ac9uired "y

 placin advertisements in hicaoEs !olishHlanuae press, offerin, for eAample, %@ or<@ cents for each mailed letter collected from !oland.

Further, Thomas introduced the important concept of the Edefinition of the situationE,6hich 6as later referred to as the Thomas theorem. $n eAample of this maDor

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contri"ution is if James is convinced that 4eore hates him then he 6ill act to6ards4eore in a 6ay that 6ill sour their relationship, reardless if 4eoreEs hatred is real orimained. What really counts is the 6ay the actor defines the meanin of the sym"ol,not 6hat the sym"ol may mean to the socioloist investiatin the actorEs actions.& %;

%. $um! u! %  Mann& Do'glas (200)$ % S'rey of Modern Social #heory$ *anada+Oxford ,niersity Press$ pp$ 11-12$ "S./  01342142$

The &olish &easant in 'uro!e and America"edit#

In %%& on one of his Dourneys to !oland, Thomas met the !olish socioloist FlorianWitold 7naniecki, 6ho at that time 6as editin the Dournal !ychodca pols5i (8The!olish =mirant8) and directin an oraniation representin !olish emirants inWarsa6. 7naniecki assisted Thomas in his studies of oranisations, 6hich proved to "ea valua"le resource. When World War I  "roke out the follo6in year, 7naniecki himselfleft !oland, 6hich had "een partitioned "et6een three of the 6arrin parties and no6

 "ecame a theatre of 6ar. 7nanieck decided to travel to hicao and met 6ith Thomas.Whether Thomas had formally invited 7naniecki or not remains unclear. In all events,Thomas immediately employed 7naniecki as his research assistant. 7nanieckieventually "ecame ThomasEs coHauthor on their monumental 6ork  #he Polish Peasant

in 6'rope and %merica (%%'5%%),/; 6hich >e6is oser  called 8the earliest maDorlandmark of $merican socioloical research8. In it, Thomas and 7naniecki used a

 "ioraphical approach to understandin culture in eneral. Furthermore, Thomas and7nanieckiEs 6ork developed an approach to understandin ethnicity in particular, 6hichin many respects 6as ahead of its time and is currently "ein rediscovered in the conteAtof transnational studies in miration.

The ()candal of *+*,("edit#

In spite of, or "ecause of, the prominence ained throuh #he Polish Peasant , ThomasEsreputation, "oth academic and nonHacademic, proved precarious. For a num"er ofreasons, he 6as su"Dect to critical attention from the conservative hicaoesta"lishment.; First, he 6as kno6n for leftH6in political opinions on the etioloy ofcrime.citation needed ; +tudyin the pro"lem of delin9uency in hicaoEs !olish immirantcommunity, he adopted a pramatic attitude to the pro"lem rather than a moral one.citation

needed ; +econd, some of his research on topics, such as seAual "ehavior , 6as consideredcontroversial. Let, Thomas continued to "e outspoken a"out his research and relatedtopics. Thus, he 6as re9uired "y the university to issue clarifyin statements andapoloies to the press on at least one occasion.;; Third, he led a 8 "ohemian8 life.; 3islifestyle did not conform 6ith the contemporary imae of a respecta"le professor andmade him controversial amon his colleaues.;

In %%', the F1I arrested Thomas under the Bann $ct, 6hich prohi"its 8interstatetransport of females for immoral purposes8, 6hile in the company of one Brs. 4raner,the 6ife of an army officer 6ith the $merican forces in France.; It has "een suestedthat ThomasEs arrest 6as meant to discredit his 6ife, 6ho at the time 6as a pacifistactivist.;;0; $lthouh Thomas 6as ac9uitted of the chares in court, his career 6as

damaed irreversi"ly "y the neative pu"licity.;;0;

 The university, under conservative3arry !ratt Judson dismissed him 6ithout a6aitin the outcome of his trial and 6ith

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little protest from his colleaues.;; The #niversity of hicao !ress, 6hich already had pu"lished the first t6o volumes of #he Polish Peasant , 9uit its contract 6ith him, so thatthe 6orkEs remainin three volumes had to "e pu"lished in 1oston "y Richard 4.1ader.; The arneie orporation of Me6 Lork , 6hich had previously commissionedThomas to 6rite a volume for its 8$mericaniation8 series, refused to pu"lish it "y the

authorEs o6n name. Thus, in %<%, Old !orld #raits #ransplanted  appeared "y authorsRo"ert =. !ark  and 3er"ert $. Biller, 6ho had contri"uted only minor parts to the "ook.It 6as not until %% that the "ookEs authorship 6as reHcredited to Thomas "y acommittee of the +ocial +cience Research ouncil and reissued 6ith its authorEs actualname.;0;0;

-ater years"edit#

$fter the scandal, Thomas relocated to Me6 Lork . 3e never aain o"tained a tenured position. From %<& to %<', he lectured at the Me6 +chool for +ocial Research, a

 proressive "ut marinally influential academic institution at that time. Thorstein*e"len, 6ho had coHfounded the school in %%, had fallen from academic race forsimilar reasons, and the school 6as therefore sympathetic to ThomasE pliht. Thomascontinued his research thanks to the support of philanthropists and institutions.

2ne of ThomasE reatest contri"utions to the study of socioloy 6as presented in hishihly acclaimed 6ork, #he ,nad7'sted 8irl  (%<&).'; It is in #he ,nad7'sted 8irl , thatThomas introduced and developed the influential concept of the 8definition of thesituation8.'; $ccordin to ThomasE 8definition of the situation8, prior to makin adecision, people 8enerally eAamine and deli"erate a"out occurrences "efore actin8.'; $lon 6ith the ideas of 4eore 3er"ert Bead, ThomasEs concept of the 8definition of

the situation8 later proved to "e an important part of the re"ellion of sym"olicinteractionism aainst structural functionalism.

In %<0, thanks to the support of a youner eneration of scholars and aainstopposition from the esta"lishment, Thomas 6as made honorary president of the$merican +ocioloical +ociety .

ThomasE %<' "ook, #he *hild in %merica, coHauthored 6ith his research assistant-orothy +6aine Thomas, includes the sentence that has "ecome a fundamental la6 ofsocioloy. Reconied as the Thomas theorem, the sentence reads, 8If men definesituations as real, they are real in their conse9uences8 (Thomas N Thomas, %<',

 p. 0<).

In %&, after his divorce from 3arriet !ark, Thomas married -orothy +6aine Thomas,& years his Dunior.

In %&, !itirim $. +orokin, chairman of the socioloy department at 3arvard#niversity, invited Thomas to "ecome a visitin lecturer. Thomas accepted theinvitation and remained in 3arvard until %&0.&;

$fter leavin 3arvard, Thomas radually 6ithdre6 into retirement. Thomas spent histime in Me6 Lork ity, Me6 3aven, and 1erkeley, alifornia, 6here he died on -ecem"er %/0.

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uotes"edit#

• 8It is not important 6hether or not the interpretation is correct O if men definesituations as real, they are real in their conse9uences.8 O the Thomas theorem.

• 8If people vie6 some"ody as reat, then he is.8 O another, more specific versionof the Thomas theorem.

Wor/s"edit#

• %@& (as editor): Minnesota stories+ % collection of t9enty stories of college life$ ollected and arraned "y harles Flint, Bclumpha and W.I. Thomas.Binneapolis, Binn.: Wilson.

•

%@&: #he relation of the medicineman to the origin of the professionalocc'pations$ hicao, Ill.: #niversity of hicao !ress.

• %@0: Sex and society+ St'dies in the social psychology of sex$ hicao, Ill.,>ondon: #niversity of hicao !ress #n6in.

• %@: (as editor): So'rce boo5 for social origins$ 6thnological materials&

 psychological standpoint& classified and annotated bibliographies for the

interpretation of saage society$ hicao, Ill., >ondon: #niversity of hicao!ress #n6in %@.

• %%0: (6ith 3er"ert +. Jennins, John 1. Watson, and $dolf Beyer):S'ggestions of modern science concerning ed'cation. Me6 Lork, M.L.:Bacmillan (includes ThomasEs essay 8The persistence of primaryHroup normsin presentHday society: Their influence in our educational system8).

• %%'H%<@ (6ith Florian W. 7naniecki): #he Polish peasant in 6'rope and

 %merica$ Monograph of an immigrant gro'p$ complete vol online free

•

o %%': :ol'me 1+ Primarygro'p organi;ation. hicao, Ill.: #niversityof hicao !ress.

o %%': :ol'me 2+ Primarygro'p organi;ation. hicao, Ill.: #niversityof hicao !ress.

o %%: :ol'me <+ =ife record of an immigrant . 1oston, Bass.: 1ader.

o %<@: :ol'me 4+ Disorgani;ation and reorgani;ation in Poland . 1oston,Bass.: 1ader.

o %<@: :ol'me 3+ Organi;ation and disorgani;ation in %merica. 1oston,Bass.: 1ader.

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• %<% (6ith Ro"ert =. !ark  and 3er"ert $. Biller  as main authors): Old 9orld

traits transplanted$ Me6 Lork, >ondon: 3arper. In the aftermath of the 8%%' +candal8,the "ook could not "e pu"lished under ThomasEs name, so his colla"orators !ark and Billerfeatured on the cover until a posthumous %% reHissue.

•

%<&: #he 'nad7'sted girl$ !ith cases and standpoint for behaior analysis.1oston, Bass.: >ittle, 1ro6n %<&

• %<': (6ith -orothy +6aine Thomas): #he child in %merica+ .ehaior problems

and programs. Me6 Lork: Cnopf.

• %&0: Primitie behaior+ %n introd'ction to the social sciences. Me6 Lork,>ondon: Bc4ra6H3ill

• %% (edited "y =dmund 3. *olkart): Social behaior and personality$

*ontrib'tions of !$"$ #homas to theory and social research$ Me6 Lork: +ocial+cience Research ouncil %%.

• %: (edited "y Borris Jano6it): !$"$ #homas on social organi;ation and

 social personality$ Selected papers$ 6dited and 9ith an introd'ction by Morris

 >ano9it;$ hicao, Ill., >ondon: #niversity of hicao !ress %

0eferences"edit#

%. $um! u! % Thomas, William I. Thomas, -orothy: The hild in $merica($lfred Cnopf, %<, <nd ed., p. 0<)

<. P Jump up to: a b  >ano9it;& Morris (1?)$ !$"$ #homas On Social Organi;ation

and Social Personality$ *hicago+ #he ,niersity of *hicago Press$ pp$ @"$ ite error:Invalid <ref> ta name 8References8 defined multiple times 6ith different content(see the help pae).

&. P Jump up to: a b +ica, $lan. <@@. 8W.I. Thomas8 !p./@H/%@ in 8+ocialThouht: From the =nlihtenment to the !resent8. 1oston, B$: !earson =ducation, Inc.

/. $um! u! % >emert, . <@%@. QWilliam I. Thomas and Florian 7naniecki (%%'H%<@). !p.<%H<0 in Q+ocial Theory: The Bulticultural and lassical Readins. /th

ed. 1oulder, 2: Westvie6 !ress.

. P Jump up to: a b c d  e  f   g  h  Martin .'lmer (13 %'g'st 1?)$ #he *hicago School

of Sociology+ "nstit'tionali;ation& Diersity& and the Aise of Sociological Aesearch$ 

,niersity of *hicago Press$ pp$ 3-?0$ "S./  022?00033$

. P Jump up to: a b c d  e  f   Aobert M$ *r'nden (14)$ Ministers of Aeform+ #he

 ProgressiesB %chieement in %merican *iili;ation& 1120$ ,niersity of "llinois

 Press$ p$ ?$ "S./  0232011?2$

0. P Jump up to: a b c d   Mary >o Deegan (1)$ >ane %ddams and the Men of the

*hicago School& 1211$ #ransaction P'blishers$ p$ 140$  "S./  14122?13$ ite error: Invalid <ref> ta name 8-eean%''8 defined multiple times 6ithdifferent content (see the help pae).

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'. P Jump up to: a b c +ands, Ro"erta 4. <@%/. QWilliam I. Thomas, The unadDustedirl. ?ualitative +ocial Work, %&:0<H0<'. Retrieved Movem"er <, <@%/(http:9s6.saepu".comcontent%&0<).

Further readin"edit#

• >e6is $. oser : Masters of Sociological #ho'ght+ "deas in Cistorical and

Social *ontext . Me6 Lork: 3arcourt, 1race and Jovanovich.

'1ternal lin/s"edit#

• Revie6 materials for studyin William Isaac Thomas

• Works "y W. I. Thomas at !roDect 4uten"er

• Works "y or a"out W. I. Thomas at Internet $rchive

• de:ThomasHTheorem 4erman We"site on 8ThomasHTheorem8 6ith eAamples for application N relevancy

• http:ia0@@<@/.us.archive.or%itemspolishpeasantine@%thomuoftpolishpeasantine@%thomuoft.pdf 

• http:vvvvvv.asanet.orimaesasadocspdf%<0S<@!residentialS<@$ddressS<@(WilliamS<@Thomas).pdf 

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