Charles P. Loomis

Charles Price Loomis (1905 – 1995) was a sociologist, educator, author, and translator noted for his contributions to rural sociology. He worked across the United States as well as Germany and Costa Rica.[1] Loomis′ international research concentrated on rural development and social change. He developed a global experience as a comparative sociologist. In rural sociology, his basic and applied research explored the fabric of rural life. His first efforts explored such topics as rural migration, the rise and decline of farmers’ unions, comparative research on rural America and Germany. He developed some of the first applications of sociometrics to the study of rural communities.

Charles P. Loomis
Born(1905-10-26)October 26, 1905
Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.
DiedJuly 6, 1995(1995-07-06) (aged 89)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupationsociologist, educator, author
Known forInternational research on rural development and social change.
Title57th President of the American Sociological Association
Spouse(s)Zona K. Loomis
Children
  • Vera Loomis
  • Elizabeth "Betsy" Loomis
  • Laura Gonzalez
Parent(s)
  • George Foote Loomis
  • Sarah Price Loomis

In his career, he worked with over fifty international, national, state, and local agencies and many businesses, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and farmers’ associations and unions. He published 123 works in 483 publications in 3 languages[2] including Modern Social Theories: Selected American Writers,[3] Social Systems: Essays on Their Persistence and Change,[4] Rural Sociology: The Strategy of Change,[5] and a translation of Ferdinand Tönnies′s Community & Society (Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft).[6]

Early life

Charles Price Loomis was born in Broomfield, Colorado, to George Foote Loomis and Sarah Price Loomis. In his teens, the Price family moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico.[7]

Education

Loomis attended New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now New Mexico State University.[1] While attending, Loomis was noted for participating in football, lettering in track, editing the school newspaper, playing in the band, and teaching agriculture classes and coaching during his final semester. He was salutatorian of his graduating class and received his B.S. in 1928.[7] He continued his education at North Carolina State University where he earned his masters in Sociology and Economics in 1929. His thesis was entitled "History of the North Carolina Farmers′ Union." After receiving his degree, he remained at North Carolina State College serving as a research fellow in 1929 and an instructor of sociology from 1930 to 1931. Loomis completed his studies at Harvard University where he earned a Ph.D. in Sociology and Economics in 1933. His dissertation was titled "Family Composition and Socio-Economic Activities of the White Farmers in Wake County, North Carolina." During his final years of study, Loomis was a research fellow (1932) and an assistant professor and tutor in sociology (1933).[1] From 1933–1934, he studied on a Social Science Research Council fellowship at the universities of Heidelberg University and Königsberg University in Germany. He later completed postdoc work at the University of Mexico in 1942.

Personal life

Loomis married Zona K. Loomis. They had three daughters: Vera and Elizabeth (Betsy) Loomis and Laura Gonzalez.[1] The Loomis′s collaborated on numerous works throughout his career and dedicated their work Social Theories: Selected American Authors to their daughters.[8]

Career

Loomis′ career began as an Agricultural Economist and Social Scientist for the USDA in the Division of Farm Population and Rural Life. He worked in that position from 1935 to 1942. He took leave from the USDA in 1941 and 1942 to serve as a visiting lecturer at Harvard University. On his return to the USDA in 1943, he was named Head of the Division Extension and Training in the Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations.[9]

In 1944, Loomis left Washington, DC, area upon accepting a position as the head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Michigan State University, a position he held until 1957. In 1957, he became a Research Professor in the Department of Sociology at Michigan State University, a position he held until 1971. In 1971, he retired to Professor Emeritus status with Michigan State, and moved to Houston to serve as a Professor of Sociology at the University of Houston from 1971 to 1979.[9]

During these various appointments, he also was a Senior Social Scientist in the USDA Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations in Costa Rica, a consultant for the Ford Foundation in India, and a Fulbright Research Scholar in Germany and Israel.[1]

Contributions to Sociology

Loomis′ international research concentrated on rural development and social change. He developed a global experience as a comparative sociologist. In Tanzania, Iran, and India, he focused on functional literacy. In India he also studied urban growth. In Iran, he also studied governmental agencies. In Mexico, his work focused on the evaluation of education programs. In rural Peru, he studied the role of extension in producing change. One of his most influential studies on rural development was his examination of Costa Rica which led to the publication of Turrialba: Social Systems and the Introduction of Change. This book was one of the first research essays on what would soon become known as modernization theory and diffusion of innovations.[10]

His interest in putting sociology into practice and using sociology to produce social change led him to engage in a series of applied sociological and public policy activities that were pioneering for the profession of sociology. He worked on studying community relations and hospitals for the U.S. Public Health Service. He served on the President’s Commission of Health Needs and the Nation in 1950. He was on the Advisory Board for agriculture in the Organization of American States. He was on the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of Germany. He also assisted the United Nations on its Inter-Governmental Committee on Refugees. In his career, he worked with over fifty international, national, state, and local agencies and many businesses, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and farmers’ associations and unions.

Contributions to Rural Sociology

In rural sociology, his basic and applied research explored the fabric of rural life. His first efforts explored such topics as rural migration, the rise and decline of farmers’ unions, comparative research on rural America and Germany. He developed some of the first applications of sociometrics to the study of rural communities. As a result of his early life experiences, his interests in Latin and Central America and the U.S. Southwest grew. He studied the Mexican cowboy, wartime migration in Latino communities in New Mexico, extension and rural development in Peru, health associations in Costa Rica, Peru, and New Mexico. His work on rural development led him to explore the intersections of class and ethnicity in rural development in India, Bangladesh, Canada, and Mexico.[1]

Theoretical Work

In the latter part of his career, he turned his attention increasingly to theory. From a Weberian perspective, he examined the relation of religion in India to the process of social and economic change. He began to study the works of Marx and its application to developing countries. His work, Marxist Theory and Indian Communism,[11] is an example of this effort. He also translated another of Tönnies’ works: Karl Marx: His Life and Teachings.[12] He critically appraised Parsons' theory of change. He revisited his classical work on social systems from a general theoretical position to its specific application to rural social structures.[1]

References
  1. Vanderpool, Christopher K.; Beegle, Allan (September–October 1995). "Charles P. Loomis" (PDF). Footnotes. USA. 23 (7): 22. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  2. "Loomis, Charles P. (Charles Price) 1905-1995". WorldCat Identities. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  3. Loomis, Charles P. (1965). Modern Social Theories: Selected American Writers.
  4. Loomis, Charles P. (1960). Social Systems: Essays on Their Persistence and Change.
  5. Loomis, Charles P. (1957). Rural Sociology: The Strategy of Change.
  6. Ferdinand Tönnies: Fundamental Concepts of Sociology, translated and edited by Charles Price Loomis, American Book Company, New York 1940. In 1955, the title was changed to Community and Association. In the 1957 edition, the book is finally called Community & Society.
  7. "Charles P. Loomis papers". New Mexico Archives Online. ArchivesSpace. 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  8. Loomis, Charles P.; Loomis, Zona K. (1961). Social Theories: Selected American Authors. Princetown, New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand Co.
  9. "Charles Price Loomis". America Sociological Association. America Sociological Association. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  10. Loomis, Charles Price; Morales, Julio O.; Clifford, Roy A.; Leonard, Olen E. (1953). Turrialba: Social Systems and the Introduction of Change. Free Press.
  11. Loomis, Charles Price; Rytina, Joan (1970). Marxist Theory and Indian Communism. Michigan State University Press.
  12. Karl Marx: His Life and Teachings, translated and edited by Charles Price Loomis 1974
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.