Howard S. Becker
Howard Saul Becker ( born April 18, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American sociologist and criminologist.
Life
Howard S. Becker in 1951 his doctorate at the University of Chicago in sociology. He has published in the field of youth sociology, the sociology of crime ( particularly for labeling approach), sociology of art, as well as qualitative methods of the subject. His book Outsiders is a classic of criminal sociology. As a major contribution to contemporary art, sociology applies his work type Worlds.
Crime Sociological Meaning
Becker applies in the sociology of crime or deviant behavior in sociology next to Edwin M. Lemert as classics of the labeling approach ( labeling approach). According to Becker create social groups deviant behavior in that they set up rules then becomes deviant behavior by the behavior. Famous and often quoted is his concise definition: Deviant behavior is behavior that people so call ( Original: deviant behavior is behavior did people so label).
Those who set the rules or enforce rules, called Becker Moral entrepreneurs, often translated in German criminology as moral entrepreneurs.
Outsiders first appeared in 1963 in New York and has been formulated on the conceptual basis of symbolic interactionism. This also means that it is not unilateral processes in labeling actions only as it is represented in the radicalized versions of the labeling approach (especially with Fritz Sack ), whereas Becker and Lemert particularly expressed reservations.
Becker's approach is a special procedure in the critical criminology, which was followed, among others, in Stanley Cohen's close inspection of labeling socially deviant behavior.
Art Sociological Meaning
Beckers art sociological analysis is theoretically also committed to the symbolic interactionism. He does not see art not as the work of a single Creator, but as an activity, the (interactive) is exercised collectively. The starting point is the social construction of artificial worlds (Art Worlds ). By this he means networks of individuals who cooperate with each other in elaborate forms of labor to produce a work of art and to convey to the audience. Their collective action needed material and other resources and is structured by conventions. As a demonstration object serves him the credits of a Hollywood film with his list of multiple functions and people. Generally differs Becker between the artistic and the supporting staff. An art world can be localized (eg a small experimental stage ) or worldwide networks (eg the modern art world ).
Art Worlds was first published in 1982; the 25th anniversary expanded edition appeared in 2008 with a longer interview with the French sociologist Alain Pessin. The British sociologist Victoria D. Alexander evaluates Beckers Art Worlds as a very important contribution to the sociology of art. Unlike the Anglo-Saxon world, the previous reception of the book is limited in Germany.
Writings (selection )
- Boys in White. In 1961.
- Outsiders. Studies in the Sociology of Deviance, New York: The Free Press, 1963 German edition: outsider. Sociology of deviant behavior, 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: VS Springer, 2014, ISBN 978-3-658-01253-3 ( first edition, Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer, 1973, ISBN 3-10-874301-5; in paperback: Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1981, ISBN 3-596-26624-6 )
- Art Worlds. In 1982.
- Writing for Social Scientists. In 1986. German edition: The art of professional writing. A guide for the humanities and social sciences. In 1994.
- Tricks of the Trade: How to Think about Your Research While You're Doing it. 1997.