UNLV Sociology Faculty Publications: Dmitri Shalin

This paper tracks Mead's induction into the sociological canon, focusing in particular on American sociologists who made a concerted effort to reconstruct Mead as a systematic social theorist and apply his ideas to empirical research. It distinguishes two interpretive strategies of framing the classic and constructing the canon -- the politics of orthodoxy and politics of the open canon. The politics of orthodoxy aims to ascertain the original meaning and close the textual canon, creating a template relative to which alternative interpretations are judged incomplete, unorthodox, or wrongheaded. The politics of the open canon proceeds on the assumption that the classic text lends itself to conflicting interpretations, that room for the honest difference of opinion must be safeguarded, and that the capacity to further productive inquiry rather than the adherence to an orthodox view recommends a particular construal as viable and canon-worhty.

This study aims to show that much of Erving Goffman's writing is crypto-biographical and that key turns in his intellectual career reflected his life's trajectory and attempts at self-renewal. The case is made that Goffman's theoretical corpus reflects his personal experience as a son of Russian–Jewish immigrants who struggled to raise himself from the obscurity of Canadian Manitoba to international stardom. The concluding section describes the Erving Goffman Archives and the contribution that the large database of documents and biographical materials assembled therein can make to biocritical hermeneutics, a research program focused on the relationship between biography, theory, and history.

In the 1960s, the Laboratory of Concrete Social Research in Leningrad was a hotbed of the newfangled sociological science fighting to secure a niche in the ideologically implacable discipline known as “historical materialism.” Would-be sociologists sold empirical research to the authorities on the premise that sociology has tools to investigate the progress toward communism, that it can spot and publicize favorable trends consistent with the predictions ...

This paper tracks Mead's induction into the sociological canon, focusing in particular on American sociologists who made a concerted effort to reconstruct Mead as a systematic social theorist and apply his ideas to empirical research. It distinguishes two interpretive strategies of framing the classic and constructing the canon -- the politics of orthodoxy and politics of the open canon. The politics of orthodoxy aims to ascertain the original meaning and close the textual canon, creating a template relative to which alternative interpretations are judged incomplete, unorthodox, or wrongheaded. The politics of the open canon proceeds on the assumption that the classic text lends itself to conflicting interpretations, that room for the honest difference of opinion must be safeguarded, and that the capacity to further productive inquiry rather than the adherence to an orthodox view recommends a particular construal as viable and canon-worhty.

This case study is designed to demonstrate that sociological imagination can feed on personal experience, that research practice interpolates our biographical circumstances, and that a systematic inquiry into the interplay between our professional and everyday life offers a fruitful avenue for sociological analysis. The discussion focuses on Erving Goffman's treatment of mental illness. The argument is made that the evolution of Goffman's constructionist views on mental disorder had been influenced by his family situation and personal experience.

This study aims to show that much of Erving Goffman's writing is crypto-biographical and that key turns in his intellectual career reflected his life's trajectory and attempts at self-renewal. The case is made that Goffman's theoretical corpus reflects his personal experience as a son of Russian–Jewish immigrants who struggled to raise himself from the obscurity of Canadian Manitoba to international stardom. The concluding section describes the Erving Goffman Archives and the contribution that the large database of documents and biographical materials assembled therein can make to biocritical hermeneutics, a research program focused on the relationship between biography, theory, and history.

Editor's Note: We wrote about the Transparency Project in the February issue of NTLF V24N2 and readers can find out more about it and how to participate at http://www.unlv.edu/provost/transparency-signup. Participation—just reworking a few assignments to make their purpose clearer to students, especially historically underserved students—can be a transformative experience for faculty. A group at UNLV who participated got together to talk about their experience. Here's a report on what they had to say.

It started, as many adventures do, with a bit of wonder and the discovery of new documents. (I once had a graduate student announce in a research methods class, with great delight, “they shouldn’t call it a ‘literature review.’ They should call it… a ‘treasure hunt’!”) Dmitri Shalin embarked upon his own treasure hunt, and happily, he approached us at the UNLV Gaming Research and Review Journal with a vision that immediately captured our sociological imaginations, and ignited the minds of several other scholars you will meet in this issue. As such, it gives our editorial team profound pleasure to publish this issue on “Goffman in Las Vegas: Gambling, Fatefulness, and Risk Society,” guest edited by Dr. Shalin.

This study traces the evolution of a research program that frames the human mind as an embodied social phenomenon. The essay is divided into two parts, the first one focused on historical issues, the second on contemporary developments. The discussion begins with the mind-body problem central to the scholarship in this area and then focuses the changing perspective on consciousness as a symbolically mediated process. Next, the paper surveys the relevant writings of Mead and Vygotsky, tracks the debate about the place of body in interactionist sociology, and connects this debate to current research in neuroscience. The report concludes with reflections on the prospects for embodied sociology and the contribution it can make to the debate about extended mind.

This paper explores Erving Goffman’s research on gambling, the historical context within which he articulated his views on risk taking, and the contribution he made to our understanding of gambling as a stigmatized social activity. Drawing on the large database assembled in the Erving Goffman Archives, the article traces Goffman’s footprint in Las Vegas and shows the personal as well as scholarly dimensions of his interest in betting practices in entertainment venues and risk taking in society at large. The argument is made that the theory of fateful action presented in the seminal study “Where the Action Is” remains a potent if underutilized theoretical, methodological, and political resource. The paper concludes with reflections on the commodification of risk and the role of chance in distribution of rewards in our society.

In the 1960s, the Laboratory of Concrete Social Research in Leningrad was a hotbed of newfangled sociological science, fighting to secure a niche in the ideologically implacable discipline known as “historical materialism.” Would-be sociologists sold empirical research to Soviet authorities on the premise that sociology’s tools could investigate progress toward communism,
enabling observers to spot and publicize trends consistent with the predictions of Marxist-Leninist philosophy. Vladimir Yadov was among the discipline’s brightest stars, spearheading the revival of Russian sociology, which had been decimated by the Bolshevik revolution and Stalin’s purges. Yadov’s pioneering study Man and His Work, published with colleagues, and his solo monograph on the Methodology and Methods of Sociological Investigation propelled him to the forefront of the emergent scholarly field.

This 2006 Report on the Social Health of Nevada stems from the Justice & Democracy forum on the Leading Social Indicators in Nevada that took place on November 5, 2004, at the William S. Boyd School of Law. The report, the first of its kind for the Silver State, represented a collaborative effort of the University of Nevada faculty, Clark County professionals, and state of Nevada officials. The Social Health of Nevada report was made possible in part by a Planning Initiative Award that the Center for Democratic Culture received from the UNLV President's office for its project "Civic Culture Initiative for the City of Las Vegas." The 2012 Social Health of Nevada Report is spearheaded by UNLV's Center for Democratci Culture and Department of Sociology. Individual chapters of the report are brought on line as they become available.

Many of the economic, social, and demographic issues facing southern Nevada are dynamic and interrelated, requiring a coordinated approach on the part of southern Nevada’s non‐profit community. The coordination of services, skills, and talents enables community needs to be addressed in ways that exceed the scope and capacity of any single organization. With the increasing desire of funding organizations to support collaborative efforts, maintaining sustainable connections between southern Nevada’s non‐profit organizations is needed now more than ever before. This is the first comprehensive study of southern Nevada’s health, education, and social service non‐profit network. Via a web‐based survey of nearly 300 executive directors and other leaders of health, education, and social service related non‐profit organizations, we were able to conduct a social network analysis to identify the structure of the non‐profit network as well as the positions of individual organizations within that network. We found that southern Nevada’s non‐profit network is not very dense, but that this is partly because of the vast size of the network (460 organizations were identified). The largest organizations are well connected, but there are opportunities for developing more connections across organizations of all sizes and sectors. Our findings show that the average organization is connected with 10 other non‐profit organizations in southern Nevada, but there are also a number of isolates (i.e., completely disconnected organizations).

The Erving Goffman Archives (EGA) is the web-based, open-source project that serves as a clearing house for those interested in the dramaturgical tradition in sociology and biographical methods of research.

We said that an alternative personality theory was possible, based on the Marx’ theory where an individual was treated as a social agent. In his or her actions an agent assimilated the world of things (распредмечивает его) and created the new (опредмечивает). In so doing, agents create themselves. Andreeva referred to A. N. Leontiev, and I argued that the role theory interpreted well the individual adaptation to the existing social conditions, but did not explain how a personality transformed in practice the conditions of the social reality. Responding to our remarks Robert Merton was saying something, but I do not remember what. The only thing was clear that the words were rather well disposed. So we were extremely surprised to see a note in his famous work Social theory and social structure where he mentioned a “different position” on a relative autonomy of the middle range theories and referred to Andreeva and Yadov.

The Culture and Intelligentsia Project collects documents and research on the role that intellectuals play in generating, transmitting, and transforming society in fledgling democracies. Special attention is paid to the intelligentsia’s discourse and emotionally charged behavior that perpetuate, not always consciously, models of being found in a given culture. The project started in 1992 when UNLV hosted the First Nevada Conference on Russian Culture. Sponsored by the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, MacArthur Foundation, Nevada Humanities Committee, Russian Academy of Sciences, and National Public Opinion Center in Moscow, the event brought to Las Vegas scholars from several countries who presented the results of their studies on Russian society and culture and who continue to track the fate of reforms in emerging democracies. The participants examined the causes that impeded the formation of democracy in postcommunist societies, using pragmatist ideas as their guide. The results of this collaborative effort have been published in a book titled Russian Culture at the Crossroads. Paradoxes of Postcommunist Consciousness. The Second Nevada Conference on Russian Culture was convened in November of 1997 with the assistance and funding from the UNLV College of Liberal Arts, National Public Opinion Center in Moscow, Trust for Mutual Understanding, the Vista Group, Excalibur Resort and Casino, Inc., and LHN Inc. This conference paved the way to the International Festival of Russian Art and Culture that was staged in Las Vegas in the year 2000. As the festival report indicates, this event featured writers, poets, musicians, visual artists, and renowned experts on Russian art who illuminated the special place of Russian artistic intelligentsia in democratic reform. Below you will find forums, conference reports, and supplementary materials written in preparation for the events, along with the articles, interviews, memoirs, diareis, and biographical materials highlighting the lives and works of public intellectuals