This work analyzes George Herbert Mead's position in the study of human conduct. It covers Mead's ideas for developing the theoretical and methodological position of symbolic interactionism. It also explores social processes embodied in and formed through social action.

This is a collection of articles dealing with the point of view of symbolic interactionism and with the topic of methodology in the discipline of sociology. It is written by the leading figure in the school of symbolic interactionism, and presents what might be regarded as the most authoritative statement of its point of view, outlining its fundamental premises and sketching their implications for sociological study. Blumer states that symbolic interactionism rests on three premises: that human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings of things have for them; that the meaning of such things derives from the social interaction one has with one's fellows; and that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process.

Process approaches to organization studies focus on flow, activities, and evolution, understanding organizations and organizing as processes in the making. They stand in contrast to positivist approaches that see organizations and phenomena as fixed, static, and measurable. Process approaches draw on a range of ideas and philosophies. The Handbook examines 34 philosophers and social theorists, both those commonly linked to process thinking, such as Whitehead, Bergson and James, and those that are not as often addressed from a process perspective such as Dilthey and Tarde. Each chapter addresses the background and context of this thinker, their work (with a focus on the processual elements), and the potential contribution to organization and management research. For students and scholars in the field of Organization Studies this book is an entry point into the work of philosophical thinkers and social theorists for whom the world is far from being a solid place.

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online.

This book brings together some of the finest recent critical and expository work on Mead, written by American and European thinkers from diverse traditions. For English-speaking audiences it provides an introduction to recent European work on Mead. The essays reveal the richness of Mead's thought, and will stimulate those who have thought about him from very specific vantage points (behaviorism, symbolic interactionism, pragmatism, etc.) to consider him in new ways.

This collection provides a thorough grounding in the philosophy of American pragmatism by examining the views of four principal thinkers--Charles S. Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead--on issues of central and enduring importance to life in human society. Pragmatism emerged as a characteristically American response to an inheritance of British empiricism. Presenting a radical reconception of the nature of experience, pragmatism represents a belief that ideas are not merely to be contemplated but must be put into action, tested and refined through experience. At the same time, the American pragmatists argued for an emphasis on human community that would offset the deep-seated American bias in favor of individualism. Far from being a relic of the past, pragmatism offers a dynamic and substantive approach to questions of human conduct, social values, scientific inquiry, religious belief, and aesthetic experience that lie at the center of contemporary life. This volume is an invaluable introduction to a school of thought that remains vital, instructive, and provocative.

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.

G. H. Mead is rightly considered to be one of sociology's founding fathers, yet to date there have been surprisingly few books devoted to his life and work. This book fills the gap by introducing Mead's ideas to a younger generation of social scientists. Beginning with a biographical account of the main events in Mead's career, Filipe Carreira da Silva provides a thorough examination of Mead's social theory of the self, the reception of his ideas into sociology, and the relevance of his work to the contemporary social sciences. He focuses in detail on the core ideas associated with Mead's work, including gesture and the significant symbol, the I-me distinction and the 'generalized other', as well as exploring less well-known aspects of his writing. This comprehensive introduction to Mead's thinking will appeal to students across the social sciences, providing a refreshing perspective on the social nature of the individual self.

This book offers a new look at Mead's concept of society, in an attempt to reconstruct its significance for sociological theory. Chapter 1 offers a critical genealogical reading of writings, from early articles to the latest books, where Mead articulates his views on social reform, social psychology, and the gradual theorization of self and society. Chapter 2 pays attention to the phylogenetic and ontogenetic processes at work in both the self and society, by comparing Mead's social psychology with Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis. Chapter 3 brings together all the elements that are part of the structures of self and society within a topological and dialectical schematization of their respective and mutual relations. Chapter 4 is devoted to the passage of Mead's views from social psychology to sociology, with a critical look at Herbert Blumer's developments in symbolic interactionism as the presumed main legitimate heir of Mead's social psychology. Chapter 5 examines how Mead's general philosophical views fit within the new epistemological context of contemporary society based on communication and debates on postmodernity.