Associate Professor Emeritus, Sociology
Biography: My teaching interests have centered largely in the areas of Sociological Theory, Sociology of Dominant and Minority Groups, Social Stratification, and Ideology & Social Movements; and they spill, as well, into Deviance and Criminology. In my research, I find myself drawn to concerns that relate to issues of conceptualization in sociology --- which readily involve me in problems of ideology as these arise in social life and as they incline to structure sociological inquiry. As a result of my grappling with such concerns through a variety of papers, I have come to adopt a Social Constructionist perspective in my analyses. These scholarly interests and orientations are well-reflected in my books (and their sub-titles): Sociology, Race and Ethnicity: A Critique of American Ideological Intrusions Upon Sociological Theory (Gordon and Breach, 1979); and Social Problems & Social Movements: An Exploration Into The Sociological Construction of Alternative Realities (Humanities Press, 1995).
Education:
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) Ph.D. (Sociology) 1969
Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) M.A. (Sociology) 1958
University of Chicago (Chicago, IL) A. B. (Liberal Arts ) 1951
Work History:
University of Missouri – St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
Assoc. Prof. Emeritus 1992 Department Chair (acting) 1987-1989 Associate Professor 1978-Department Chair 1974-1981 Assistant Professor 1966-1978
Temple University (Philadelphia, PA)
Instructor 1964-1966
Harcum Junior College
(Bryn Mawr, PA Lecturer (and Chair) 1962-1964
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
Instructor (part-time) 1958-1962
Professional Awards:
"Who's Who Among American Teachers, 1998" “Outstanding Faculty of 1976-1977.” UMSL Evening College plaque.
Books and Publications:
Bash, Harry H. 1995. Social Problems & Social Movements: An Exploration Into theSociological Construction of Alternative Realities, Atlantic Highlands, NJ.: Humanities Press, (xviii + 262 pp.).
Bash, Harry H. 1979. Sociology, Race and Ethnicity: A Critique of American Ideological Intrusions Upon Sociological Theory, New York: Gordon & Breach, (xii + 252 pp.).
Articles:
Bash, Harry H. 2006. “If I’m So White Why Ain’t I Right?: Some Methodological Misgivings On Taking Identity Ascriptions At Face-Value.” Critical Sociology, Vol. 32:4, pp. 675-697.
Bash, Harry H. 2000a. “A Sense of Time: Temporality and Historicity in Sociological Inquiry.” Time & Society, Vol. 9:2/3, pp. 187-204.
Bash, Harry H. 2000b. “Dominant Group.” Pp. 326-327 in Racial and Ethnic Relations in America, Vol. I, edited by Carl L. Bankston III. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.
Bash, Harry H. 2000c. “Racial vs. Ethnic.” Pp. 843-844 in Racial and Ethnic Relations in America, Vol. 3, edited by Carl L. Bankston III. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.
Bash, Harry H. 1998. “A Scatter of Sociologies: Vertical Drift and the Quest for Theoretical Integration in Sociology.” Pp. 537-565 in The Living Legacy of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber: Applications and Analyses of Classical Sociological Theory By Modern Social Scientists, edited by Richard Altschuler. New York: Gordian Knot Books. (Modified and reprinted from Bash, 1989.)
Bash, Harry H. 1994. “Social Movements and Social Problems: Toward a Conceptual Rapprochement.” Pp. 247-284 in Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, Vol. 17, edited by Louis Kriesberg, Michael Doblowski and Isidor Walliman. Greenwich, CN: JAI Press.
Bash, Harry H. 1989. “On Vertical Drift and the Quest for Theoretical Integration in Sociology.” Social Epistemology, Vol. 3:3, pp. 229-246.
Bash, Harry H. 1985. “Social Constructions of Relevance: Ideological Bents of Client-Friendly Sociology.” Quarterly Journal of Ideology, Vol. 9:2, pp. 1-16.
Bash, Harry H. 1984. “Sociology as Discipline and as Profession: A Sociological Scratch For Every Social Itch?” International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 4:1, pp. 15-28.
Bash, Harry H. 1982. “Counterculture: Some Problems in the Quest for Sociological Theory,” Chapter Two, pp. 19-47 in Counterculture and Social Transformation: Essays on Negativistic Themes in Sociological Theory, edited by Seymour Leventman. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Bash, Harry H. 1981. “Conflict Intervention and Social Change: Sociological and Ideological Contexts of Professional Social Meddling.” Journal of Intergroup Relations, Vol. 9 (Summer), pp. 12-30.
Bash, Harry H. 1980. “Concepts and Reality Constructions: Problems of Theory and Ideology in Sociology.” Quarterly Journal of Ideology, Vol. 3:4, pp.1-6.
Bash, Harry H. 1975. “Reflections on the Future of Social Problems Theory,” Social Problems Theory Division Newsletter of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, Vol. 5 (Fall).
Bash, Harry H. 1964. “Determinism and Avoidability in Sociohistorical Analysis.” Ethics, Vol. 74 (April), pp. 186-200.
Bash, Harry H. 1960. “The Functional Approach in Sociology,” Graduate Journal of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1:1 (December), pp. 3-12.
Reviews:
Bash, Harry H. 1996. “Book Review: Social Movements and Social Classes.” Social Forces, Vol. 75:1 (September), pp. 356-357.
Bash, Harry H. 1974. “Review Essay: Orthodox Consensus and Radical Alternative.” Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 3:6 (November), pp. 483-487.
Professional Meetings Contributions
Paper presentation: “If I’m So White, Why Ain’t I Right?: Some Methodological Misgivings On Taking Identity Ascriptions At Face-Value,” annual meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society, St. Louis (April, 2001).
Invited paper presentation: “You Know, It’s Unlucky to be Superstitious,” Sociology Department, University of Missouri – Columbia, (October, 1996).
Panelist: “Africans and Africans of the Diaspora as Modern Scientists,” Merramec Community College, (April, 1995).
Discussant: session on Social Problems and Classical Sociological Theory, annual meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society, Kansas City (April, 1992).
Paper presentation: “Social Problems and Social Movements: Towards a Conceptual Reformulation,” annual meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society, Des Moines (April, 1991).
Paper presentation: “On Leveling in Sociology: Emergence, Reduction and the Quest for Integration,” annual meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society, Des Moines (March, 1986).
Paper presentation: “Discipline and Profession: The Social Construction of Means and Ends,” annual meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago (April, 1984).
Discussant: session on Law and Social Change, annual meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society, Minneapolis (April, 1981).
Paper presentation: “Reality Constructions: Theoretical and Ideological Impulses in theSociology of Social Problems,” annual meetings of the Illinois Sociological Association, Springfield (October, 1979).
Organizer and Presider: session on Theory, annual meetings of the Southern Sociological Society, Washington, D.C. (October, 1975).
Co-Organizer and Panelist: “What If There Were No Sociology….?” Missouri Society For Sociology and Anthropology, St. Louis (February, 1975).
Paper presentation: “Toward a Sociological Theory of Counterculture,” annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, New Orleans, (August, 1972).
Discussant: session on Race Relations Theory, annual meetings of the American Sociological Society, Los Angeles (August, 1964).
Grants
Proposal to Campus Research and Development Leave, 1991; not funded.
Proposal to Visiting International Scholar Program, 1989-1990; not funded.
Proposal to Collage of Arts & Sciences, $2,500; funded July, 1987.
Proposal to Weldon Spring Fund, $17,000; funded June, 1980.
Professional Activities (selected)
Associate Editor, The Sociological Quarterly, 1988 - 1992.
Managing Editor, Quarterly Journal of Ideology, 1979 - 1984; Associate Editor 1985 -1995.
Paper Referee, American Sociological Review; The American Sociologist; Quarterly Journal of Ideology; Social Problems; The Sociological Quarterly.
Manuscript Consultant, Houghton Mifflin; Little, Brown; McGraw-Hill; Moseby; Prentice-Hall; Random House; Wadsworth.
Member, Executive Committee, Missouri Society for Sociology, 1981 - 1983.
Various local radio and television appearances; member, various topical discussion panels.
Speaking engagements: St. Louis Police Academy, churches, schools, civic groups, etc.
