Douglas A. Harper (born 1948) is an American sociologist and photographer. He is the holder of the Rev. Joseph A. Lauritis, C.S.Sp. Endowed Chair in Teaching with Technology at Duquesne University, a chair funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.

Biography

Harper was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, United States. He earned a B.A. from Macalester College in 1970 and a PhD in sociology from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. While doing research for his PhD dissertation about railroad tramps, he rode freight trains for in the western United States.

Career

After graduation, Harper wrote a book, Good Company, about railroad tramps. Harper made extensive use of photo elicitation interviews in his 1987 book, ''Working Knowledge'', a sociological treatment of the rural bricoleur in America. His 2001 publication, ''Changing Works'', applied the same method to the historical reconstruction of cultural memory. Harper later co-authored books on post-colonial culture in Hong Kong, Italian food culture, and the

semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

Italian fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

, in which he researched images as method of cross-cultural communication. In 2014, he studied the sociology of public space in the Italian piazza and in the de-industrialized regions of the American Rust Belt. Harper has taught sociology at SUNY Potsdam, the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

, and Duquesne University, and as a guest professor at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

and

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

. He edited the academic journal ''Visual Studies'' during its first thirteen years and wrote five works of visual

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

published by the

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

. His ''Visual Sociology'' (Routledge 2012) is a comprehensive treatment of the topic. Harper was co-founder of the International Visual Sociology Association with Leonard M. Henny and others; in 2013 he was elected its president. He has had many photographic exhibitions in the US and abroad.

Books

*2014: ''I Simboli del fascismo nella Roma del XXI secolo, cronache di un' oblio''. Douglas Harper, Francesco Mattioli. Aciraele-Roma: Bonnano. ("The symbols of fascism: Reports of an oblivion"). In Press. *2012: ''Visual Sociology''. Douglas Harper. London:

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

. *2009: ''The Italian Way: Food and Social Life''. Douglas Harper and Patrizia Faccioli. Chicago:

. *2009: ''Hong Kong: Migrant Lives, Landscapes, and Journeys''. Caroline Knowles and Douglas Harper. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. *2006: ''Good Company: A Tramp Life''. Boulder: Paradigm. Douglas Harper. (Revised and expanded third edition). *2003: ''The Cultural Study of Work''. Douglas Harper and Helen Lawson, editors. Boulder: Rowman Littlefield. 2004 Outstanding Title, designation by the American Library Association. *2001: ''Changing Works: Visions of a Lost Agriculture''. Douglas Harper. University of Chicago Press. Scholarly Achievement Award, North Central Sociological Association and Collier Award, Society for Visual Anthropology. *1998: ''Mondi Da Vedere: Verso una sociologia piu visuale''. Patrizia Faccioli and Douglas Harper, editors. Milan: FrancoAngeli. *1994: ''Cape Breton, 1952: The Photographic Vision of Timothy Asch'' (editor).

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

: Ethnographics Press; International Visual Sociology Association. *1993: ''Eyes Across the Water, vol. II: Essays on Visual Sociology and Anthropology''. Robert Boonzajer Flaes and Douglas Harper, editors. Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis Press. *1987: ''Working Knowledge: Skill and Community in a Small Shop''. Douglas Harper. University of Chicago Press. Paperback edition, University of California Press, 1992."Working Knowledge: Skill and Community in a Small Shop by Douglas Harper"
Peter F. Murphy ''The Oral History Review'' Vol. 16, No. 2 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 157–159,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

*1982: Good Company. Douglas Harper. University of Chicago Press. Second edition translations: Good Company: Un sociologo tra I vagabondi. Milan: FrancoAngeli, 1999 in Italian; Les Vagabonds du Nord-Ouest Américain. Paris:

L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...

, 1998 in French.

Films

*2013: ''The First Step to Recovery''. (a 60-minute documentary film, in process.) Douglas Harper and Margaret Patterson, co-directors. *1983: ''Ernie's Sawmill''. Douglas Harper and Stephen Papson, co-directors. A 16 mm, 20-minute ethnographic film.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Douglas 1948 births Living people Scientists from Saint Paul, Minnesota Macalester College alumni Brandeis University alumni Duquesne University faculty American sociologists American photographers Artists from Saint Paul, Minnesota