Roger Keith Kelsall (23 January 1910 – 1 May 1996), commonly known by his middle name Keith, was a Scottish
sociologist and academic. He held the first Chair in Sociological Studies at the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = P ...
from 1960 to 1975.
Life
Roger Keith Kelsall was born at
Milngavie
Milngavie ( ; gd, Muileann-Ghaidh) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milng ...
in
Scotland on 23 January 1910, the son of a Scottish civil engineer and his English wife. He attended
Kelvinside Academy, then the
University of Glasgow where he studied history and political economy. After briefly working for the
Distribution Society and as a tutor at
Bonar Law College, Kelsall was appointed an assistant lecturer at
Hull University College in about 1935. In 1942, he moved to the new
Ministry of Town and Country Planning; after the
Second World War, he worked under
David Glass David Glass may refer to:
*David Glass (businessman)
David Dayne Glass (September 2, 1935 – January 9, 2020) was an American businessman. He was president and chief executive officer of Walmart Stores, Inc. He was also an owner and ch ...
at the
London School of Economics on Glass's study of
social mobility. In 1951, Kelsall was involved in the establishment of the
British Sociological Association; in 1956, he joined the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = P ...
as head of the School of Social Studies, which then ran non-graduate social studies programmes. The School became the Department of Sociological Studies in 1960, and Kelsall was appointed to the university's first Chair of Sociological Studies; he and
Peter H. Mann (who had been lecturer at the School since 1951) were instrumental in establishing the department and introducing an
honours degree course in sociology. He retired in 1975. After many years of service to the
British Sociological Association (including as chairman from 1964 to 1966), Kelsall became its president, serving from 1977 to 1979.
[ Eric Sainsbury and John Westergaard]
"Professor Keith Kelsall"
''The Independent'', 9 May 1996. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
Sociological Studies: A History To Be Proud Of
'' (University of Sheffield, 2013), p. 1.
Kelsall's research focused on demography, industrial relations, social mobility, social stratification, and access to education and the professions. In retirement, he also took an interest in Scottish social history and antique glassware. Kelsall died on 1 May 1996; since 1934, he had been married to the educationalist Helen (''née'' Lightbody), with whom he had a son and co-authored a number of books.
Publications
* (Co-authored with
Theodor Plaut) ''Industrial Relations in the Modern State: An Introductory Survey'' (Methuen, 1937).
*''Wage Regulation under the Statute of Artificers'' (Methuen, 1938).
*''Higher Civil Servants in Britain: From 1870 to the Present Day'' (Routledge and Paul, 1955).
*''Report of an Inquiry into Applications for Admission to Universities'' (Association of Universities of the British Commonwealth, 1957).
*''Sociological Research in Britain'', Inaugural Lecture, 30 November 1960 (University of Sheffield, 1961).
*''Women and Teaching: Report on an Independent Nuffield Survey Following-up a Large National Sample of Women who Entered Teaching in England and Wales at Various Dates Pre-war and Post-war'' (HMSO, 1963).
*''Population'' (Longman, 1967; 2nd edition, 1972).
*(Co-authored with
Walter E. Minchinton and
R. H. Tawney
Richard Henry Tawney (30 November 1880 – 16 January 1962) was an English economic historian, social critic, ethical socialist,Noel W. Thompson. ''Political economy and the Labour Party: the economics of democratic socialism, 1884-2005''. 2nd ...
) ''Wage Regulation in Pre-Industrial England'' (David & Charles, 1972).
*(Co-authored with Helen M. Kelsall) ''The School Teacher in England and the United States'' (Pergamon, 1969).
* (Co-authored with Anne Poole and
Annette Kuhn
Annette Frieda Kuhn, FBA is a British author, cultural historian, educator, researcher, editor and feminist. She is known for her work in screen studies, visual culture, film history and cultural memory. She is Professor and Research Fellow in ...
) ''Six Years After: First Report on a National Follow-up Survey of Ten Thousand Graduates of British Universities in 1960'' (University of Sheffield, 1970).
*(Co-authored with Helen M. Kelsall) ''Social Disadvantage and Educational Opportunity'' (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971).
*(Co-authored with Anne Poole and
Annette Kuhn
Annette Frieda Kuhn, FBA is a British author, cultural historian, educator, researcher, editor and feminist. She is known for her work in screen studies, visual culture, film history and cultural memory. She is Professor and Research Fellow in ...
) ''Graduates: The Sociology of an Elite'' (Methuen, 1971).
*(Co-authored with Helen M. Kelsall) ''Stratification: An Essay on Class and Inequality'' (Longman, 1974).
*''Scottish Lifestyle 300 Years Ago'' (Scottish Cultural Press, 1986).
*''Population in Britain in the 1990s and Beyond'' (Trentham, 1989).
*''Glass in Eighteenth-Century England: The Open-Flame Lamp'' (1995).
References
{{Authority control
1910 births
1996 deaths
Scottish sociologists
Demographers
Sociologists of education
Historians of Scotland
People from Milngavie
People educated at Kelvinside Academy
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Academics of the University of Hull
Academics of the London School of Economics
Academics of the University of Sheffield
Presidents of the British Sociological Association