Raymond Edward Pahl (17 July 1935 – 3 June 2011) was a British sociologist, best known for his studies of social interaction, polarisation, work and friendship in suburban and post-industrial communities.

Biography

He was born in London, and attended St Albans School before studying at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Cam ...

, and then the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

. Claire Wallace, Obituary, The Guardian, 26 July 2011
/ref> His postgraduate thesis studied class, community and social cohesion in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

commuter village A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

s, and was later published as ''Urbs in Rure''. He was appointed as lecturer at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

in 1965, and to a personal chair in 1972. Economic and Social Data Service: Ray Pahl
/ref> In the late 1970s, his exploratory study of the informal economy of the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...

developed into a major research project, which came to be known as the Sheppey Project, and as a result of which he published ''Divisions of Labour'' (1984). He also contributed in the 1980s to the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

's report ''

Faith in the City ''Faith in the City: A Call for Action by Church and Nation'' was a report published in the United Kingdom in autumn 1985, authored by the authored by Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Commission on Urban Priority Areas. The report created ...

''. Sarah Cunnane, Obituary, Times Higher Education Supplement, 22 June 2011
/ref> He became president of Research Committee 21 of the

International Sociological Association The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national soci ...

, and helped establish the Society and Politics Programme at the Central European University in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, continuing to work closely with sociologists in eastern Europe throughout the rest of his career. In the late 1980s he helped set up the British Household Panel Study at the University of Essex, which gathers information from households across the UK for social and economic research. He transferred to the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Essex a few years later, being given the title of visiting research professor in sociology in 1999. In 2008, he was elected a fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...

.The Ray Pahl Collection
/ref> He died of cancer in 2011, aged 75.

Bibliography

* ''Urbs in Rure'' (1965) * ''Whose City?'' (1970) * ''Patterns of Urban Life'' (1970) * ''Managers and their Wives'' (1971) * ''Divisions of Labour'' (1984) * ''After Success: Fin de Siècle Anxiety and Identity'' (1995) * ''On Friendship'' (2000) * ''Rethinking Friendship: Hidden Solidarities Today'' (2006, with Liz Spencer)

References

External links

Ray Pahl papers: a handlist
Keele University
Ray Pahl at "Pioneers of Qualitative Research" from the Economic and Social Data Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pahl, Ray 1935 births 2011 deaths Academics of the University of Kent Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge British sociologists Fellows of the British Academy People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire Urban sociologists