Murray Jacob Edelman (1919 – January 26, 2001) was an American

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

known for his research on symbolic politics and

political psychology Political psychology is an interdisciplinary academic field, dedicated to understanding politics, politicians and political behavior from a psychological perspective, and psychological processes using socio-political perspectives. The relation ...

Career

Edelman received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

from

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...

in 1941, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1942 and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

in 1948. He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois that year, and remained there until he joined the faculty of the

University of Wisconsin - Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1966. Edelman was awarded a University Houses chair in 1971, which he named for

George Herbert Mead George Herbert Mead (February 27, 1863 – April 26, 1931) was an American philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. He is regarded a ...

, an inspiration for much of his own work on symbolic politics. Edelman retired in 1990. Edelman received many awards during his career, including

Fulbright Award The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

s and fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. A brief review of his seminal book, ''The Symbolic Uses of Politics'' appearing in ''ETC.'', the quarterly journal of

General Semantics General semantics is concerned with how events translate to perceptions, how they are further modified by the names and labels we apply to them, and how we might gain a measure of control over our own cognitive, emotional, and behavioral respons ...

(Arthur A. Berger, September 1971 issue—Vol 28, No. 3) noted that Edelman's approach and analysis would be congenial to students of General Semantics.

Books

* ''The Symbolic Uses of Politics'' (hardcover publication originally 1964; later paperback reprints) * ''Politics as Symbolic Action: Mass Arousal and Quiescence'' (1971) * ''Political Language: Words that succeed and policies that fail'' (1977) * ''Constructing the Political Spectacle'' (1988) * ''From Art to Politics: How Artistic Creations Shape Political Conceptions'' (1996) * ''The Politics of Misinformation'' (2001)

References

External links

Mark Fenster: Murray Edelman, Polemicist of Public Ignorance
published in Critical Review 17 (2005), nos. 3–4. 1919 births 2001 deaths American political scientists University of Illinois faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Bucknell University alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Illinois alumni 20th-century political scientists {{US-scientist-stub