Charles Abram Ellwood (January 20, 1873 near

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

– September 25, 1946) was an American sociologist who was professor of sociology at University of Missouri-Columbia and

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. He has been described as one of the leading American sociologists of the

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

period, studying

intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity or intolerance, undesirable reactions produced by the immune system * ''Intolerance'' (film), a 1916 film by D. W. Griffith * ''Intolerance'' (album), the first solo album from Grant Hart, formerly ...

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

and

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

s and using many multidisciplinary methods. He argued that sociology should play a role in directing

cultural evolution Cultural evolution is an evolutionary theory of social change. It follows from the definition of culture as "information capable of affecting individuals' behavior that they acquire from other members of their species through teaching, imitation ...

through

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

. He pioneered

social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...

research in sociology.

Early life

Ellwood was born to Gibson and Maria Walrath Ellwood on January 20, 1873, on the family farm close to Black Lake, New York. He studied at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

from 1892 to 1896.

Academic career

After graduating from Cornell in 1896, he joined University of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where graduated with a PhD in sociology and philosophy in 1899. His dissertation, "Some Prolegomena to

Social Psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...

", was published in the ''American Journal of Sociology''. He studied at

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

from 1897 to 1898. For one year he was lecturer and instructor at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and in 1900 became professor of sociology at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. He became also advisory editor of the ''

American Journal of Sociology The ''American Journal of Sociology'' is a peer-reviewed bi-monthly academic journal that publishes original research and book reviews in the field of sociology and related social sciences. It was founded in 1895 as the first journal in its disci ...

'' and associate editor of the '' Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology''. In 1904 he served as president of the Missouri Confederated Charities. He was the fourteenth

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

in 1924. He spent the first 30 years of his career and rose to national prominence at the University of Missouri-Columbia. From 1930 to 1946, Ellwood chaired the sociology department at

. He authored the 1940 book, ''The World's Need of Christ'', which argues that the teachings of Jesus has solutions to the major ills of humanity. He became professor emeritus in 1944. Ellwood was influenced by Lester F. Ward,

Charles Horton Cooley Charles Horton Cooley (August 17, 1864 – May 7, 1929) was an American sociologist. He was the son of Michigan Supreme Court Judge Thomas M. Cooley. He studied and went on to teach economics and sociology at the University of Michigan. He wa ...

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...

, and Edward A. Ross. An excerpt from the Missouri University (MU) Sociology Web site reads:

Personal life

He was married to Ida Breckinridge. They had one son, Walter B. Ellwood. He died in his Durham, North Carolina home on September 25, 1946.

Publications

* ''Sociology and Modern Social Problems'' (1910) * ''Sociology in its Psychological Aspects'' (1912; French trans., 1914) * ''The Social Problem: A Constructive Analysis'' (1915) * ''An Introduction to Social Psychology''. 1917. * ''The Reconstruction of Religion''. 1922. * ''Methods in Sociology''. Duke University Press, 1933. He also monographs and special articles on social psychology.

Notes

References

Biography at ASA

External links

* *
''Sociology and Modern Social Problems''
at

The Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several fe ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellwood, Charles A. American sociologists Revolution theorists 1873 births 1946 deaths University of Missouri faculty Duke University faculty Presidents of the American Sociological Association Cornell University alumni