Maurice Robert Stein (September 19, 1926 – August 18, 2023) was an American sociologist and innovator in higher education. Stein is co-recipient of the 1987 Robert and Helen Lynd Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by 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 ...

's Community and Urban Sociology Section, while his pedagogical innovations have been highlighted of late by

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

's Jeffrey Schnapp in Schnapp's studies in the digital humanities (see, for example, the interactive companion site to Stein's ''Blueprint for Counter Education''). Retired 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 ...

from 2002, Stein resided with his spouse, Phyllis Stein (née Rosenstein), at their home in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, and was a long-time member of the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement.

Early life and education

Stein was born on September 19, 1926 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, where he was raised in the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community. After a tour of duty in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he earned his B.A. at the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, where he led the fieldwork and co-authored the methodological appendix for Alvin W. Gouldner's famous study, ''Patterns of Industrial Bureaucracy'' (1954) Stein received his doctorate in sociology from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1958 on the strength of a dissertation which would become a classic in sociology, ''The Eclipse of Community'' (1960).

Main works in sociology

Stein's principal contribution to sociology is perhaps best captured in his contribution to ''Reflections on Community Studies'' (1964) as well as the aforementioned studies. A student of

Erik Erikson Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a German-American child psychoanalyst and visual artist known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity crisis. ...

and colleague of such figures as Morrie S. Schwartz, Stein's co-edited ''Identity and Anxiety'' (1960) received acclaim and wide circulation, while his co-edited ''Sociology on Trial'' (1963), dedicated to

C. Wright Mills Charles Wright Mills (August 28, 1916 – March 20, 1962) was an American Sociology, sociologist, and a professor of sociology at Columbia University from 1946 until his death in 1962. Mills published widely in both popular and intellectual jour ...

, and his contribution to ''The Critical Spirit'' (1967), a festschrift for

Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse ( ; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German–American philosopher, social critic, and Political philosophy, political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at ...

, together reflects Stein's critical approach to sociology and to social, political, cultural, and aesthetic theory generally.

Pedagogical innovation

Never a conventional sociologist, Stein actively joined in support of sixties student, anti-war, and other later liberation movements, helped found the graduate program in sociology at Brandeis University and later served as chair of the department from 1966-1969, co-authored ''Blueprint for Counter Education'' (1970), and served as founding dean of the School of Critical Studies at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

. Influenced by such sources as the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The coll ...

, and Buddhism, as well as by his participation in the early years of the then-experimental curriculum at Brandeis University (founded in 1948), Stein pioneered use of peer teaching, subaltern texts, and meditation practices over twenty-five years of teaching the course "The Sociology of Birth & Death" to thousands of Brandeis undergraduates. These practices are just a few of the highlights of a career that spans fifty years dedicated to higher education.

''Blueprint'' exhibition

Stein and Miller's ''Blueprint for Counter Education'' has been featured in the following exhibits and installations: "Information" Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York NY, Summer 1970; "''Blueprint for Counter Education'' in its time" MOMA PS1, Queens NY, September 2015; "Hippie Modernism: The Search for Utopia" Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis MN, Winter 2015-2016; "''Blueprint for Counter Education'' in its time" Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, April 2016; "Hippie Modernism: the Search for Utopia" Cranbrook Museum, Dearborn MI, Spring 2016; "Learning Laboratories: Architecture, Instructional Technologies and the Social Production of Pedagogical Space around 1970" BAK (Basis Voor Actuele Kunst), Utrecht Netherlands, Winter 2016-2017; "Land Grant" Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Champaign IL, 2016; "''Blueprint for Counter Education'' Vassar College Library, Poughkeepsie NY, September 2017; "Hippie Modernism: The Search for Utopia" Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley CA, Spring 2017; Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham MA, March 2018; Victor Papenek, The Politics of Design, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany, September March 2018; forthcoming: Education Shock, Learning, Politics and Architecture in the 1960s and 70s, HKW, Haus der Kultureen der Welt, Berlin, Germany, January 2021."Stein, Maurice R. ''Blueprint for Counter Education'' Archive, Available at "http://mlhplayground.org/blueprint/archive.html

Death

Stein died in

on August 18, 2023, at the age of 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Maurice R. 1926 births 2023 deaths American sociologists Brandeis University faculty Scientists from Buffalo, New York University at Buffalo alumni American military personnel of World War II Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni California Institute of the Arts faculty People from Cambridge, Massachusetts