Piotr Sztompka (born 2 March 1944) is a Polish sociologist known for his work on the theory of social trust. He is professor of sociology at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and has also frequently served as visiting professor at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, and at

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. From 2002 to 2006 he was the 15th president 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 sociol ...

Life

Sztompka studied law and sociology at the

in Kraków, Poland, obtaining a Ph.D. degree there in 1970. Two years later, he was awarded a

Fulbright scholarship 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 ...

to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Since 1974 he has been on the faculty of its Sociology Department, as a teaching assistant and subsequently as a professor. In the 1970s, Sztompka established a close collaboration with Robert K. Merton, which greatly influenced Sztompka's view of the discipline. Sztompka has also taught as visiting professor at

, the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, the University of Rome, and Tischner European University. He is a fellow of the Collegium Invisibile.

Contributions

Sztompka's principal sociological interests include the social phenomenon of trust,

social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Sustained at a larger scale, it may lead to social transformation or societal transformat ...

, and, recently,

visual sociology Visual sociology is an area of sociology concerned with the visual dimensions of social life. Theory and method Visual sociology can be theoretically framed around three themes. Luc Pauwels suggests that the framework is based on the origin an ...

Works

* ''System and Function'' (Studies in Anthropology, 1974). * ''Sociological Dilemmas'' (1979). * '' Robert K. Merton: an Intellectual Profile'' (1986) * ''The New Technological Challenge and Socialist Societies'' (editor, 1987). * ''Rethinking Progress'' (with Jeffrey C. Alexander, 1990). * ''Society in Action: the Theory of Social Becoming'' (1991). * ''Sociology in Europe: in Search of Identity'' (with Birgitta Nedelmann, 1993). * ''The Sociology of Social Change'' (1993). * ''Agency and Structure: Reorienting Social Theory'' (International Studies in Global Change, vol. 4; editor, 1994). * Robert K. Merton, ''On Social Structure and Science'' (editor), Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1996, . * ''Trust: a Sociological Theory'' (1999).

References

External links

Short biographyInterview with SztompkaInterview with Sztompka as a President of ISA
: 1944 births Living people Polish sociologists Columbia University staff University of Michigan faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Academic staff of Jagiellonian University University of California, Los Angeles faculty Fellows of Collegium Invisibile Presidents of the International Sociological Association {{Poland-sociologist-stub

Life

Contributions

Works

See also

References

External links