Roland Robertson (August 7, 1938 - April 29, 2022) was a sociologist and theorist of

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

who lectured at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

in Scotland. Formerly, he was a professor of sociology at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, and in 1988 he was the President of the

Association for the Sociology of Religion The Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR) is an academic association with more than 700 members worldwide. It publishes a journal, ''Sociology of Religion'', and holds meetings at the same venues and times as the American Sociological As ...

Biography

Robertson was born near Norwich, Great Britain in 1938. He received his undergraduate degree at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

and taught at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

, the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

, the

, and the

. Robertson had three sons with Jennifer Robertson before getting divorced in 1981. Robertson married long time partner Judith Velody in 2018.

Career

Robertson's theories have focused significantly on a more phenomenological and psycho-social approach than that of more materialist oriented theorists such as

Immanuel Wallerstein Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein (; September 28, 1930 – August 31, 2019) was an American sociologist and economic historian. He is perhaps best known for his development in sociology of world-systems approach."Wallerstein, Immanuel (1930– )." ...

Fredric Jameson Fredric Ruff Jameson (April 14, 1934 – September 22, 2024) was an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He was best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmode ...

. For Robertson, the most interesting aspect of the modern (or

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

) era is the way in which a global consciousness has developed. He lays down a progression of "phases" that capture the central aspects of different eras in global history, asserting that the fifth phase, Global Uncertainty, has been reached. Robertson's main works are ''Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture'' (1992) and the edited volume ''Global Modernities''. In 1985, he was the first sociologist to use the term

in the title of a sociological article. His 1992 definition of globalization as "the compression of the world and the intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole" has been credited as the first ever definition of globalization, though a more detailed analysis of the history of this term indicates it has many authors. He is also said to have coined the term glocalization in 1992.

Publications

Books

* Roland Robertson (1970 Shocken Books ISBN 9780805233476) ''The Sociological Interpretation of Religion'' * J. P. Nettl, Roland Robertson (1968 New York Basic Books ISBN 9780571084166) ''International Systems and the Modernization of Societies'' * Roland Robertson (1978 New York University Press ISBN 9780814773741) ''Meaning and Change'' * Roland Robertson (1992 Sage Publications Ltd ISBN 9780803981874) ''Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture'' * Edited by Mike Featherstone, Scott Lash & Roland Robertson, (1995 Sage Publications Ltd ISBN 9780803979482) ''Global Modernities''

References

External links

University of Aberdeen faculty information for Roland Robertson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Roland 1938 births 2022 deaths Academics of the University of Aberdeen British sociologists University of Pittsburgh faculty Alumni of the University of Southampton People from Blofield