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Jonathan Turner

University of California, Santa Barbara, Sociology, Emeritus

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Jonathan H. Turner received his B.S. in 1965 sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, his M.A in 1966 and Phd.in 1968 at Cornell University. After a year as an assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii, he moved to University of California at Riverside for the next 49 years where he rose to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Sociology and 38th University Professor, University of California system. He is the author of 42 books and well over 200 research articles and chapters. He is primarily a theorist of social processes, although he has interests in specific subfield including: interpersonal processes, social institutions, sociology of emotions, stratification systems, and in recent years evolutionary sociology and neurosociology. He is currently a research professor at UCSB in sociology, a Distinguished Professor of the Graduate Division at UCR, still University professor of the UC system, and director of the Institute for Theoretical Social Science in Santa Barbara.

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Papers by Jonathan Turner

Theorist’s Appreciation of Immanuel Wallerstein’s Analysis of Inter-Societal Dynamics

Journal of World-Systems Research, Aug 21, 2023

In the 1950s and well into the 1960s and 1970s, a "modernization" approach dominated much analysi... more In the 1950s and well into the 1960s and 1970s, a "modernization" approach dominated much analysis of the study inter-societal dynamics. The basic thrust of this approach was to argue that if the motives and orientations of individuals in less economically developed societies could be altered, it would be possible over time for such societies to get on track to modernization. Of course, economic capital and less despotic political systems were needed but, still, it was often

The rise of affectivism

Nature Human Behaviour, 2021

The Emergence and Evolution of Religion: By Means of Natural Selection

Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 2019

parties may not have time or interest to read entire books on each of these critical issues, but ... more parties may not have time or interest to read entire books on each of these critical issues, but they would find the concise arguments proffered here to be powerful and manageable. The editors introduce the volume by saying that ''readers will decide for themselves whether the effort was worthwhile'' (p. ix). I am convinced that it was.

Toward an Integrated Theory of Gender Stratification

Sociological Perspectives, 1993

Determinants of gender stratification range through every institutional sphere and every level of... more Determinants of gender stratification range through every institutional sphere and every level of sociological analysis. An integrated theory is presented which charts the connections and feedbacks among three main blocks of causal factors and two blocks of outcomes. The GENDER ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCTION block includes the degree of compatibility between productive and reproductive labor, and determinants of the gender segregation of productive labor (including flows from other blocks). The GENDER ORGANIZATION OF REPRODUCTION includes demographic conditions, the social control of reproductive technologies, and the class and gender organization of parenting. SEXUAL POLITICS includes historical variations in family alliance politics, erotic status markets, and violent male groups. On the outcome side, GENDER RESOURCE MOBILIZATION centers on gender income and property, household organization, sexual coercion, and the distinctiveness of gender cultures. GENDER CONFLICTS involve the cond...

Theoretical Principles of Sociology, Volume 2

Theoretical Principles of Sociology, Volume 1

Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions

Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research, 2006

, except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection w... more , except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights.

The Sociology of Emotions

Foreword by Lynn Smith-Lovin xv ι. Conceptualizing Emotions Sociologically 1 Elements of Emotions... more

In Defense of Positivism

Sociological Theory, 1985

Toward a unified theory of ethnic antagonism: A preliminary synthesis of three macro models

Sociological Forum, 1986

This study analyzes and compares the Marxist-class, prejudice-discrimination, and middleman minor... more This study analyzes and compares the Marxist-class, prejudice-discrimination, and middleman minority theories of ethnic antagonism by" extracting the key endogenous variables in each and presenting them in abstract models. Then, a composite model is developed in a preliminary effort to combine the essential elements of the theories. In turn, this composite model is used to develop five abstract propositions on the underlying dynamics of all ethnic antagonism. These propositions argue that competition, perceptions of threat, discrimination, identifiability, and stigmatization are the basic dynamics in all ethnic antagonism. The composite model and abstract propositions are viewed as a starting point for the analysis of the common processes inhering in diverse historical/empirical cases, SOME LIMITATIONS OF "ETHNIC RELATIONS" THEORIES

Positivism in Social Theory and Research

Contemporary Sociology, 1987

An academic directory and search engine.

Ritual Theorizing on Emotions

The Sociology of Emotions

Is 'Neofunctionalism' Really Functional?

Sociological Theory, 1988

Terabit Burst Switching - Progress Report (3/98-6/98)

This report summarizes progress on Washington University's Terabit Burst Switching Project, suppo... more This report summarizes progress on Washington University's Terabit Burst Switching Project, supported by DARPA and Rome Air Force Laboratory. This project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of Burst Switching, a new data communication service which can more effectively exploit the large bandwidths becoming available in WDM transmission systems, than conventional communication technologies like ATM and IP-based packet switching. Burst switching systems dynamically assign data bursts to channels in optical data links, using routing information carried in parallel control channels. The project will lead to the construction of a demonstration switch with throughput exceeding 200 Gb/s and scalable to over 10 Tb/s.

Biology and American Sociology, Part I: the Rise of Evolutionary Thinking, its Rejection, and Potential Resurrection

The American Sociologist, 2019

Despite long-standing prejudices against doing so, it is time for sociology to reconnect with its... more Despite long-standing prejudices against doing so, it is time for sociology to reconnect with its roots in biological and evolutionary thinking. Sociology emerged as a discipline when the notion of evolution was actively used in biology, geology, and emerging social sciences. Throughout the nineteenth century, many of the most prominent early European sociologists examined the social universe from an evolutionary perspective; and this perspective was borrowed in much of early American sociology in the last decades of the nineteenth century and in the first decades of the twentieth century. By the end of the second decade of the twentieth Century, however, evolutionary analysis was rapidly disappearing in sociology in the United States, and by the 1930s, it was pretty much dead. And for the remainder of the twentieth century, it was viewed with a great suspicion, especially evolutionary approaches that sought to incorporate ideas from biology into the field. Despite the revival of stage models of societal evolution and the emergence of new ecological approaches in the 1960s and 1970s, evolutionary ideas from biology were still rejected by most American sociologists though much of the twentieth century. In this paper, we first present the history of this rejection of evolutionary, with the goal of encouraging sociologists today to recognize the distortions and misrepresentations of Darwinian and Spencerian ideas that fueled intellectual prejudices for so many decades. These prejudices only get in the way of sociology in the twenty-first century, where biological ideas have begun to pervade the social sciences. Thus, American sociologists should now take stock and reconsider how much evolutionary and biological analysis can help sociology and, equally if not more important, how an informed evolutionary sociology can influence those in the other social sciences and even those in the biological sciences.

Exchange Theorizing on Emotions

The Sociology of Emotions

“Is Public Sociology Such a Good Idea?”

Public Sociology

Michael Burawoy's call for a public sociology disciplined by professional and policy sociology, o... more Michael Burawoy's call for a public sociology disciplined by professional and policy sociology, on the one side, and driven by critical sociology, on the other, exposes the ideological biases of sociology to publics. In so doing, public sociology will thwart non-ideological efforts for sociology to exert influence on broader publics and on political decision-makers. In order for sociology to be able to influence public opinion and the decisions of key players in the political and economic arenas, it will need to earn respect through a long evolutionary process of careful research and explanation without ideological fervor. To expose the ideological biases of sociology will thwart this evolutionary process. In contrast, sociology would be much better to develop an engineering mentality in addressing issues, problems, and concerns of publics in present-day societies. It is striking that a discipline devoted to the study of human organization is, at best, a marginal player in public debates and important policy decisions. Since most public debates and policy decisions deal with problems of social organization and with proposals to reorganize some aspect of society, it would seem natural that sociology, as a discipline, should be a major player in the "public sphere," in the halls of political and economic decision-making, and in most social arenas. Sadly, such is not the case; we are left standing on the sidelines, while presidential historians, economists, political scientists, lawyers, and even psychologists engage the public and whisper in the ears of those who have the power to make decisions that affect the organization of society and, hence, people's lives. American sociology appears to be embarrassed by the fact that it has very little impact on the public and on policy decisions by both governmental and economic actors. The listing of sociologists who are "In The News" with each issue of Footnotes is, I think, confirmation of sociology's small impact on public and political issues. If we were secure in our position, we would not need to trumpet those relatively few occasions when sociologists are asked by the press to say something. It is almost as if we needed to say to ourselves: "See, we influence the public, really we do." It is this sense of being marginal, if not impotent, that provides the context for Michael Burawoy's (2004a, 2004b, 2004c, 2005) call for "public sociology." Sociologists rightly perceive that as the field of inquiry that studies virtually all dimensions of human societies, we should be players when issues, debates, and decisions affecting the organization of society are being made. The call for a

Principles of Inter-Societal Dynamics

Journal of World-Systems Research

World-system dynamics are re-conceptualized as inter-societal systems with some de-emphasis on th... more World-system dynamics are re-conceptualized as inter-societal systems with some de-emphasis on the notions of core, periphery, and semi-periphery. This tri-part division has been useful in forcing sociology to rethink macro-level sociological analysis and in establishing the importance of considering inter-societal systems as a fundamental unit of human social organization, but this Weberian-like ideal type is constraining theoretical analysis. Moreover, core, periphery, and semi-periphery are not consistently found across a broad range of inter-societal systems, beginning with those among hunting and gathering societies and moving to the current capitalist inter-societal system. Furthermore, the often-implied view that the current geo-economic global system has replaced geo-political systems is overdrawn because geo-economics and geo-politics constantly intersect and interact in all inter-societal systems. Some illustrative general models are drawn for geo-political systems, while...

Explaining Socio-Cultural Evolution. The Limitations of Evolutionary Theory from Biology

Sociologica, 2008

Ente di afferenza: () Copyright c by Società editrice il Mulino, Bologna. Tutti i diritti sono ri... more Ente di afferenza: () Copyright c by Società editrice il Mulino, Bologna. Tutti i diritti sono riservati. Per altre informazioni si veda https://www.rivisteweb.it Licenza d'uso L'articoloè messo a disposizione dell'utente in licenza per uso esclusivamente privato e personale, senza scopo di lucro e senza fini direttamente o indirettamente commerciali. Salvo quanto espressamente previsto dalla licenza d'uso Rivisteweb,è fatto divieto di riprodurre, trasmettere, distribuire o altrimenti utilizzare l'articolo, per qualsiasi scopo o fine. Tutti i diritti sono riservati.

A multiproxy (micro-XRF, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope) lake sediment record for the Lateglacial to Holocene transition from Thomastown Bog, Ireland

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015

A multiproxy Lateglacial environmental record is presented for a c. 3.5 m lacustrine sequence ret... more A multiproxy Lateglacial environmental record is presented for a c. 3.5 m lacustrine sequence retrieved from a small basin (c. 2 km 2) at Thomastown Bog in County Meath, Ireland. Sediment chemistry, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope data provide a detailed picture of catchment and lake system changes from the end of the last glacial (GS-2a) to the early Holocene that correspond closely to existing local and regional models of climate change. Concomitant adjustments in independent proxy records are matched to the NGRIP oxygen isotope curve giving 12 event-episodes ranging from major climatic shifts to lower amplitude, centennial to sub-centennial-scale adjustments, including a previously unreported regressive period of landscape instability during the northwest European 'Rammelbeek Phase' (RBP). The study emphasises the potential of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction from sediment chemistry where the sediment mixing system reflects autochthonous vs. allochthonous inputs. The investigation also indicates problems of interpreting isotope data derived from bulk marl due to possible lag effects controlling the delivery of soil and groundwater and multiple sources of HCO 3-(aq). These research findings have implications for core site selection and for studies attempting to use stable isotopes for correlation purposes.

Theorist’s Appreciation of Immanuel Wallerstein’s Analysis of Inter-Societal Dynamics

Journal of World-Systems Research, Aug 21, 2023

In the 1950s and well into the 1960s and 1970s, a "modernization" approach dominated much analysi... more In the 1950s and well into the 1960s and 1970s, a "modernization" approach dominated much analysis of the study inter-societal dynamics. The basic thrust of this approach was to argue that if the motives and orientations of individuals in less economically developed societies could be altered, it would be possible over time for such societies to get on track to modernization. Of course, economic capital and less despotic political systems were needed but, still, it was often

The rise of affectivism

Nature Human Behaviour, 2021

The Emergence and Evolution of Religion: By Means of Natural Selection

Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 2019

parties may not have time or interest to read entire books on each of these critical issues, but ... more parties may not have time or interest to read entire books on each of these critical issues, but they would find the concise arguments proffered here to be powerful and manageable. The editors introduce the volume by saying that ''readers will decide for themselves whether the effort was worthwhile'' (p. ix). I am convinced that it was.

Toward an Integrated Theory of Gender Stratification

Sociological Perspectives, 1993

Determinants of gender stratification range through every institutional sphere and every level of... more Determinants of gender stratification range through every institutional sphere and every level of sociological analysis. An integrated theory is presented which charts the connections and feedbacks among three main blocks of causal factors and two blocks of outcomes. The GENDER ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCTION block includes the degree of compatibility between productive and reproductive labor, and determinants of the gender segregation of productive labor (including flows from other blocks). The GENDER ORGANIZATION OF REPRODUCTION includes demographic conditions, the social control of reproductive technologies, and the class and gender organization of parenting. SEXUAL POLITICS includes historical variations in family alliance politics, erotic status markets, and violent male groups. On the outcome side, GENDER RESOURCE MOBILIZATION centers on gender income and property, household organization, sexual coercion, and the distinctiveness of gender cultures. GENDER CONFLICTS involve the cond...

Theoretical Principles of Sociology, Volume 2

Theoretical Principles of Sociology, Volume 1

Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions

Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research, 2006

, except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection w... more , except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights.

The Sociology of Emotions

Foreword by Lynn Smith-Lovin xv ι. Conceptualizing Emotions Sociologically 1 Elements of Emotions... more

In Defense of Positivism

Sociological Theory, 1985

Toward a unified theory of ethnic antagonism: A preliminary synthesis of three macro models

Sociological Forum, 1986

This study analyzes and compares the Marxist-class, prejudice-discrimination, and middleman minor... more This study analyzes and compares the Marxist-class, prejudice-discrimination, and middleman minority theories of ethnic antagonism by" extracting the key endogenous variables in each and presenting them in abstract models. Then, a composite model is developed in a preliminary effort to combine the essential elements of the theories. In turn, this composite model is used to develop five abstract propositions on the underlying dynamics of all ethnic antagonism. These propositions argue that competition, perceptions of threat, discrimination, identifiability, and stigmatization are the basic dynamics in all ethnic antagonism. The composite model and abstract propositions are viewed as a starting point for the analysis of the common processes inhering in diverse historical/empirical cases, SOME LIMITATIONS OF "ETHNIC RELATIONS" THEORIES

Positivism in Social Theory and Research

Contemporary Sociology, 1987

An academic directory and search engine.

Ritual Theorizing on Emotions

The Sociology of Emotions

Is 'Neofunctionalism' Really Functional?

Sociological Theory, 1988

Terabit Burst Switching - Progress Report (3/98-6/98)

This report summarizes progress on Washington University's Terabit Burst Switching Project, suppo... more This report summarizes progress on Washington University's Terabit Burst Switching Project, supported by DARPA and Rome Air Force Laboratory. This project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of Burst Switching, a new data communication service which can more effectively exploit the large bandwidths becoming available in WDM transmission systems, than conventional communication technologies like ATM and IP-based packet switching. Burst switching systems dynamically assign data bursts to channels in optical data links, using routing information carried in parallel control channels. The project will lead to the construction of a demonstration switch with throughput exceeding 200 Gb/s and scalable to over 10 Tb/s.

Biology and American Sociology, Part I: the Rise of Evolutionary Thinking, its Rejection, and Potential Resurrection

The American Sociologist, 2019

Despite long-standing prejudices against doing so, it is time for sociology to reconnect with its... more Despite long-standing prejudices against doing so, it is time for sociology to reconnect with its roots in biological and evolutionary thinking. Sociology emerged as a discipline when the notion of evolution was actively used in biology, geology, and emerging social sciences. Throughout the nineteenth century, many of the most prominent early European sociologists examined the social universe from an evolutionary perspective; and this perspective was borrowed in much of early American sociology in the last decades of the nineteenth century and in the first decades of the twentieth century. By the end of the second decade of the twentieth Century, however, evolutionary analysis was rapidly disappearing in sociology in the United States, and by the 1930s, it was pretty much dead. And for the remainder of the twentieth century, it was viewed with a great suspicion, especially evolutionary approaches that sought to incorporate ideas from biology into the field. Despite the revival of stage models of societal evolution and the emergence of new ecological approaches in the 1960s and 1970s, evolutionary ideas from biology were still rejected by most American sociologists though much of the twentieth century. In this paper, we first present the history of this rejection of evolutionary, with the goal of encouraging sociologists today to recognize the distortions and misrepresentations of Darwinian and Spencerian ideas that fueled intellectual prejudices for so many decades. These prejudices only get in the way of sociology in the twenty-first century, where biological ideas have begun to pervade the social sciences. Thus, American sociologists should now take stock and reconsider how much evolutionary and biological analysis can help sociology and, equally if not more important, how an informed evolutionary sociology can influence those in the other social sciences and even those in the biological sciences.

Exchange Theorizing on Emotions

The Sociology of Emotions

“Is Public Sociology Such a Good Idea?”

Public Sociology

Michael Burawoy's call for a public sociology disciplined by professional and policy sociology, o... more Michael Burawoy's call for a public sociology disciplined by professional and policy sociology, on the one side, and driven by critical sociology, on the other, exposes the ideological biases of sociology to publics. In so doing, public sociology will thwart non-ideological efforts for sociology to exert influence on broader publics and on political decision-makers. In order for sociology to be able to influence public opinion and the decisions of key players in the political and economic arenas, it will need to earn respect through a long evolutionary process of careful research and explanation without ideological fervor. To expose the ideological biases of sociology will thwart this evolutionary process. In contrast, sociology would be much better to develop an engineering mentality in addressing issues, problems, and concerns of publics in present-day societies. It is striking that a discipline devoted to the study of human organization is, at best, a marginal player in public debates and important policy decisions. Since most public debates and policy decisions deal with problems of social organization and with proposals to reorganize some aspect of society, it would seem natural that sociology, as a discipline, should be a major player in the "public sphere," in the halls of political and economic decision-making, and in most social arenas. Sadly, such is not the case; we are left standing on the sidelines, while presidential historians, economists, political scientists, lawyers, and even psychologists engage the public and whisper in the ears of those who have the power to make decisions that affect the organization of society and, hence, people's lives. American sociology appears to be embarrassed by the fact that it has very little impact on the public and on policy decisions by both governmental and economic actors. The listing of sociologists who are "In The News" with each issue of Footnotes is, I think, confirmation of sociology's small impact on public and political issues. If we were secure in our position, we would not need to trumpet those relatively few occasions when sociologists are asked by the press to say something. It is almost as if we needed to say to ourselves: "See, we influence the public, really we do." It is this sense of being marginal, if not impotent, that provides the context for Michael Burawoy's (2004a, 2004b, 2004c, 2005) call for "public sociology." Sociologists rightly perceive that as the field of inquiry that studies virtually all dimensions of human societies, we should be players when issues, debates, and decisions affecting the organization of society are being made. The call for a

Principles of Inter-Societal Dynamics

Journal of World-Systems Research

World-system dynamics are re-conceptualized as inter-societal systems with some de-emphasis on th... more World-system dynamics are re-conceptualized as inter-societal systems with some de-emphasis on the notions of core, periphery, and semi-periphery. This tri-part division has been useful in forcing sociology to rethink macro-level sociological analysis and in establishing the importance of considering inter-societal systems as a fundamental unit of human social organization, but this Weberian-like ideal type is constraining theoretical analysis. Moreover, core, periphery, and semi-periphery are not consistently found across a broad range of inter-societal systems, beginning with those among hunting and gathering societies and moving to the current capitalist inter-societal system. Furthermore, the often-implied view that the current geo-economic global system has replaced geo-political systems is overdrawn because geo-economics and geo-politics constantly intersect and interact in all inter-societal systems. Some illustrative general models are drawn for geo-political systems, while...

Explaining Socio-Cultural Evolution. The Limitations of Evolutionary Theory from Biology

Sociologica, 2008

Ente di afferenza: () Copyright c by Società editrice il Mulino, Bologna. Tutti i diritti sono ri... more Ente di afferenza: () Copyright c by Società editrice il Mulino, Bologna. Tutti i diritti sono riservati. Per altre informazioni si veda https://www.rivisteweb.it Licenza d'uso L'articoloè messo a disposizione dell'utente in licenza per uso esclusivamente privato e personale, senza scopo di lucro e senza fini direttamente o indirettamente commerciali. Salvo quanto espressamente previsto dalla licenza d'uso Rivisteweb,è fatto divieto di riprodurre, trasmettere, distribuire o altrimenti utilizzare l'articolo, per qualsiasi scopo o fine. Tutti i diritti sono riservati.

A multiproxy (micro-XRF, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope) lake sediment record for the Lateglacial to Holocene transition from Thomastown Bog, Ireland

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015

A multiproxy Lateglacial environmental record is presented for a c. 3.5 m lacustrine sequence ret... more A multiproxy Lateglacial environmental record is presented for a c. 3.5 m lacustrine sequence retrieved from a small basin (c. 2 km 2) at Thomastown Bog in County Meath, Ireland. Sediment chemistry, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope data provide a detailed picture of catchment and lake system changes from the end of the last glacial (GS-2a) to the early Holocene that correspond closely to existing local and regional models of climate change. Concomitant adjustments in independent proxy records are matched to the NGRIP oxygen isotope curve giving 12 event-episodes ranging from major climatic shifts to lower amplitude, centennial to sub-centennial-scale adjustments, including a previously unreported regressive period of landscape instability during the northwest European 'Rammelbeek Phase' (RBP). The study emphasises the potential of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction from sediment chemistry where the sediment mixing system reflects autochthonous vs. allochthonous inputs. The investigation also indicates problems of interpreting isotope data derived from bulk marl due to possible lag effects controlling the delivery of soil and groundwater and multiple sources of HCO 3-(aq). These research findings have implications for core site selection and for studies attempting to use stable isotopes for correlation purposes.