Michèle Lamont
Encyclopedia
Michèle Lamont is a sociologist and is currently the Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies
and a Professor of Sociology
and African American Studies
at Harvard University
.
and MA
in political science at Ottawa University
in 1979, Michèle Lamont received her PhD
in Sociology from the Université de Paris in 1983. A post-doctoral Fellow at Stanford University
from 1983–1985, Lamont later served as Assistant Professor at the University of Texas-Austin (1985–1987), and Princeton University
(1987–1993). In 1993 she was awarded tenure at Princeton, and was made full professor in 2000. During this time, Lamont was also a visiting professor at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques
(Science Po), Université de Paris 8, École des hautes études en sciences sociales
, and Tel Aviv University
, among other places. She has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Studies at Stanford, the recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, and a fellow of the Russell Sage Foundation. She currently chairs the Council for European Studies
as well as Harvard’s European Network on Inequality. She is the recipient of numerous scholarly awards and distinctions for her work on race, class
, and academic culture.
.
Lamont’s early writing formulated influential criticisms of the work of Pierre Bourdieu
, a leading sociologist with whom she studied in Paris. Her first book, Money, Morals, Manners, showed that Bourdieu’s theories of cultural capital
and habitus ignore moral status signals and national repertoires that explain differences in American
and French
class attitudes and behavior. This criticism set the stage for a large American literature that was critical, but built upon, the work of Bourdieu. This movement coincided with the birth of cultural sociology in American Sociology. With fellow sociologists Ann Swidler, Michael Schudson
, and Paul DiMaggio
, Lamont contributed to setting the agenda for the scholarly study of “meaning-making” In sociology. The research of Lamont and colleagues demonstrated the importance of considering various aspects of culture as explanans and explanandum
in the social sciences. —as something more than a “residual category.”
Lamont’s distinction between “symbolic” and “social” boundaries provides a framework within which to analyze the independent causal role of individual’s worldviews in explaining structural phenomena such as inequality
. Symbolic boundaries
are “conceptual distinctions made by social actors…that separate people into groups and generate feelings of similarity and group membership.” Conversely, “social boundaries are objectified forms of social differences manifested in unequal access to an unequal distribution of resources… and social opportunities.” In making this distinction, Lamont acknowledges that symbolic boundaries are a “necessary but insufficient” condition for social change. “Only when symbolic boundaries are widely agreed upon can they take on a constraining character… and become social boundaries.”
Lamont’s more recent work has applied the “boundary-work
” framework to the case of American and French race relations. In her award-winning Dignity of Working Men, Lamont shows how white and African-American conceptions of class are grounded in vastly different conceptions of self-worth. In a new collaborative project that grew out of this research, Lamont is comparing the anti-racist strategies of marginalized groups in the United States
, Brazil
, and Israel
. In another collaborative project with Peter Hall, Lamont is leading a group of influential scholars who study “Successful Societies,” and more specifically, how the interpenetration of institutions and cultural repertoires (including recognition) affect the health and well-being of communities.
Her forthcoming book, How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment, builds upon another research agenda on the sociology of knowledge
to explain how academic funding panels reach consensus on what is academically worthy – on what constitutes good research.
European studies
European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on current developments in European integration....
and a Professor of Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and African American Studies
African American studies
African American studies is a subset of Black studies or Africana studies. It is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the history, culture, and politics of African Americans...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Career
Having completed a BABachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in political science at Ottawa University
Ottawa University
Ottawa University is a private, non-profit, faith-based liberal arts college located in Ottawa, Kansas. It was founded in 1865 and is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA...
in 1979, Michèle Lamont received her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Sociology from the Université de Paris in 1983. A post-doctoral Fellow at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
from 1983–1985, Lamont later served as Assistant Professor at the University of Texas-Austin (1985–1987), and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(1987–1993). In 1993 she was awarded tenure at Princeton, and was made full professor in 2000. During this time, Lamont was also a visiting professor at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques
Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques
Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques , or FNSP, was created by ordinance of Charles de Gaulle in 1945 to manage the transition of École Libre des Sciences Politiques into Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris or IEP Paris The mission of the FNSP was then and is today the management of the...
(Science Po), Université de Paris 8, École des hautes études en sciences sociales
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...
, and Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, among other places. She has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Studies at Stanford, the recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, and a fellow of the Russell Sage Foundation. She currently chairs the Council for European Studies
Council for European Studies
The Council for European Studies was founded in 1970 with a grant from the Ford Foundation. First located at the University of Pittsburgh and later moved to Columbia University, its current institutional host, the Council was originally formed as a limited consortium of Western European studies...
as well as Harvard’s European Network on Inequality. She is the recipient of numerous scholarly awards and distinctions for her work on race, class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
, and academic culture.
Contributions to sociology
Lamont’s major works compare how people's shared concepts of worth influence and sustain a variety of social hierarchies and inequalitySocial inequality
Social inequality refers to a situation in which individual groups in a society do not have equal social status. Areas of potential social inequality include voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing and other...
.
Lamont’s early writing formulated influential criticisms of the work of Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher.Starting from the role of economic capital for social positioning, Bourdieu pioneered investigative frameworks and terminologies such as cultural, social, and symbolic capital, and the concepts of habitus, field or location,...
, a leading sociologist with whom she studied in Paris. Her first book, Money, Morals, Manners, showed that Bourdieu’s theories of cultural capital
Cultural capital
The term cultural capital refers to non-financial social assets; they may be educational or intellectual, which might promote social mobility beyond economic means....
and habitus ignore moral status signals and national repertoires that explain differences in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
class attitudes and behavior. This criticism set the stage for a large American literature that was critical, but built upon, the work of Bourdieu. This movement coincided with the birth of cultural sociology in American Sociology. With fellow sociologists Ann Swidler, Michael Schudson
Michael Schudson
Michael Schudson is an American academic sociologist working in the fields of journalism and its history, and public culture.-Life:...
, and Paul DiMaggio
Paul DiMaggio
Paul Joseph DiMaggio is an American educator, and professor of sociology at Princeton University since 1992.-Career:...
, Lamont contributed to setting the agenda for the scholarly study of “meaning-making” In sociology. The research of Lamont and colleagues demonstrated the importance of considering various aspects of culture as explanans and explanandum
Explanandum
An explanandum is a phenomenon that needs to be explained and its explanans is the explanation of that phenomenon. For example, one person may pose an explanandum by asking "Why is there smoke?", and another may provide an explanans by responding "Because there is a fire"...
in the social sciences. —as something more than a “residual category.”
Lamont’s distinction between “symbolic” and “social” boundaries provides a framework within which to analyze the independent causal role of individual’s worldviews in explaining structural phenomena such as inequality
Social inequality
Social inequality refers to a situation in which individual groups in a society do not have equal social status. Areas of potential social inequality include voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing and other...
. Symbolic boundaries
Symbolic boundaries
Symbolic boundaries are a theory of how people form social groups proposed by cultural sociologists.Symbolic boundaries are “conceptual distinctions made by social actors…that separate people into groups and generate feelings of similarity and group membership.” Symbolic boundaries are distinct...
are “conceptual distinctions made by social actors…that separate people into groups and generate feelings of similarity and group membership.” Conversely, “social boundaries are objectified forms of social differences manifested in unequal access to an unequal distribution of resources… and social opportunities.” In making this distinction, Lamont acknowledges that symbolic boundaries are a “necessary but insufficient” condition for social change. “Only when symbolic boundaries are widely agreed upon can they take on a constraining character… and become social boundaries.”
Lamont’s more recent work has applied the “boundary-work
Boundary-work
In science studies, boundary-work comprises instances in which boundaries, demarcations, or other divisions between fields of knowledge are created, advocated, attacked, or reinforced...
” framework to the case of American and French race relations. In her award-winning Dignity of Working Men, Lamont shows how white and African-American conceptions of class are grounded in vastly different conceptions of self-worth. In a new collaborative project that grew out of this research, Lamont is comparing the anti-racist strategies of marginalized groups in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. In another collaborative project with Peter Hall, Lamont is leading a group of influential scholars who study “Successful Societies,” and more specifically, how the interpenetration of institutions and cultural repertoires (including recognition) affect the health and well-being of communities.
Her forthcoming book, How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment, builds upon another research agenda on the sociology of knowledge
Sociology of knowledge
The Sociology of knowledge is the study of the relationship between human thought and the social context within which it arises, and of the effects prevailing ideas have on societies...
to explain how academic funding panels reach consensus on what is academically worthy – on what constitutes good research.
Selected bibliography
- Money, Morals and Manners: The Culture of the French and the American Upper-Middle Class. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (Morality and Society series, ed. by Alan Wolfe). (2nd edition: 1999).}
- The Dignity of Working Men: Morality and the Boundaries of Race, Class, and Immigration. Cambridge: Harvard University Press and New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Paperback 2002. ISBN 0-674009-92-4
- How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment. Cambridge: Harvard University Press 2009.