Nels Anderson
Encyclopedia
Nels Anderson was an early American
sociologist
. He studied at the University of Chicago
under Robert E. Park
and Ernest Burgess
, whose concentric zone theory was one of the earliest models developed to explain the organization of urban areas. His first publication, The Hobo (1923), was a work that helped pioneer participant observation as a research method to reveal the features of a society and was the first field-research monograph of the famed Chicago School
of Sociology, marking a significant milepost in the discipline of Sociology. The intent of this work was to help the hobos and homeless who were facing great social and economic problems in the Chicago area. He hoped that his work would help gain some insight into the life of this ‘urban jungle’ and would lead to a better understanding between hobos and the rest of the Chicago community.
Anderson received his doctorate from New York University
and was an instructor at Columbia University
from 1928 to 1934, when he became a civil servant. He worked as a public servant both in Washington, D.C.
and abroad, mainly with agencies for work and welfare until 1953. He continued to publish work on hobos and the homeless under the alias of Dean Stiff. In an autobiographical sequence of articles entitled “Sociology has Many Faces,” he wrote that no matter where he was working during these thirty years of being in non-academic sociology work, he always felt he was using and applying his sociological knowledge.
During the war, he served in the Middle and Near East with merchant marine personnel. Following the war, he worked as labor relations expert in Germany. At the age of 65, he returned to research, invigorating social research in Germany, eventually becoming head of the UNESCO Institute for Social Science at Cologne from 1953 to 1962. In 1965, he joined the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick
where he served as a professor until 1977.
Throughout his career, Dr. Anderson’s research focused on issues of contemporary relevance such as healthy cities and marginalized people. The work of Nels Anderson is currently subject to a revival, especially in Europe, where the efficacy of an ethnographic approach to the study of society and social problems is being rediscovered.
A conference celebrating the 85th anniversary of the publication of The Hobo was held in May 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sociologist
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...
. He studied at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
under Robert E. Park
Robert E. Park
Robert Ezra Park was an American urban sociologist, one of the main founders of the original Chicago School of sociology.-Life:...
and Ernest Burgess
Ernest Burgess
Ernest Watson Burgess was an urban sociologist born in Tilbury, Ontario. He was educated at Kingfisher College in Oklahoma and continued graduate studies in sociology at the University of Chicago. In 1916, he returned to the University of Chicago, as a faculty member. Burgess was hired as an...
, whose concentric zone theory was one of the earliest models developed to explain the organization of urban areas. His first publication, The Hobo (1923), was a work that helped pioneer participant observation as a research method to reveal the features of a society and was the first field-research monograph of the famed Chicago School
Chicago school (sociology)
In sociology and later criminology, the Chicago School was the first major body of works emerging during the 1920s and 1930s specialising in urban sociology, and the research into the urban environment by combining theory and ethnographic fieldwork in Chicago, now applied elsewhere...
of Sociology, marking a significant milepost in the discipline of Sociology. The intent of this work was to help the hobos and homeless who were facing great social and economic problems in the Chicago area. He hoped that his work would help gain some insight into the life of this ‘urban jungle’ and would lead to a better understanding between hobos and the rest of the Chicago community.
Anderson received his doctorate from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and was an instructor at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
from 1928 to 1934, when he became a civil servant. He worked as a public servant both in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and abroad, mainly with agencies for work and welfare until 1953. He continued to publish work on hobos and the homeless under the alias of Dean Stiff. In an autobiographical sequence of articles entitled “Sociology has Many Faces,” he wrote that no matter where he was working during these thirty years of being in non-academic sociology work, he always felt he was using and applying his sociological knowledge.
During the war, he served in the Middle and Near East with merchant marine personnel. Following the war, he worked as labor relations expert in Germany. At the age of 65, he returned to research, invigorating social research in Germany, eventually becoming head of the UNESCO Institute for Social Science at Cologne from 1953 to 1962. In 1965, he joined the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...
where he served as a professor until 1977.
Throughout his career, Dr. Anderson’s research focused on issues of contemporary relevance such as healthy cities and marginalized people. The work of Nels Anderson is currently subject to a revival, especially in Europe, where the efficacy of an ethnographic approach to the study of society and social problems is being rediscovered.
A conference celebrating the 85th anniversary of the publication of The Hobo was held in May 2008.