| Marienthal: The Sociography of an Unemployed Community Contributor(s): Jahoda, Marie (Author), Lazarsfeld, Paul F. (Author), Zeisel, Hans (Author) |
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ISBN: 0765809443 ISBN-13: 9780765809445 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $56.04 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2002 Annotation: "One of the main theses of the Marienthal study was that prolonged unemployment leads to a state of apathy in which the victims do not utilize any longer even the few opportunities left to them. The vicious cycle between reduced opportunities and reduced level of aspiration has remained the focus of all subsequent discussions." So begin the opening remarks to the English-language edition of what has become a major class in the literature of social stratification. The study on which Marienthal is based was conducted in 1930 in Austria, at the time of a depression that was worse than anything experienced in the United States. But the substantive problem is still very much with us, although our focus is now poverty rather than unemployment. In Austria, the institutional response to mass unemployment was the dole. Unlike the work relief programs of the New Deal, the dole system left workers destitute and idle. The essential finding of this research is that when people are deprived of work, there is a breakdown in the personality structure of a group. Marienthal represents a colossal breakthrough in social research. It provides a combination of quantification and interpretive analysis of qualitative material -- an approach that remains in the forefront of present-day research design. The work combines statistical data at hand, case studies, information on historical background of those being studied, and questionnaires combined with solicited reports that enhances a sense of daily life without intrusion by investigators. The work provides a unique insight into how creative innovations can assist in overcoming collective deprivations. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Europe - Austria & Hungary - Social Science | Sociology - General - Political Science | Labor & Industrial Relations |
| Dewey: 305.906 |
| LCCN: 2002028627 |
| Physical Information: 0.47" H x 5.95" W x 8.91" (0.53 lbs) 176 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Eastern Europe |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: "One of the main theses of the Marienthal study was that prolonged unemployment leads to a state of apathy in which the victims do not utilize any longer even the few opportunities left to them. The vicious cycle between reduced opportunities and reduced level of aspiration has remained the focus of all subsequent discussions." So begin the opening remarks to the English-language edition of what has become a major classic in the literature of social stratification. |
Contributor Bio(s): Fleck, Christian: - Christian Fleck is professor of sociology at the University of Graz, Austria. He is author of many papers and essays on the history of European social theory.Fleck, Christian: - Christian Fleck is professor of sociology at the University of Graz, Austria. He is author of many papers and essays on the history of European social theory. |