W. I. Thomas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
W. I. Thomas
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Thomas, before 1907
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| Born |
William Isaac Thomas
13 August 1863 Russell County, Virginia, U.S.
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| Died | 5 December 1947 (aged 84) Berkeley, California, U.S.
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| Resting place | Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Education | University of Tennessee University of Chicago |
| Known for | Thomas theorem |
| Spouse(s) |
Harriet Park
(m. 1888; div. 1934)Dorothy Swaine
(m. 1935) |
| Awards | Highest oratory honors of the University of Tennessee |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Sociology |
| Institutions | University of Tennessee, Oberlin College, University of Chicago |
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William Isaac Thomas (born August 13, 1863 – died December 5, 1947) was an important American sociologist. He is known for his ideas about how people understand and react to the world around them.
Thomas helped develop new ways to study society using real-world information. He also created a famous idea called the Thomas theorem. This theorem states: "If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." This means our beliefs about a situation can make those beliefs come true, even if they weren't true at first. His work greatly influenced the study of how people interact in society.
Contents
Understanding William Isaac Thomas
His Early Life and Family
William Isaac Thomas was born on August 13, 1863, on a farm in Russell County, Virginia. His father, Thaddeus Peter Thomas, was a Methodist minister. William's parents wanted their children to have good schools. So, they moved the family to Knoxville, Tennessee, where the University of Tennessee was located.
In 1888, Thomas married Harriet Park. Later, in 1935, he married Dorothy Swaine Thomas. Dorothy was also a sociologist and worked with him on his research. She later became the first woman president of the American Sociological Association. William Thomas passed away in Berkeley, California, on December 5, 1947, at 84 years old. He is buried in Knoxville, Tennessee.
His Journey in Education
William Thomas began his studies at the University of Tennessee in 1880. He focused on literature and classical subjects like Greek and Latin. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1884. While teaching there, he became very interested in ethnology (the study of cultures) and social science.
From 1888 to 1889, he traveled to Germany to study languages. There, he continued to explore his interest in understanding different cultures and societies. When he returned to the United States, he taught at Oberlin College in Ohio.
In 1894, Thomas was invited to teach sociology at the University of Chicago. This university became a very important place for the study of sociology in the U.S. He moved to Chicago in 1895 to continue his studies. He earned his Ph.D. in 1896. After this, he traveled to Europe to study different ethnic and cultural groups.
His Work in Sociology
Teaching and Research at Chicago
For almost 25 years, William Thomas taught sociology and anthropology at the University of Chicago. He became a full professor in 1910. He also helped edit the American Journal of Sociology for many years.
From 1908 to 1918, Thomas conducted important research. He began working with Florian Znaniecki in 1913. Together, they wrote a major work called The Polish Peasant in Europe and America. Around 1918, Thomas left the University of Chicago.
Studying People and Migration
In 1908, Thomas received a large grant to study the lives and cultures of immigrants. For ten years, he used this money to travel to Europe. He wanted to understand the backgrounds of immigrant groups from Eastern Europe. He decided to focus on immigrants from Poland, as many Polish people lived in Chicago. He learned the Polish language and interviewed members of the Polish community. He also visited Poland to learn more.
Thomas was a pioneer in using personal stories for social research. He once shared an interesting story about how he got this idea. He said he was walking in Chicago and almost got hit by a garbage bag. When the bag broke open, he saw a letter written by a Polish immigrant. This made him realize that personal writings could be very valuable for understanding people's lives.
He spent years collecting letters, diaries, newspaper reports, and other documents. He even placed ads in Polish newspapers in Chicago, offering money for letters from Poland. This way of using real-life stories and documents was a new and important method for studying society. It helped shape how sociological studies are done even today.
The Polish Peasant in Europe and America
In 1913, Thomas met Polish sociologist Florian Znaniecki in Poland. Znaniecki helped Thomas with his studies of Polish organizations. When World War I started, Znaniecki came to Chicago and became Thomas's research assistant.
Znaniecki eventually became Thomas's co-author on their huge five-volume work, The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (published 1918–1919). This book was a major achievement in American sociological research. It used personal stories to understand culture and the experiences of immigrants. Thomas and Znaniecki showed how moving to a new country changes people's lives and creates new identities. They also explored how social rules can change when people move away from their original communities.
The Thomas Theorem: How We See the World
In his 1923 book, The Unadjusted Girl, Thomas explored how people's personal interpretations of situations affect their actions. He introduced the important idea of the definition of the situation.
This concept means that before people act, they think about what is happening. They don't just react to facts, but to how they personally understand or "define" those facts. So, what is "real" in social interactions often comes from how individuals interpret things. For example, if many people believe someone is a great leader, they will treat that person as a great leader. This idea became a key part of understanding how society is built by our shared understandings.
In 1928, Thomas co-authored The Child in America with Dorothy Swaine Thomas. In this book, they presented a fundamental rule of sociology, known as the Thomas theorem: "If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences."
The Child in America looked at how children's behavior is influenced by what society expects of them. It also showed how children's own understanding of situations affects their actions. Thomas noted that these "definitions" come from social groups like families. He also suggested that our definitions can change when we experience new situations or see things from different perspectives.
His Important Books
- 1909: Source book for social origins. Ethnological materials, psychological standpoint, classified and annotated bibliographies for the interpretation of savage society.
- 1918–1920 (with Florian W. Znaniecki): The Polish peasant in Europe and America. Monograph of an immigrant group.
- 1923: The unadjusted girl. With cases and standpoint for behavior analysis.
- 1928: (with Dorothy Swaine Thomas): The child in America: Behavior problems and programs.
- 1937: Primitive behavior: An introduction to the social sciences.
