Alvin W. Gouldner and Industrial Sociology at Columbia University

Alvin W Gouldner (1920-1980) was a prolific sociologist of the post-World War II era

who spent the early part of his career (the 1950s) in the field of industrial sociology. A

case study of Gouldner's early life and career is useful insofar as it intertwines with the

development of industrial sociology as a distinct subfield within sociology. Through this

analysis we are also better able to understand how and in what ways a burgeoning

organizational studies program developed at Columbia University during the 1940s. This

analysis of the historical and cultural contexts within which Gouldner came to prominence

as an industrial sociologist at Columbia, and the intellectual program that resulted, can also

help shed light on more recent trends in organizational studies.