BU Sociology

BIO AND RESEARCH
Stephen Kalberg is Associate Professor of Sociology and Affiliate, Center for European Studies, Harvard University. He teaches sociological theory, American society, and comparative political cultures. Kalberg has published widely on Max Weber and German and American societies. He is presently completing Max Weber's Sociology of Civilizations. He has translated Weber's classic study, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

PUBLICATIONS:

BOOKS
Lewis A. Coser: Soziologische Schriften (edited and introduced; 400 printed pp.). Nausner und Nausner (Graz), 2011. A German edition of selected sociological and political writings; vol. 6 in the series, "Bibliothek sozialwisssenschaft- licher Emigranten."

Max Weber. Precis de Sociologie Weberienne Contemporaine. La Decouverte: Paris (Fall, 2009). (A collection of 10 essays and a Glossary and Chronology of Max Weber's life.)

Max Weber Lesen. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag; 2006.

In Spanish: Max Weber, Principales dimensiones de su obra. Prometeo Libros; Buenos Aires, 2008.

In Italian: Leggere Max Weber. IL Mulino Publishers; Rome, 2008.

Forthcoming in Turkish in Spring, 2009 (Ankara: Lotus
Publishers).

Forthcoming in Portugese (Sao Paolo: Zahar Publishers).

Max Weber: Readings and Commentary on Modernity (editor). Oxford: Blackwell Publ., 2005. "Modernity and Society" series.A selection of Weber's major writings accompanied by a) extensive introductory comments by the editor and b) recent writings by prominent sociologists that illustrate the contemporary relevance of Weber's thinking. Includes a Glossary, Chronology of Weber's Life, and approx. 50 printed pages of newly translated material. All translations were reviewed; most were revised.

Max Weber's Comparative-Historical Sociology. Polity Press and The University of Chicago Press, 1994.

Japanese translation (Minerva Publishers, Kyoto; June, 1999)

German translation (Westdeutsche Publ.; Jan., 2001)

French translation (Bibliothek du MAUSS; Sept., 2002)

BOOK TRANSLATIONS

Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
with Other Writings on the Rise of the West. Translated and introduced. 600pp. Revised transl. of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (see below); selected writings of Weber on the economic ethics of the world religions and the legal, political, and economic forces behind the development of the West. All translations reviewed and most revised; four chapter introductions, translator's introduction, and general introduction (160printed pp.); also included are a Glossary and
Chronology of Weber's Life (New York: Oxford University Press; 2008).

Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Los Angeles: Roxbury Publ., 2002; 3rd edition; 3rd printing, July, 2003; includes "Introduction to the Translation," "Introduction to The Protestant Ethic," and "Glossary" (pp. v-ix, xi-lxxvi, lxxvii-lxxxi).

BOOKS IN PROGRESS

Max Weber's Sociology of Civilizations

Weber's methodology for comparing civilizations is extracted and reconstructed; case studies illustrate his procedures.

ARTICLES

Max Weber's Analysis of the Unique American Civic Sphere: ItsOrigins, Expansion, and Oscillations." Journal of Classical Sociology 9 (1) (Jan., 2009): 117-41. Special issue on Alexis deTocqueville.

"Macro Comparisons in Max Weber's Sociology: Precautions, Possibilities, Achievements, and Limitations." Eurostudia: Transatlantic Journal for European Studies 4, 2 (Dec., 2008).

On-line at:
http://www.cceae.umontreal.ca/-revue-Eurostudia
http://www.erudit.org/revue/euro/2008/v4/n1/index.html

"The Perpetual and Tight Interweaving of Past and Present in Max Weber's Sociology." Pp. 273-88 in Max Weber Matters: Interweaving Past and Present, edited by David Chalcraft, Fanon Howell, Marisol Lopez Menendez, and Hector Vera. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishers, 2008).

"Max Weber on Ascetic Protestantism and Civic Associations: Exploring the Origins of Societal Integration and PublicSphere Ethical Standards in the United States" (in Spanish). Pp. 157-75 in: The Protestant Ethic: 100 Years, edited by Eduardo Weisz and Perla Aronson (in Spanish). Buenos Aires:Prometeo Libros, 2008.

"A Cross-National Consensus on a Unified Sociological Theory?Some Inter-Cultural Obstacles." European Journal of SociaLTheory 10, 2 (May, 2007): 206-19.

Forthcoming in: Is a General Theory in Sociology
Possible? Edited by Alain Calle. Paris: La Decouverte, 2009.

Previously published in:

Sociologica 67 (May--Aug., 2008): 252-80 [in Spanish]

Revue du MAUSS [in French] 24, 2 (Fall, 2004): 173-88.

"Perspectives: Newsletter of the Theory Section," American Sociological Association; Dec., 2004.

Soziologie (journal of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Soziologie); Dec. 2004: 40-53.

Italian transl. in progress.

"Ascetic Protestantism and American Uniqueness: the PoliticalCultures of Germany and the United States Compared." Pp. 231-48 in Safe-Guarding German-American Relations in the NewCentury: Understanding and Accepting our Mutual Differences,edited by Hermann Kurthen, Antonio V. Menendez-Alarcon, and Stefan Immerfall. Lexington Books - Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.

"Utilizing Max Weber's 'Iron Cage' to Define the Past, Present,and Future of the American Political Culture." Pp. 191-208 in The Protestant Ethic Turns 100, edited by William H. Swatos and Lutz Kaelber. Paradigm Press, 2005.

Spanish version in Javier Rodriguez Martinez, ed., En al
centenariod de La etica protestante y el espiritu del
capitalismo Etica protestante, cien anos despues. El Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas (March, 2006), pp. 263-82.

"Max Weber." Pp. 1059-64 in The Social Science Encyclopedia (third edition; significantly revised), edited by Adam and Jessica Kuper. London: Routledge&Kegan Paul, 2004. First edition: l985; second edition, 1997 [revised].

"The Past and Present Influence of World Views: Max Weber on a Neglected Sociological Concept." Journal of Classical Sociology 4, 2 (July, 2004): 139-64.

Earlier version in Takeji Ibaraki, ed., Pp. 161-90 in
Historical Sociology and Max Weber. Tokyo: Riso-Sha Publishers, 2002; pp. 161-90. [in Japanese]

French translation in: Revue du MAUSS 30, 2 (Summer, 2007):197-228.

Forthcoming in Spanish in Revista Argentina de Ciencias
Politicas.

Italian transl. in process.

"The Influence of Political Culture Upon Cross-Cultural
Misperceptions and Foreign Policy: The United States and
Germany." German Politics and Society 21, 3 (Fall, 2003): 1-24.

French transl. in Revue du MAUSS 25, 1 (April, 2005): 207-41 (includes a "Postscript": "The Role of Moral Values in the American Presidential Election" (see below "Short Articles")

Italian transl. in La Critica Sociologica 156 (Jan., 2006): 1 -32 (lead art.; includes "Postscript").

Spanish translation in Sociologica 21, 62 (Sept.--Dec.,
2006): 199-244 (includes "Postscript").

German translation in Sociologica Internationalis 44, 1 (Fall, 2006): 85-122 (includes "Postscript").

American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (with "Postscript") http://www.aicgs.org (Washington D.C.); March, 2006; March 2007 in German and English.

"Max Weber." Pp. 144-205 in The Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists, edited by George Ritzer. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Second edition, 2003 (slightly revised); 2000.

"Structured Misunderstanding: Differences in the American and German Political Cultures." Art and Thought /Fikrun Wa Fann 77, no. 2 (April, 2003): 48-55 [in English, Arabic and Persian]

Originally published in German in Merkur 54, #9/10 (Sept/Oct, 2000; special issue on German--American comparisons): 948-57

Excerpt reprinted in Frank Bahr, ed., Horizonte Geschichte für die Oberstufe (Verlage Westermann; Braunschweig, 2005 [High School textbook]), pp. 7-8.

"The Civic Sphere in America: its Cultural Origins and
Impact upon the Contemporary Political Culture." Bulletin of the Seigakuin University General Research Institute 26 (March 2003): 33-43 [in Japanese and English].

"Should the 'Dynamic Autonomy' of Ideas Matter to Sociologists?Max Weber on the Origin of Other-Worldly Salvation Religions and the Constitution of Groups in American Society Today." Journal of Classical Sociology 1, 3 (Dec., 2001): 291-327.

Spanish translation forthcoming in April, 2009 in Estudios Sociologicos.

"The 'Spirit' of Capitalism Revisited: On the New Translation of Weber's Protestant Ethic (1920)." Max Weber Studies 2, 1 (Dec., 2001): 41-58.

Shorter versions in:
"Perspectives--The ASA Theory Section Newsletter." Winter (Jan.), 2001: 1-2,4.

"The International Sociological Association Research Committee for the History of Sociology Newsletter." January, 2001: 2-4

"The Modern World as a Monolithic Iron Cage? Utilizing Max Weber to Define the Internal Dynamics of the American Political Culture Today." Max Weber Studies 1, 2 (May, 2001): 178-95.

German transl. in Sociologia Internationalis (1, 1998): 1-14
French transl. in Revue du MAUSS 16, 2 (Dec., 2000): 375-90.
Italian transl. in Studi di Sociologia XLIII, 1 (Jan.--March,
2005): 19-34.
Spanish transl. Sociologica 19/56 (Sept.--Dec., 2005): 173-96.

Earlier version in Partisan Review Lxiv, 2 (April, 1997): 196-
205.

"Ideen und Interessen: Max Weber über den Ursprung
ausserweltliche Erlösungsreligionen." Zeitschrift für
Religionswissenschaft 8 (2000), no. 1: 45-70.

Earlier version published in English and Japanese in Bulletin of the Seigakuin University General Research Institute (Tokyo; March, 1996): 4-41.

"Max Weber's Critique of Recent Comparative-Historical Sociology and a Reconstruction of His Analysis of the Rise of Confucianism in China." Pp. 207-46 in Current Perspectives in Social Theory (vol. 19), edited by Jennifer Lehmann. Stamford, CT: JAI Press, 1999.

"The Far Slower and More Conflict-Ridden Path to Unity: Neglected Dimensions of German Social Integration." German Politics and Society 17, #4 (Winter 1999): 34-51.

"Geschichte und Gegenwart im Werk Max Webers" (Past and and Present in Max Weber's Works). Pp. 76-115
Frank Welz and Uwe Weisenbacher, eds., Soziologie und
Geschichte: Die Bedeutung der Geschichte fuer die soziologische Theorie. Duesseldorf: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1998.

"Max Weber's Sociology: Research Strategies and Modes of Analysis" Pp. 208-41 in Charles Camic, ed., Reclaiming the Argument of the Founders. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1997.

"Tocqueville and Weber on the Sociological Origins of
Citizenship: The Political Culture of American Democracy."
Citizenship Studies 1 (July, 1997): 199-222.

Slightly abridged in: Max Weber: Democracy and Modernization, ed. by R. Schroeder (Macmillan: London, 1998).

Japanese transl. in Bulletin of the Seigakuin University
General Research Institute, 15 (March 1999): 140-77.

French transl. in Revue du MAUSS 14, 2 (Dec., 1999): 302-24. German transl. in Soziale Welt 51, 1 (March 2000): 67-85.

Italian transl. in La Critica Sociologica 141 (Spring, 2002):1-23 (lead article).

Spanish transl. Sociologica 19/56 (Sept.--Dec., 2004): 227-63.

"On the Neglect of Weber's Protestant Ethic as a Theoretical Treatise: Demarcating the Parameters of Post-War American Sociological Theory." Sociological Theory 14, 1 (March 1996): 49-70.

"On the Theoretical Contributions of Weber's The Protestant Ethic: American Sociology's Lost Opportunities." Published in English and Japanese in Bulletin of the Seigakuin University General Research Institute (Tokyo; March, 1996):42-91.

"Max Weber's Analysis of the Rise of Monotheism: A Reconstruction." The British J. of Sociology 45, 4 (Dec., 1994): 563-83.

"Albert Salomon's Interpretation of Max Weber." International J. of Politics, Culture and Society 6, 4 (Summer, 1993): 585-94."

"Cultural Foundations of Modern Citizenship." Pp. 91-114 in Citizenship and Social Theory, edited by Bryan S. Turner. London: Sage Publications, 1993.

Expanded and revised version in Bulletin of the Seigakuin University General Research Institute 26 (March 2003): 11-32 [in Japanese and English].

"Culture and the Locus of Work in Contemporary Western Germany:a Weberian Configurational Analysis." Pp. 324-65 in Neil J. Smelser and Richard Münch, eds., Theory of Culture. Berkeley:The University of California Press, 1992. (Papers from the"German-American Conference on the Theory of Culture"; Bremen).

"The German Sonderweg De-Mystified: A Sociological Biography of a Nation." Review Essay on Studien über die Deutschen, by Norbert Elias (Suhrkamp, 1989). Theory, Culture and Society 9 (Aug., 1992): 111-24.

"The Hidden Link Between Internal Political Culture and Cross-National Perceptions: Divergent Images of the Soviet Union in the United States and the FR of Germany." Theory, Culture and Society 8 (May, 1991): 31-56.

German transl. in: Beiträge zur Konfliktforschung 19 (Nov. -Dec., 1989): 45-68.

"The Rationalization of Action in Max Weber's Sociology of
Religion." Sociological Theory 8 (Spring, 1990): 58-84.
["Theory Prize" from ASA "Sociological Theory" section]

"The Federal Republic of Germany at 40: A Burdened Democracy?"German Politics and Society 16 (Spring 1989): 33-40.

"Max Webers historisch-vergleichende Schriften und das 'Webersche Bild der Neuzeit': eine Gegenüberstellung." Pp. 425-444 in Johannes Weiss, ed., Max Weber heute: Erträge und Probleme der Forschung. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1989.

"A 'National Political Identity Crisis' in the Federal Republic of Germany?" German Politics and Society 10 (Winter, 1987): 3-8.

Summarized in "Occasional Papers Series
No. 2," Program in Western European Studies; Dept. of Political Science, University of Massachusetts at Amherst)

German transl. in: Aesthetik und Kommunikation 17 (Spring, 1987): 129-33.

"The Origins and Expansion of Kulturpessimismus: the
Relationship Between Public and Private Spheres in Early
Twentieth Century Germany." Sociological Theory 5 (Fall, 1987): 150-64.

"West German and American Interaction Forms: One Level of Structured Misunderstanding." Theory, Culture and Society 4 (Oct., 1987): 602-18.

German transl. in Betreuerforum [House organ for directors of German foreign students offices] (August, 1994): 41-55.

Revised German transl. in Berliner Zeitschrift fuer
Soziologie 6, 1 (March, 1996): 33-42.

Revised German transl.: Pp. 127-39 in Die Vermessung
kultureller Unterschiede: USA und Deutschland im Vergleich, edited by Jürgen Gerhards (Westdeutsche Verlag; Opladen, 2000).

Placed by the German Student Exchange Commission (DAAD) on itsinternet home-page "Alumni Forum"; with chatroom (revised English and German versions); Oct., 1999. (www.daad-alumni-forum.de)

"The Role of Ideal Interests in Max Weber's Comparative
Historical Sociology." Pp. 46-67 in Robert J. Antonio and
Ronald M. Glassman, eds., A Marx-Weber Dialogue. Lawrence: The University Press of Kansas, l985.

"Max Weber's Universal-Historical Architectonic of Economically- Oriented Action: A Preliminary Reconstruction." Pp. 253-88 in Scott G. Mc-Nall, ed., Current Perspectives in Social Theory. Greenwood, CT: JAI Press, 1983.

German transl. in: J. Weiss and Stefan Böckler, eds. Marx oder Weber? Neue Beiträge zu einer alten Kontroverse. Wiesbaden: Westdeutsche Verlag, 1988.

"Max Weber's Types of Rationality: Cornerstones for the Analysis of Rationalization Processes in History." American Journal of Sociology 85, 5 (l980): 45-79.

German transl. in: C. Seyfarth and W.M. Sprondel, eds., Max Weber und die Rationalisierung sozialen Handelns. Stuttgart: Enke Verlag, l98l.

Japanese (partial) transl. in: Bulletin of Nagoya City
University College of Nursing 2 (March, 1990): 167-76 and forthcoming.

Chinese transl. (unauthorized).

Spanish transl.: Pp. 73-117 Sociedad y religion: un siglo de controversias en torno a la nocion weberiana de
racionalization, ed. Perla Aronson and Eduardo Weisz. Buenos Aires: Prometeo libros, 2005.

"The Search for Thematic Orientations in a Fragmented Oeuvre: the Discussion of Max Weber in Recent German Sociological Literature." Sociology l3 (l979): 127-39.

"The Commitment to Career Reform: the Settlement Movement Leaders." The Social Service Review 49 (l975): 608-28.

SHORT ARTICLES

"The Protestant Ethic." Pp. 566-69 in The International
Enyclopedia of the Social Sciences (second Edition), edited by William A. Darity, Jr. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008.

"Max Weber." In The World Book Encyclopedia, edited by
Mike Noren. New York: World Book Publishing, 2007.

"Kurt Wolff's Epistemology of the Heart." Pp. 78-80 in
The Sociology of Radical Commitment: Kurt H. Wolff's Existential Turn, edited by Gary Backhaus and George Psathas (Rowman & Littlefield; Totowa, NJ, 2007).

Earlier version in: History of Sociology Newsletter. ISA
Section 23 (Dec., 2003).

"The Role of Moral Values in the American Presidential Election." American Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Section Newsletter (Fall, 2005), pp. 2-7)

"The Protestant Ethic" and "Max Weber." Encyclopedia articles in Routledge Encyclopedia of Social Theory, edited by Hans-Peter Mueller and Austin Harrington. London: Routledge, 2005.

Responses to book reviews of my translation of Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (2002)

The Canadian Journal of Sociology on line; Jan., 03

The International J. of Politics, Culture and Society;
Dec., 2003

Review of Religious Research; Nov., 2003

"Lewis A. Coser (1913-2003)." Pp. 177-80 in Sociologica
Internationalis 41, 2 (2003).

Republished in Perspectives--The ASA Theory Section Newsletter 27, 1 (January, 2004), pp. 9, 20-22.

Republished in: History of Sociology Newsletter. ISA
Section 23 (Dec., 2003).

"Max Weber." Pp. 936-37 in Making History: A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing, edited by D.R. Woolf. New York: Garland Publishing, 1998.

"On Old Misreadings of Max Weber: A Commentary on Vandenberghe." Perspectives--The ASA Theory Section Newsletter. Fall (Oct.), 1998.

"Course-Driven Theory: A Commentary Upon Chair-Elect Chafetz's 'Immodest Proposal.'" Perspectives--The ASA Theory Section Newsletter. Winter (Jan.), 1997-98.

"Summary of Max Weber's Comparative-Historical Sociology."History and Theory (October, 1995).

"Convergence Thesis." Pp. 193-94 in The Oxford Companion to the Politics of the World, edited by Joel Krieger. Cambridge: Oxford University Press, 1993.

BOOK REVIEWS

Review of Alex Inkeles, National Character: A Psycho-Social Perspective. Pp. 211-12 in Political Studies 46 (March, 1998).

Review of Wolfgang Schluchter, Paradoxes of Modernity:
Culture and Conduct in the Theory of Max Weber. Pp. 1735-37 in American Journal of Sociology (May, 1997).

Review of Gary Abraham, Max Weber and the Jewish Question. Pp. 879-81 in Contemporary Sociology (November, 1993). "Reply to Abraham" (November, 1994).

Review of Raymonde Carroll, Cultural Misunderstandings: the French-American Experience. Pp. 180-82 in Theory, Culture and Society 9 (May, 1992).

Review of Martin Albrow, Max Weber's Construction of Social Theory. Pp. 641-42 in Contemporary Sociology (July, l991).

Review of Friedhelm Neidhardt, M. Rainer Lepsius, and Johannes Weiss, eds., Kultur und Gesellschaft: Festschrift für Rene König. Pp. 55-56 in German Politics and Society (Feb., 1988).

Review of K. Stapf, W. Stroebe, and K. Jonas, Amerikaner über
Deutschland und die Deutschen. Pp. 217-20 in Soziologische
Revue (April, 1988; in German).

Review of S. Andreski, Max Weber's Insights and Errors. Pp.
3l0-ll in Contemporary Sociology (March, l986).

ARTICLE TRANSLATIONS

Norbert Elias, "The Retreat of Sociologists into the Present." In Volker Meja, Dieter Misgeld and Nico Stehr, eds., German Sociology. New York: Columbia University Press, l987 (major tr.).

Reprinted in: Theory, Culture and Society 4 (June, 1987):
223-47.

Reprinted in: Johan Goudsblom and Stephen Mennell, eds., The Norbert Elias Reader. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998.

F.H. Tenbruck, "On the German Reception of Role Theory." In Meja et. al. (major tr.).

Richard Münch, "From Pure Methodological Individualism to Poor Sociological Utilitarianism." Canadian J. of Sociology 8 (l983): 45-76 (major tr.).

---, "Socialization and Personality Development from the Point of View of Action Theory: the Legacy of Durkheim." Sociological Inquiry 51 (l98l): 311-54 (third tr.).

Constans Seyfarth, "Max Weber's Sociology of Religion: the Discussion in West Germany After 1960." Social Compass XXVII (l980): 9-25 (major tr.).

[March, 2009]