Charles Derber
Encyclopedia
Born in Washington DC January, 1944 Charles Derber attended Yale University
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Later he attended the University of Chicago
where he obtained his PhD. Currently Charles Derber is a professor of Sociology
at Boston College
. He has also served as director of its graduate program on social economy and social justice. Derber is a prolific writer. His works include The Wilding of America: Money, Mayhem, and the New American Dream (Worth Publishers, 2006), Hidden Power: What You Need to Know to Save Our Democracy (Berrett-Koehler, 2005), People Before Profit: The New Globalization in an Age of Terror, Big Money, and Economic Crisis (Picador, 2003), Corporate Nation (St. Martin's 2000). The Pursuit of Attention (2000), The Nuclear Seduction (with William Schwartz, University of California Press), and Power in the Highest Degree (with William Schwartz and Yale Magrass, Oxford, 1990).
Derber's work falls into three major categories. One is a critique of individualism and American culture. In 2000, Oxford University Press printed a 20th year commemorative edition of The Pursuit of Attention, marking its status as a classic sociological work. It focuses on ego-centeredness
and "conversational narcissism" in everyday life as structured by class, gender and America’s individualistic culture. Derber's book, The Wilding of America, in its fourth edition, is a widely used text in American sociology. It offers a sharp critique of the American Dream and the crisis of hyper-individualism.
Derber is best known to the general public for his analysis of corporate power and globalization. His book Corporation Nation is an influential study of how corporations penetrate and increasingly control every sector of American life. People Before Profit, a treatment of corporate globalization and its alternatives, has been published in five languages. His more recent books, Regime Change Begins at Home and Hidden Power, advance the literature on the marriage of political and economic power in America. In 2006, the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) nominated Hidden Power as one of the three best American books on current events.
Derber's most recent works focus on ideology and political morality. His 2008 book, Morality Wars (co-authored with Yale Magrass), analyzes hegemonic discourses from the Roman Empire to the present. It also examines religious and "born again" ideologies, from German fascism to contemporary evangelical politics in the United States. Another 2008 book, with Katherine Adam, The New Feminized Majority, examines the gendered character of values and politics in America. It shows that a new electoral majority has embraced progressive values historically associated with women; values now shared by millions of men.
Derber is known as a public sociologist who writes for general audiences, offering not only sociological critiques but alternative visions. He is one of the most prominent contemporary exemplars of the sociological imagination as championed by C. Wright Mills.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Later he attended 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...
where he obtained his PhD. Currently Charles Derber is a professor of Sociology
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...
at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
. He has also served as director of its graduate program on social economy and social justice. Derber is a prolific writer. His works include The Wilding of America: Money, Mayhem, and the New American Dream (Worth Publishers, 2006), Hidden Power: What You Need to Know to Save Our Democracy (Berrett-Koehler, 2005), People Before Profit: The New Globalization in an Age of Terror, Big Money, and Economic Crisis (Picador, 2003), Corporate Nation (St. Martin's 2000). The Pursuit of Attention (2000), The Nuclear Seduction (with William Schwartz, University of California Press), and Power in the Highest Degree (with William Schwartz and Yale Magrass, Oxford, 1990).
Derber's work falls into three major categories. One is a critique of individualism and American culture. In 2000, Oxford University Press printed a 20th year commemorative edition of The Pursuit of Attention, marking its status as a classic sociological work. It focuses on ego-centeredness
Egocentrism
Egocentrism is a personality trait which has the characteristic of regarding oneself and one's own opinions or interests as most important or valid...
and "conversational narcissism" in everyday life as structured by class, gender and America’s individualistic culture. Derber's book, The Wilding of America, in its fourth edition, is a widely used text in American sociology. It offers a sharp critique of the American Dream and the crisis of hyper-individualism.
Derber is best known to the general public for his analysis of corporate power and globalization. His book Corporation Nation is an influential study of how corporations penetrate and increasingly control every sector of American life. People Before Profit, a treatment of corporate globalization and its alternatives, has been published in five languages. His more recent books, Regime Change Begins at Home and Hidden Power, advance the literature on the marriage of political and economic power in America. In 2006, the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) nominated Hidden Power as one of the three best American books on current events.
Derber's most recent works focus on ideology and political morality. His 2008 book, Morality Wars (co-authored with Yale Magrass), analyzes hegemonic discourses from the Roman Empire to the present. It also examines religious and "born again" ideologies, from German fascism to contemporary evangelical politics in the United States. Another 2008 book, with Katherine Adam, The New Feminized Majority, examines the gendered character of values and politics in America. It shows that a new electoral majority has embraced progressive values historically associated with women; values now shared by millions of men.
Derber is known as a public sociologist who writes for general audiences, offering not only sociological critiques but alternative visions. He is one of the most prominent contemporary exemplars of the sociological imagination as championed by C. Wright Mills.