Michael Mayerfeld Bell (sociologist)
Encyclopedia
Michael Mayerfeld Bell is an American sociologist
and social theorist. He is currently Professor of Community and Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is Co-Chair of the Agroecology Program.
Bell is best known for his work in developing a dialogic
approach to sociology
and environmental sociology
. He is also the author of Childerley: Nature and Morality in a Country Village, which won the 1995 Best Book Award in the Sociology of Culture from the American Sociological Association
, and of Farming for Us All: Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability, which won an Outstanding Academic Title award from the American Library Association
. Bell is as well the author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology, a textbook now in its fourth edition.
In the area of agroecology
, Bell has worked with William L. Bland, a soil scientist also at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to develop holon agroecology
, an approach to agroecology that emphasizes the role of intentionality in agroecological relations.
Bell is also a mandolinist and guitarist and part-composer of grassroots and classical music, and has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion
, the long-time radio variety show on National Public Radio in the United States. He currently performs with Graminy, a Wisconsin-based "class-grass" ensemble.
Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press (Sage).
Bell, Michael M. and others. 2011. The Strange Music of Social Life: A Dialogue on Dialogic Sociology. Ann Goetting, ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Bell, Michael M. 2009. “The Problem of the Original Capitalist.” Environment and Planning A 41(6): 1276-1282.
Bland, William L. and Michael M. Bell. 2007. “A Holon Approach to Agroecology.”
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 5(4): 280-294.
Campbell, Hugh; Michael M. Bell, and Margaret Finney, eds. 2006. Country Boys: Masculinity and Rural Life. Rural Studies Series of the Rural Sociological Society. College
Station, PA: Penn State University Press.
Bell, Michael M.; with Donna Bauer, Sue Jarnagin, and Greg Peter. 2004. Farming for Us All: Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability. Rural Studies Series of the Rural
Sociological Society. College Station, PA: Penn State University Press.
Bell, Michael M. and Fredrick Hendricks, eds., with Azril Bacal. 2003. Walking Towards Justice: Democratization in Rural Life. Research in Rural Sociology and Development book
series. Amsterdam and New York: JAI/Elsevier.
Bell, Michael M. and Michael Gardiner, editors. 1998. Bakhtin and the Human Sciences: No Last Words. London: Sage.
Bell, Michael M. 1997. “The Ghosts of Place,” Theory and Society. 26:813-836.
Bell, Michael M. 1994. Childerley: Nature and Morality in a Country Village. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Bell, Michael M. 1985. The Face of Connecticut: People, Geology, and the Land. Hartford, CT:
Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey.
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...
and social theorist. He is currently Professor of Community and Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is Co-Chair of the Agroecology Program.
Bell is best known for his work in developing a dialogic
Dialogic
The English terms dialogic and dialogism often refer to the concept used by the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin in his work of literary theory, The Dialogic Imagination. Bakhtin contrasts the dialogic and the "monologic" work of literature. The dialogic work carries on a continual dialogue...
approach to 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...
and environmental sociology
Environmental sociology
Environmental sociology is typically defined as the sociological study of societal-environmental interactions, although this definition immediately presents the perhaps insolvable problem of separating human cultures from the rest of the environment...
. He is also the author of Childerley: Nature and Morality in a Country Village, which won the 1995 Best Book Award in the Sociology of Culture from the American Sociological Association
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...
, and of Farming for Us All: Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability, which won an Outstanding Academic Title award from the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
. Bell is as well the author of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology, a textbook now in its fourth edition.
In the area of agroecology
Agroecology
Agroecology is the application of ecological principles to the production of food, fuel, fiber, and pharmaceuticals. The term encompasses a broad range of approaches, and is considered "a science, a movement, [and] a practice."...
, Bell has worked with William L. Bland, a soil scientist also at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to develop holon agroecology
Holon (philosophy)
A holon is something that is simultaneously a whole and a part. The word was coined by Arthur Koestler in his book The Ghost in the Machine . Koestler was compelled by two observations in proposing the notion of the holon...
, an approach to agroecology that emphasizes the role of intentionality in agroecological relations.
Bell is also a mandolinist and guitarist and part-composer of grassroots and classical music, and has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
, the long-time radio variety show on National Public Radio in the United States. He currently performs with Graminy, a Wisconsin-based "class-grass" ensemble.
Notable Publications
Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th edition. ThousandOaks, CA: Pine Forge Press (Sage).
Bell, Michael M. and others. 2011. The Strange Music of Social Life: A Dialogue on Dialogic Sociology. Ann Goetting, ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Bell, Michael M. 2009. “The Problem of the Original Capitalist.” Environment and Planning A 41(6): 1276-1282.
Bland, William L. and Michael M. Bell. 2007. “A Holon Approach to Agroecology.”
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 5(4): 280-294.
Campbell, Hugh; Michael M. Bell, and Margaret Finney, eds. 2006. Country Boys: Masculinity and Rural Life. Rural Studies Series of the Rural Sociological Society. College
Station, PA: Penn State University Press.
Bell, Michael M.; with Donna Bauer, Sue Jarnagin, and Greg Peter. 2004. Farming for Us All: Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability. Rural Studies Series of the Rural
Sociological Society. College Station, PA: Penn State University Press.
Bell, Michael M. and Fredrick Hendricks, eds., with Azril Bacal. 2003. Walking Towards Justice: Democratization in Rural Life. Research in Rural Sociology and Development book
series. Amsterdam and New York: JAI/Elsevier.
Bell, Michael M. and Michael Gardiner, editors. 1998. Bakhtin and the Human Sciences: No Last Words. London: Sage.
Bell, Michael M. 1997. “The Ghosts of Place,” Theory and Society. 26:813-836.
Bell, Michael M. 1994. Childerley: Nature and Morality in a Country Village. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Bell, Michael M. 1985. The Face of Connecticut: People, Geology, and the Land. Hartford, CT:
Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey.