Tom R. Burns
Encyclopedia
Tom R. Burns is a Europe
an/American
sociologist
.
, and was in a Franciscan Monastery for a number of years. As a teenager, he attended Phillips Academy Andover
in Massachusetts
, before going to Stanford University
to study physics
and mathematics
. After studying physics and sociology for almost two years at the University of Warsaw
, Poland
(as an exchange student from Stanford), he returned to Stanford to take a Ph.D.
in Sociology in 1969.
, the University of New Hampshire
, University of Oslo
, Norway
; Stockholm University
, Sweden
; Lund University
, Sweden; the University of Uppsala, Sweden; Lisbon University Institute
(ISCTE), Portugal
and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, among others. Among his other professional engagements, he has been Jean Monnet Visiting Professor at the European University Institute
, Florence, Italy, 2002; Visiting Scholar, Stanford University, Spring, 2002, Spring, 2004–2008; Fellow at Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences (Spring, 1992; Autumn, 1998), and Fellow at the European University Institute (Spring, 1998).
The ASD network led by Burns developed a complex of interrelated theories. Besides the ASD theory core, Burns and several of his collaborators developed a socially embedded, role based game theory, generalized game theory
, which recognizes the social and psychological complexity of human motivation and action, the dilemmas and contradictions often facing social agents, and the problems matters of game equilibria and disequilibria. Also, Burns and Dietz developed on the basis of ASD theory a non-biological theory of sociocultural evolution
. "Social rule system theory
" formulated in the 1980s by Burns and Helena Flam together with others was a contribution to the New Institutionalism. In the 1990s a sociology of human consciousness
was developed by Burns, Erik Engdahl, Nora Machado, and Sviatoslav Korepov based on sociology and social psychology traditions, in particular inspired by George Herbert Mead. In addition, a number of new theoretical concepts such as social structuring, meta-power
and relational control, organizational dissonance and contradiction, and public policy paradigm theory were formulated and applied in empirical investigations. On a policy oriented level, the risks of complex socio-technical systems, the emergence of post-parliamentary democracy and new forms of governance, and the instabilities and ecological and social destructiveness of capitalism have been particular foci of attention since the early 1990s.
Burns was the founder of the Uppsala Theory Circle (UTC) at Uppsala University, devoted to the development of sociological and social science theory and its applications in empirical and policy research. UTC functioned as an international, interdisciplinary collegium of scholars. A major pole of UTC was located in Uppsala, Sweden, but with contributors and participants found in other parts of Europe as well as in China, Africa, and the Americas. The group conducted regular seminars, workshops, etc. often engaging leading Swedish and international scholars who were fellows at The Swedish Collegium for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (beginning in the mid-1980s, this institution brough many distinguished scholars to Uppsala, in particular). The UTC was particularly active in the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000, much of the core, which was engaged initially in Uppsala, has dispersed within and outside of Sweden.
Burns and his collaborators have published more than 10 books and numerous articles on theory and methodology as well as more empirically and policy-oriented in the areas of socio-economics, markets and market regulation, the sociology of technology, environment, and natural resources, administration and management, governance and politics.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an/American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sociologist
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...
.
Education
He grew up in ArkansasArkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and was in a Franciscan Monastery for a number of years. As a teenager, he attended Phillips Academy Andover
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, before going to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
to study physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. After studying physics and sociology for almost two years at the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(as an exchange student from Stanford), he returned to Stanford to take a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Sociology in 1969.
Teaching
He has held teaching appointments at George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
, University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
; Stockholm University
Stockholm University
Stockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
; Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
, Sweden; the University of Uppsala, Sweden; Lisbon University Institute
Lisbon University Institute
The ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute, abbreviated ISCTE-IUL , is a Portuguese public university institute, located in the centre of Lisbon in the University City campus....
(ISCTE), Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, among others. Among his other professional engagements, he has been Jean Monnet Visiting Professor at the European University Institute
European University Institute
The European University Institute ' in Florence is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute established by European Union member states to contribute to cultural and scientific development in the social sciences, in a European perspective...
, Florence, Italy, 2002; Visiting Scholar, Stanford University, Spring, 2002, Spring, 2004–2008; Fellow at Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences (Spring, 1992; Autumn, 1998), and Fellow at the European University Institute (Spring, 1998).
The ASD network and the Uppsala Theory Circle
Beginning in the early 1970s, Burns collaborated with a number of researchers (Thomas Baumgartner, Walter Buckley, Matthew Cooper, Philippe DeVille, David Meeker, Bernard Gauci, among others) in developing a new theory complex, which came to be referred to as actor-system dynamics (ASD), a new social systems theory, substantially different from Parson's systems theory and the systems theory later developed by Niklas Luhmann. This approach brought human agents in a natural and coherent way into system modelling. It saw agents (individuals and collectives) in their strategems and ploys as constrained as well as enabled by system structures, but also as forces structuring and restructuring systems and, in some instances, creating entirely new ones. This theoretical work always went hand in hand with a wide range of empirical investigatioins. It built bridges not only within the social sciences and humanities but also between the social sciences and humanities, on the one hand, and the natural, technical, and medical sciences, on the other hand. Research projects on the environment, technology, engineering, and medicine were an expression of this interdisciplinarity.The ASD network led by Burns developed a complex of interrelated theories. Besides the ASD theory core, Burns and several of his collaborators developed a socially embedded, role based game theory, generalized game theory
Generalized game theory
Generalized game theory is an extension of game theory incorporating social theory concepts such as norm, value, belief, role, social relationship, and institution. The theory was developed by Tom R. Burns, Anna Gomolinska, and Ewa Roszkowska but has not had great influence beyond these immediate...
, which recognizes the social and psychological complexity of human motivation and action, the dilemmas and contradictions often facing social agents, and the problems matters of game equilibria and disequilibria. Also, Burns and Dietz developed on the basis of ASD theory a non-biological theory of sociocultural evolution
Sociocultural evolution
Sociocultural evolution is an umbrella term for theories of cultural evolution and social evolution, describing how cultures and societies have changed over time...
. "Social rule system theory
Social rule system theory
Social rule system theory is an attempt to formally approach different kinds of social rule systems in a unified manner. Social rules systems include institutions such as norms, laws, regulations, taboos, customs, and a variety of related concepts and are important in the social sciences and...
" formulated in the 1980s by Burns and Helena Flam together with others was a contribution to the New Institutionalism. In the 1990s a sociology of human consciousness
Sociology of human consciousness
The sociology of human consciousness uses the theories and methodology of sociology to explain human consciousness. The foundations of this work may be traced to philosopher and sociologist George Herbert Mead, whose work provided major insights into the formation of mind, concepts of self and...
was developed by Burns, Erik Engdahl, Nora Machado, and Sviatoslav Korepov based on sociology and social psychology traditions, in particular inspired by George Herbert Mead. In addition, a number of new theoretical concepts such as social structuring, meta-power
Meta-power
Meta-Power is a concept of having control not simply of individuals, but of the social structures themselves. The idea has stemmed from work by sociologists such as Tom R. Burns and Peter Hall, the economist Thomas Baumgartner, as well as by political scientists such as James Rosenau and Stephen...
and relational control, organizational dissonance and contradiction, and public policy paradigm theory were formulated and applied in empirical investigations. On a policy oriented level, the risks of complex socio-technical systems, the emergence of post-parliamentary democracy and new forms of governance, and the instabilities and ecological and social destructiveness of capitalism have been particular foci of attention since the early 1990s.
Burns was the founder of the Uppsala Theory Circle (UTC) at Uppsala University, devoted to the development of sociological and social science theory and its applications in empirical and policy research. UTC functioned as an international, interdisciplinary collegium of scholars. A major pole of UTC was located in Uppsala, Sweden, but with contributors and participants found in other parts of Europe as well as in China, Africa, and the Americas. The group conducted regular seminars, workshops, etc. often engaging leading Swedish and international scholars who were fellows at The Swedish Collegium for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (beginning in the mid-1980s, this institution brough many distinguished scholars to Uppsala, in particular). The UTC was particularly active in the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000, much of the core, which was engaged initially in Uppsala, has dispersed within and outside of Sweden.
Burns and his collaborators have published more than 10 books and numerous articles on theory and methodology as well as more empirically and policy-oriented in the areas of socio-economics, markets and market regulation, the sociology of technology, environment, and natural resources, administration and management, governance and politics.
Selected bibliography
- Transitions to Alternative Energy Systems: Entrepreneurs, New Technologies, and Social Change (1984).
- Man, Decisions, Society (1985),
- The Shaping of Socio-economic Systems (1986),
- The Shaping of Social Organization: Social Rule System Theory and Its Applications (1987),
- Creative Democracy (1988),
- Societal Decision-making: Democratic Challenges to State Technocracy (1992),
- Municipal Entrepreneurship and Energy Policy: A Five Nation Study of Politics, Innovation, and Social Change (1994),
External links
- Tom R. Burns, Post-parliamentary democracy