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Nels Anderson | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1889-07-31)July 31, 1889 Chicago, IL |
| Died | October 8, 1986(1986-10-08) (aged 97) |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Dean Stiff |
| Occupation | Sociologist |
Nels Anderson (July 31, 1889 – October 8, 1986)[1] was an early Americansociologist who studiedhobos, urban culture, and work culture.
Anderson studied at theUniversity of Chicago underRobert E. Park andErnest Burgess, whoseConcentric zone model was one of the earliest models developed to explain the organization of urban areas. Anderson's first publication,The Hobo (1923),[2] was a work that usedparticipant observation as a research method. It was the first field research monograph of theChicago School of Sociology.
Anderson received his doctorate fromNew York University and taught atColumbia University from 1928 to 1934, when he became acivil servant. He worked as a public servant both inWashington, D.C. and abroad, mainly with agencies for work andwelfare until 1953. He continued to publish work on hobos and the homeless under the alias Dean Stiff. In an autobiographical sequence of articles entitled "Sociology has Many Faces", he wrote that no matter where he was working during these 30 years of being in non-academic sociology work, he always felt he was using and applying his sociological knowledge.[citation needed]
During the war,[which?] he served in the Middle and Near East withmerchant marine personnel. Following the war, he worked aslabor relations expert in Germany. At age 65, he returned to research, invigorating social research in Germany and eventually becoming head of theUNESCO Institute for Social Science at Cologne, from 1953 to 1962. In 1965, he joined the Department of Sociology at theUniversity of New Brunswick, where he served as a professor until 1977.[citation needed]
Throughout his career, Dr. Anderson's research focused on issues of contemporary relevance such as healthy cities and marginalized people.
A conference celebrating the 85th anniversary of the publication ofThe Hobo was held in May 2008.[3]
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