Abstract
When Park died, he left his theory of the human habitat not only incomplete, but in considerable disarray. Although few present-day scholars have demonstrated much interest in building on this critical body of Park’s work, which he based on dominance, it probably represents his most important contribution to American sociology. I argue that the key to systemizing his highly discursive account of the human habitat is to view it from an emergent social evolutionary perspective, which makes it possible to differentiate his notion of “community” from “society,” as well as explain how the two concepts can logically be viewed as both separate and unified entities. A community is not only a necessary stage in the social evolutionary process of producing a society, but it also provides the habitat needed for a society’s later emergence. Among other things, Park’s theory of the human habitat is also criticized for its failure to (1) distinguish dominance from domination, (2) identify the reciprocal relationship existing between power and domination, (3) accurately characterize the nature of the economic order operating in communities, and (4) demarcate a pre-lingual, lingual and literate communal stages that precedes in the social evolutionary process the possible development of a society. In passing, I also point out critical, but often overlooked aspects of Park’s theory of the human habitat that contradict popular characterizations of his work as being purblind to the operation of dominance and power, social Darwinist, conservative, sexist, and racist. Finally, I deduce the implications of his theory for the future emergence of a “world society.”
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott, A. (1999). Department & discipline: Chicago sociology at one hundred. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Athens, L. (2005). Mead’s lost conception of society. Symbolic Interaction, 28, 305–325.
Athens, L. (2007). Radical interactionism: Going beyond mead. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 37, 137–165.
Athens, L. (2009). The roots of radical interactionism. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 39, 387–414.
Athens, L. (2015). Domination and subjugation in everyday life. London: Transaction, an imprint of Francis and Taylor.
Athens, L. (2017). The “ struggle for recognition” (or “status”) as the basis for internecine conflict in diverse modern societies? Symbolic Interaction, 40, 581–583.
Bachelor, B., & Krister, K. (2012). Starbucks: A case study examining power and culture via radical socio-drama. Prism, 9, 1–11.
Blumer, H. (1954). Social structure and power conflict. In A. Kornhauser, R. Dubin, & A. Ross (Eds.), Industrial conflict (pp. 232–239). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Bulmer, R. (2017). Robert Park’s journey into sociology. In P. Kivisto (Ed.), The anthem companion to Robert Park (pp. 37–49). Anthem: New York.
Cersosimo, G. (2017). L’ interazionismo radicale. Palermo: Kurumuny.
Deegan, M. (2006). The human drama behind the study of people as potato bugs: The curious marriage of Robert E. Park and Clara Cahill Park. Journal of Classical Sociology, 6, 101–122.
Deegan, M. (2017). A twisted path: Park, gender, and praxis. In P. Kivisto (Ed.), The anthem companion to Robert Park (pp. 1–16). Anthem: New York.
Dennis, A., & Martin, P. (2005). Symbolic interaction and the concept of power. British Journal of Sociology, 56, 192–213.
Dewey, J. (1935). Liberalism and social action. New York: Capricorn.
Drake, St. Clair. (1984). New introduction. In B. T. Washington & R. E. Park’s (Eds.), The man farthest down: A record of observation and study in Europe (pp. v–lxiv). New Brunswick: Transaction Books.
Ellison, R. (1964). Shadow and act. New York: Quality Paperback.
Faris, E. (1937/1976). The nature of human nature. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Faris, R. E. L. (1967/1970). Chicago sociology: 1920–1932. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Faris, R. E. L. (1980). Foreword. In J. Lewis & R. Smith’s (Eds.), American sociology and pragmatism: Mead, Chicago sociology, and symbolic interaction (pp. xi–xvii). Chicago: University of Chicago.
Gougherty, M. and T. Hallet (2013). Revisiting Learning to Labor: Domination, resistance and the “Grind”. In Lonnie Athens (Ed.), Studies in Symbolic Interactionism: Radical Interactionism on the Rise, 41, 83–121.Hall, P.1972. “A symbolic interactionist analysis of politics,” Sociological Inquiry 42: 35–75.
Hall, P. (1972). A symbolic interactionist analysis of politics. Sociological Inquiry, 42, 35–75.
Hall, P. (1985). Asymmetric relationships and processes of power. Studies in Symbolic Interaction, edited by H. Farberman and R. Perinbanayagam, Supplement 1: 309–344.
Hall, P. (1987). Interactionism and the study of social organization. Sociological Quarterly, 28, 1–22.
Hall, P. (1997). Meta-power, social organization, and the shaping of social action. Symbolic Interaction, 20, 397–418.
Hughes, E. C. 1964/1984. Robert E. Park. In E. Hughes (Ed.), The Sociological Eye: Selected papers (pp. 545–549). New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Janowitz, M. (1970). Introduction. Robert Park and Ernest Burgess’ Introduction to the science of Sociology: Student edition (pp. xiii-xviii). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Katovich, M. (2011). Death becomes mead: Toward a radical interactionist reading Of Million Dollar Baby. In N. Denzin (Ed.), Studies in Symbolic Interactionism, 36, 161–81.
Katovich, M. (2013). Dominance, deference, and demeanor in Mad Men: Toward a convergence of radical interactionism and radical dramaturgy. In Lonnie Athens (Ed.), Studies in Symbolic Interactionism: Radical Interactionism on the Rise, 41, 161–89.
Katovich, M. (2018). Radical interactionism and the symbolism of methamphetamine. In J. Trevino (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems I (pp. 259–278). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kivisto, P. (Ed.). (2017a). The anthem companion to Robert Park. New York: Anthem.
Kivisto, P. (2017b). The legacy of Robert Park. In P. Kivisto (Ed.), The anthem companion to Robert Park (pp. 1–16). Anthem: New York.
Maines, D., Bridger, J., & Ulmer, J. (1996). Mythic facts and Park’s pragmatism: On predecessor-selection and theorizing in human ecology. Sociological Inquiry, 37, 521–549.
Marotta, V. (2017). Marginality, racial politics and the sociology of knowledge: Robert Park and critical race theory. In P. Kivisto (Ed.), The anthem companion to Robert Park (pp. 181–200). Anthem: New York.
Matthews, F. (1977). Quest for an American sociology: Robert E. Park and the Chicago school. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University.
Mead, G. H. (1932). The philosophy of the present. La Salle: Open Court.
Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self & society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Mead, G. H. (1936). Movements of thought in the nineteenth century. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Menand, L. (2001). The metaphysical club: A story of ideas in America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Miller, A. and R. Park. (1921) Old world traits transplanted. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Morris, A. (2015). The scholar denied: W.E.B. Du bois and the birth of modern sociology. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Murphy, A. (1932a). Preface. In G. Mead, The Philosophy of the Present (pp. vii–viii). La Salle: Open Court.
Murphy, A. (1932b). Introduction. In G. Mead’s, The Philosophy of the Present (pp. xi–xxxv). La Salle, Open Court.
Muslof, G. (2012). The superiority delusion and critical paradoxes of role-taking refusal in the micro-foundation of dehumanization and resistance. In Norman Denzin (Ed.) Studies in Symbolic Interaction 39: 71–120.
Muslof, G. (2013). Domination and resistance: The politics of John Dewey. Studies in Symbolic Interactionism: Radical Interactionism on the Rise. In Lonnie Athens (Ed). 41: 161–189.
Muslof, G. (2014). The dialectic of domination and democracy in Aeschylus’s Oresteia: A radical interactionist reading. Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 42, 69–107.
Muslof, G. (2016). The intellectual origins of the debate over the astructural bias. In G. Musolf (Ed.) Studies in Symbolic Interaction: The Astructural Bias Charge: Myth or Reality 46: 1–18.
Natali, L. (2016). A visual approach for green criminology: Exploring the social perception of environmental harm. London: Macmillan.
Park, R. E. (1925/1952). The urban community as a spatial pattern and moral order. Sociology, community and society. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Human communities (pp. 165–177). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1926/1950). Our racial frontier on the Pacific. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Race and culture: Essays in the sociology of contemporary man (pp. 138–157). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1927/1955). Human nature and collective behavior. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Society: Collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology and modern society (pp. 13–21). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1929a). The city as a social laboratory. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Human communities (pp. 73–87). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1929b). Sociology, community and society. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Human communities (pp. 178–209). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1931a). The sociological methods of William Graham Sumner, and of William I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Society: Collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology and modern society (pp. 243–266). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1931b). Human nature, attitudes and mores. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Society: Collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology and modern society (pp. 267–292). New York: Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1931c). Mentality of racial hybrids. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Race and culture: Essays in the sociology of contemporary man (pp. 377–392). New York: Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1934/1952). Dominance. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Human communities (pp. 159–164). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1936a). Human ecology. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Human communities (pp. 145–158). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1936b). Succession, an ecological concept. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Society: Collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology and modern society (pp. 223–232). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1938/1950). Reflections on communication and culture. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Race and culture: Essays in the sociology of contemporary man (pp. 36–52). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1939a). The nature of race relations. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Race and culture: Essays in the sociology of contemporary man (pp. 81–116). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1939b). The city as a natural phenomenon. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Human communities (pp. 118–127). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1939c). Symbiosis and socialization: A frame of reference for the study of society. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Human communities (pp. 240–262). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1940/1955). Physics and society. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Society: Collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology and modern society (pp. 301–321). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1941/1955). War and politics. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Society: Collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology and modern society (pp. 50–68). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1942/1955). Modern society. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Society: Collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology and modern society (pp. 322–341). New York: Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1943/1950). Education and the cultural crisis. In E. Hughes (Ed.), Race and culture: Essays in the sociology of contemporary man (pp. 316–330). New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1950). Race and culture: Essays in the sociology of contemporary man. New York: The Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1952). Human communities: the city and human ecology, E. Hughes (Ed.). New York: Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1955). Society: collective behavior, news and opinion, sociology and modern society, Everett Hughes (Ed.). New York: Free Press.
Park, R. E. (1967). On Social Control and Collective Behavior. Ralph Turner (Ed.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Park, R. E., & Burgess, E. (1921). Introduction to the science of sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Park, R. E., & Burgess, E. (1924). Introduction to the science of sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Picart, C. J. S. 2013. Reflections on power and intersectionality. In Lonnie Athens (Ed.) Studies in Symbolic Interactionism: Radical Interactionism on the Rise 41: 191–214.
Plummer, K. (2000). Symbolic interactionism in 20 th Century. In B. S. Turner (Ed.), Blackwell companion to sociology (pp. 193–222). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Prus, R. (1999). Beyond the power mystique: Power as intersubjective accomplishment. Albany, State University of New York Press.
Puddephat, A. (2013). Toward a radical interactionist account of science. Studies in Symbolic Interactionism: Radical Interactionism on the Rise. In Lonnie Athens (Ed.), 41, 161–189.
Puddephatt, A. (2017). George Herbert mead—The evolution of mind, self and society through interaction. In M. Jacobsen (Ed.), The interactionist imagination (pp. 95–119). London: Palgrave McMillan.
Raushenbush, W. (1979). Robert E. Park: Biography of a sociologist. Durham: Duke University.
Ross, E. (1901). Social control: A survey of the foundations of order. New York: Macmillan.
Ruiz-Junco, N. (2011). Santayana: Entering into the drama of his social thought. In N. Denzin (Ed.) Studies in symbolic interactionism, 36,137–60.
Schwalbe, M., Godwin, S., Holden, D., Scrhock, D., Thompson, S., & Wolkomir, M. (2000). Generic processes in the reproduction of inequality. Social Forces, 79, 419–452.
Shalin, D. (1984). The romantic antecedents of Meadian social psychology. Symbolic Interaction, 7, 43–65.
Shalin, D. (2000). George Herbert Mead. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), The Blackwell companion to major social theorists (pp. 302–344). Oxford: Blackwell.
Shalin, D. 2011. Pragmatism & democracy: Studies in history, social theory, and progressive politics. New Brunswick, N.J.
Shaw, J.A. (2013). The best road for pragmatism: Neo-pragmatism or radical interactionism. Studies in Symbolic Interactionism: Radical Interactionism on the Rise. In Lonnie Athens (Ed). 41: 215–46.
Shaw, J.A. (2016). Radical interactionism. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), The Blackwell companion to major social theorists. Oxford: Blackwell, online: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405165518. Wbeos 0758.
Shils, E. 1991. Robert E. Park: 1864-1944. American Scholar 91: 120–27.
Simmel, G. (1950). In K. Wolf (Ed.), The sociology of Georg Simmel. New York: Free Press.
Turner, R. (1967). Introduction. In R. Turner (Ed.), Park: On social control and collective behavior. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. ix-xlvi.
Weinberg, J. (1972). Edward Alsworth and the sociology of progressivism. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
During the Ethnography and Qualitative Conference held at Bergamo University (Bergamo, Italy) on June 6-9, 2018, I delivered a keynote address based on earlier version of this paper. Many thanks to the conference organizers, especially Professor Marco Marzano, for inviting me. I also wish to acknowledge my debt to Lawrence Nichols for his substantive and Richard Rhodes for both his substantive and editorial suggestions.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Athens, L. The Human Habitat: a Systemization and Critique of Park’s Theory from a Radical Interactionist Perspective. Am Soc 49, 548–568 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-018-9382-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-018-9382-4