Herbert Blumer; 20th-Century Sociologist
Herbert Blumer, a nationally acclaimed sociologist and long-time chairman of the Department of Sociology at the University of California at Berkeley, died Monday at his home in Danville in Northern California after a long illness.
Blumer, 87, was a sociological scholar of the 20th Century. Before joining the Berkeley faculty in 1952, he had taught for 11 years at the University of Chicago, where he earned his doctorate in sociology in 1927.
In 1983, the American Sociological Assn. awarded Blumer its highest honor, given in recognition of a career of distinguished scholarship.
A past president of the association, he was credited with being the first to develop the discussion of methodological issues as an important concern of sociologists.
Blumer also studied areas such as collective behavior, social movements, race relations, social problems and public opinion.
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