author
Emory S. (Emory Stephen) Bogardus
1882–1973
A pioneering American sociologist, he helped build one of the earliest university sociology departments in the United States and became best known for developing the Bogardus Social Distance Scale. His work focused on immigration, race attitudes, public opinion, and the ways groups relate to one another.
1 Audiobook
A history of social thought
by Emory S. (Emory Stephen) Bogardus
About the author
Born near Belvidere, Illinois, on February 21, 1882, Emory S. Bogardus studied at Northwestern University and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He joined the University of Southern California in 1911 and founded USC’s Department of Sociology in 1915, making him an important early builder of the field in American higher education.
Bogardus is remembered above all for the Bogardus Social Distance Scale, a widely known tool for measuring how willing people are to accept members of other groups in different kinds of social relationships. Across his career, he wrote extensively on immigration, race attitudes, social psychology, public opinion, and social theory, helping bring sociological research into public discussion.
He also served as president of the American Sociological Society, the organization now known as the American Sociological Association. Bogardus died in Los Angeles on August 21, 1973, leaving behind a body of work that still appears in the history of sociology and in conversations about prejudice and social relations.