Robert Putnam
The latter decades of the twentieth century saw political science and sociology increasingly converge around questions of civic life, democratic participation, and the social conditions that make collective governance possible. Robert D. Putnam, born on January 9, 1941, in Rochester, emerged from that intellectual current as a political scientist and sociologist whose work concentrated on comparative politics.
Educated at Swarthmore College and Yale University, Putnam went on to hold the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professorship in Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he also serves as a university teacher. His scholarly focus on comparative politics placed him among those researchers who examined political institutions and civic behavior across different societies rather than within a single national frame. That orientation gave his contributions a breadth that drew recognition from multiple disciplines and several countries.
The honors Putnam has received span both the sciences and the humanities. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and he holds a Fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Among his more formal disciplinary recognitions, he received the Karl Deutsch Award and the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, one of the field's most significant international honors. The National Humanities Medal extended that recognition across disciplinary lines, while the Wilbur Cross Medal and an honorary doctorate from the University of Antwerp reflect the reach of his standing beyond the United States. It is the Johan Skytte Prize, awarded for contributions to political science, that stands as a particularly concrete measure of his place within the field.
Quotes by Robert Putnam
Americans are right that the bonds of our communities have withered, and we are right to fear that this transformation has very real costs, ... Bowling Alone.
Over the course of the last generation or two, a variety of technological, economic and social changes have rendered obsolete the stuff of American social capital.
It can be heard even above the roar of a helicopter, which is important if you want to tell people anything. That's the problem with bullhorns ? over a helicopter, they can't really understand what you're saying.
She made the adjustment very, very well. I was very leery of how well she was going to adjust, because she lived up there, she didn't know anywhere else to live. That's a big move, you know.
She's cold all the time. And down here, she loves it. I mean, 95 (degrees) here and that's perfect for her. It is an ideal climate for her.
There are deep parallels between the plight of America at the turn of the last century and the plight of America today.
