Empire and Subject Peoples - (Theory for a Global Age) by Jan Balon & John Holmwood (Hardcover)

About the Book

The book outlines the sociological arguments and political activities of the US pragmatist sociologist, Herbert Adolphus Miller, part of the milieu of Chicago sociology and involved in its studies of race and immigration.

Book Synopsis

The book outlines the sociological arguments and political activities of the US pragmatist sociologist, Herbert Adolphus Miller (1875-1951). Miller was part of the milieu of Chicago sociology and involved in its studies of race and immigration. He took a distinctly more radical approach and developed a novel political sociology of domination in which he set out a critique of empires, the plight of subject minorities and the risks associated with the inevitable nationalist responses. Where others have identified with the 'internationalisation' of nationalism, Miller sought to make the nation 'international'. He was actively involved in movements for racial justice, Czechoslovakian independence, the formation of the Mid-European Union of subject peoples, as well as support for Korean and Indian independence. He was dismissed by Ohio State University for his activism in 1932.

From the Back Cover

This is the first book-length study of the academic career and political activism of the overlooked US sociologist Herbert Adolphus Miller. He was associated with the Chicago school of sociology, but took a distinctly more radical approach to race and immigration than his contemporaries.

This book sets out Miller's radical approach to race and immigration involving a novel political sociology of domination. It argues that Miller's critique of empires, his focus on the plight of subject minorities, and the risks associated with the inevitable nationalist responses, were far ahead of their times. Indeed, where others identified with the 'internationalisation' of nationalism, Miller sought to make the nation 'international'. The book reveals how these ideas were developed through his involvement in movements for racial justice in the US, Czechoslovakian independence, the formation of the Mid-European Union of subject peoples, as well as support for Korean and Indian independence.

Empire and subject peoples brings to light an important but forgotten figure in the political sociology of domination and nationalism.

About the Author

Jan Balon is Senior Researcher at the Centre for Science, Technology and Society Studies, Czech Academy of Sciences, and Lecturer at the Institute of Sociological Studies, Charles University.
John Holmwood is Senior Researcher at the Centre for Science, Technology and Society Studies, Czech Academy of Sciences, and Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Nottingham.