American Sociological Association’s annual meeting session titled “From Rhodesia to Beijing: Reflections on the Scholarship of Giovanni Arrighi”
August 8, 2009 4:30 PM - 6:10 PM
San Francisco, CA
From his early writings on the political economy of Africa to his most recent book examining the lineages of the 21st century, Giovanni Arrighi’s scholarship has had a profound and lasting impact, both within sociology and across the social sciences more generally. In recognition of his achievements, Giovanni Arrighi is being honored at the 2009 ASA meeting with the Political Economy of the World-System Section Distinguished Career Award. This session takes the opportunity afforded by the Distinguished Career Award to assemble a panel of scholars, each of whom has been influenced by different aspects of Arrighi’s work, to reflect on the significance of his contributions. Panelists include:
Jennifer L. Bair (University of Colorado), Michael Burawoy (Univ. of California, Berkeley), Peter B. Evans (University of California, Berkeley), Greta R. Krippner (University of Michigan), Ho-Fung Hung (Indiana University - Bloomington), Beverly Silver (Johns Hopkins University)
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I'm a member of the JHU sociology department and we're all missing Giovanni greatly but also inspired by memories of his intellectual greatness and personal warmth.
I attended the ASA session yesterday (along with the standing-room-only crowd that assembled). The panelists shared great stories and insights about Giovanni's life and work. The admiration for Giovanni's scholarship and the affection for him as a person were huge.
Listening to the presentations, and also reading the other postings on this memorial website, planted an amusing thought in my head. JHU Sociology used to have a softball team called "Paradigm Shift" ... good times, fun games. Now there perhaps needs to be a transnational soccer or squash team (see, I've read some of the postings to learn more about Giovanni) ... a team called "Analytic Nerve."
Well, Saturday's ASA session was a great tribute to a great person.
-- Steve Plank
-- Associate Professor, JHU Sociology
P.S. -- I have two sons, and the six-year-old became very fond of Giovanni even though he probably met him only 5 or 6 times. My kid now has a very clear image of what a big thinker, who deals with complex, global themes, is. Seriously, if you asked my kid to describe a big-thinking scholar he would offer a one-word answer: Giovanni.
Posted by Stephen Plank on August 9, 2009 9:55 am