C. Wright Mills in Copenhagen: Collaboration, Politics, and the Making of 'The Sociological Imagination

0Citations
Citations of this article
13Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

American sociologist C. Wright Mills is one of the most important and controversial sociologists of the post-war period. Of Mills’ works, one book stands out: The Sociological Imagination, published by Oxford University Press in 1959. Little known is that Mills drafted his book during a 12-month Fulbright visit to University of Copenhagen 1956-1957. In the rich biographical literature on Mills this is mentioned only in the passing, or not at all. Based on hitherto unused archival material, this paper offers the first detailed account of his Copenhagen-visit during the Cold War. Bringing together this bulk of new historical traces sheds new light on the year Mills himself referred to as a “pivotal moment.” These 12 months in Copenhagen, amid the Cold War, was formative for Mills in two ways: First, Copenhagen was an entrepot to European center-left thinking both east and west of the Iron Curtain. Second, the stay in Copenhagen offered a ‘space of selfhood’, allowing Mills a necessary respite to develop his critical thinking. He did so in close cooperation with like-minded colleagues in Copenhagen. In the mid-1950s, the discipline was in the making in Denmark, and the visit of a prominent US scholar like Mills offered opportunities for Danish sociologist to further the discipline – and their standing within the discipline.

References Powered by Scopus

Optimal marginality: Innovation and orthodoxy in Fromm's revision of psychoanalysis

78Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Marginality and Innovation in Science

61Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

From war junk to educational exchange: The World War II origins of the fulbright program and the foundations of American cultural globalism, 1945-1950

53Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Petersen, K. (2023). C. Wright Mills in Copenhagen: Collaboration, Politics, and the Making of ’The Sociological Imagination. American Sociologist, 54(3), 399–419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-023-09585-0

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

Lecturer / Post doc 2

100%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Social Sciences 2

100%

Article Metrics

Tooltip
Mentions
References: 1

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free