From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ferdinand Tönnies (July 26, 1855, near Oldenswort (Eiderstedt) - April 9, 1936, Kiel, Germany) was a German sociologist. He was a major contributor to sociological theory and field studies. His distinction between two types of social groups — Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft — is what Tönnies is best known for. He was, however, a prolific writer and also co-founder of the German Society for Sociology. In English his name is often spelt without umlauts: Ferdinand Toennies.
Life
Ferdinand Tönnies was born into a wealthy family in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Tönnies studied at the universities of Jena, Bonn, Leipzig, Berlin and Tübingen.He received a doctorate in Tübingen in 1877. Four years later he became a private lecturer at the University of Kiel. Because he was thought to be a social democrat Tönnies was not made a professor until 1913. He held this post at the university of Kiel for only three years. He returned to the university as a professor emeritus in 1921 and stayed until 1933 when he was dismissed by the Nazis.
Tönnies published over 900 works and contributed to many areas of sociology. Many of his writings on sociological theories — including Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft — furthered pure sociology. Tönnies also contributed to the study of social change, particularly on public opinion, customs and technology. He also had a vivid interest in methodology and sociological research, inventing his own technique of statistical association.
