Joseph Bensman & Arthur J. Vidich Commemorative Conference - Final Conference Agenda

May 5-7, 2017
CUNY Graduate Center, Dept. of Sociology,

6th Floor, Room 6112
365 Fifth Ave. between 34th & 35th Streets, New York City

**Please bring photo identification each day to show at door at CUNY.**

OPENING EVENT: Friday, May 5, 6:30-9:30 pm

Memories of Vidich and Bensman:
Teachers, Collaborators, Friends, Family

Welcoming Remarks and Moderator: Jerry Levy

Slide show Presentation: Charles Vidich

Family members, collaborators, colleagues, and students will have the opportunity to read

statements, speak extemporaneously, or use audio/visual aids to revisit the lives of these two

thinkers.

NOTE: The conference will start promptly at 6:30 so please arrive by 6.15. We want to give

everyone a chance to speak, so if possible please confine you remarks to no more than 10

minutes.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Joseph Bensman & Arthur J. Vidich
Commemorative Conference
Schedule for Saturday, May 6th

MORNING SESSION: 10:00-1:00 pm

Opening Remarks by Michael Hughey

The legacy of Joseph Bensman

Beginning with a panel discussion on Robert Jackall and Duffy Graham’s recently published

anthology From Joseph Bensman: Essays on Modern Society, we will explore Bensman’s

legacy as a sociologist and intellectual in relationship to his collaboration with Arthur Vidich,

Maurice Stein, Israel Gerver, Bernard Rosenberg, Robert Lilienfeld, Jack Kamerman, Michael

Givant, and his relationship to Weber, Gerth, and other classical sociologists.

Moderator: CJ Churchill

Panel: Jerry Levy, Robin Goldstein, David Bensman, Michael Givant

Readings

Aside from reviewing Bensman’s writing for your own purposes, we request you read or review:

• From Joseph Bensman: Essays on Modern Society, edited by Robert Jackall & Duffy Graham
• “A Path to the Bensman Legacy” by Gerald E. Levy

[ LUNCH BREAK: 1:15-2:15 ]

AFTERNOON SESSION: 2:30-5:30 pm

The Legacy of Arthur Vidich

Starting with a discussion of Arthur Vidich’s memoir With a Critical Eye: An Intellectual and His

Times, we will explore Vidich’s individual legacy as a sociologist and intellectual, his

collaborative relationships with Joseph Bensman, Stanford Lyman, Guy Oakes, Robert Jackall,

Michael Hughey, Maury Stein, Ronald Glassman, and his relationship to Weber, Gerth, Veblen,

Speier, and other classical and Weimar sociologists.

Moderator: Michael Hughey

Panel: Charles Vidich, CJ Churchill, Laurin Raiken

Readings

Aside from reviewing Vidich’s writing for your own purposes, we request you read or review:

• With a Critical Eye: An Intellectual and His Times, Arthur J. Vidich, edited by Robert Jackall
• The New Middle Classes: Life-Styles, Status Claims, and Political Orientations (Main Trends of the Modern World), edited by Arthur J. Vidich
• “Reading Weber in the Company of Gerth: Arthur Vidich on Intellectuals and Intellectuality,” by Guy Oakes
• Papers not yet titled by Charles Vidich and Charles Simpson
• Charles Vidich’s blog containing short reviews of Vidich’s publications: http://arthurvidich.blogspot.com
• Comments on Arthur J. Vidich's Discussion and Reinterpretation of Veblen's The Higher Learning in America, by Laurin Raiken

[ 7:00 DINNER at a local restaurant, TBA. ]

_______________________________________________________________________________

Joseph Bensman & Arthur J. Vidich
Commemorative Conference

Schedule for Sunday, May 7th

[ 10:00 am Breakfast at a local restaurant, TBA ]

FINAL SESSION: 12:00pm-3:00 pm

The Collaborative Legacy of Joseph Bensman & Arthur Vidich: Their Contribution to Sociology

Joseph Bensman and Arthur Vidich co-authored two major books on American society, edited

three anthologies, and collaborated on numerous essays and articles. This session will explore

their contribution to American sociology and an understanding of American society in the post

World War II era, their relationship to classical sociology, Gerth and Weimar sociology, and

their influence on other collaborators, colleagues, and students.

Moderator: Laurin Raiken

Panel: Jerry Levy, Michael Hughey, Charles Simpson

Readings

Aside from reviewing Vidich and Bensman’s writing for your own purposes, we request you

read or review:

• “Forward,” by Michael Hughey, to 3rd Edition of Small Town in Mass Society
• “A Theory of the Contemporary American Community”, available as Ch. 12 of 3rd Edition of Small Town in Mass Society, and available in revised form as Ch. 14, “Liberalism and the New Middle Classes,” in The New Middle Classes: Life-Styles, Status Claims, and Political Orientations (Main Trends of the Modern World), edited by Arthur J. Vidich
• American Society: The Welfare State and Beyond
• “The New Middle Classes,” by Gerald E. Levy, International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1996: pp.611-621.
• "Arthur Vidich, Joseph Bensman, and the Political Failure of the Middle Classes: The Case of Burlington, Vermont" by Charles R. Simpson

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS: 3:00-3:30 pm

**Please bring photo identification each day to show at door at CUNY.**

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us:
bensmanvidichconference@gmail.com
Jerry Levy’s landline - 802.254.8513

New Tribalisms - The Resurgence of Race and Ethnicity

This brilliant collection of eighteen essays on race and ethnicity in pluralistic societies explains why race and ethnicity remain central concerns of modern life.  The myth of America as a "melting pot" of many cultures and ethnicities that have dissolved into one American culture is soundly defeated in this collection of essays organized by Michael Hughey under the editorial guidance of Robert Jackall and Arthur Vidich.  This book explains why race and ethnicity continue to play a central role in any dispassionate assessment of American society. Herbert Blumer's masterful essay, "Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position" points to the power of social forces and social thought leaders as critical to the resolution of race relations. Walker Connor's essay, "Beyond Reason: The Nature of the Ethnonational Bond" explains why ethno-nationalism continues to play a profound role in identity politics even in multi-ethnic societies such as America.

This book presciently forecasts the social, ethnic and racial conflicts this nation is experiencing in the post Obama era. Hughey and Vidich point to the resurgence of the new tribalism in their article "The New American Pluralism: Racial and Ethnic Sodalities and Their Sociological Implications." Rather than creating a melting pot, America is now experiencing a renaissance of ethnic and racial solidarities that have broad implications for 21st century political campaigns and governance strategies. Hughey is one of this nation's leading sociological scholars and his work, as represented by the essays in this volume, provides a compelling case for what he calls the "new American pluralism."

American Society

Art and Joseph Bensman teamed up to publish the "New American Society." Originally issued in 1971, this revised edition issued by Bergin and Garvey Publishers, brings their original analysis of American society into the realities of the late seventies and early 1980s when the United States began to face unprecedented economic challenges with emerging economies in Southeast Asia and the failure of our nation to police ourselves and the world and to maintain political leadership over our ascendant allies.

Art and Joe were constantly reassessing the state of our nation and this book represents a "status report" on American Society.

American Sociology

Art published this book in 1985 with his colleage Stan Lyman. Art wrote a commentary in the book he signed to me that said "Charles and Clare - With all due respect for those who are religiously musical from one who is not - yet as you will see in this book other worldliness and this worldliness are not that far apart! - Dad."

His note, written on March 24, 1985 reflected his deep and long standing interest in the inextricably close link between the world of the sociologists and the daily life of those seeking answers to the fundamental questions of life on earth.

This was one of his most important works - even though the sociology profession has failed to grasp the depth of his analysis of their profession.

The New American Society

Art and Joseph Bensman collaborated on many books. This one was perhaps one that brought them into the greatest level of collaboration any two sociologists might ever hope to achieve. Their work portrayed the 'revolution" of the American middle class in the Post World War II era. Their assessment of the new middle class would be the first of numerous ongoing "status reports" on how the American experiment in political democracy was faring.

The book was extremely well received. Robert Nisbet praised the authors and their book stating "first rate - more than any single book I can think of, it avoids the pitfalls and meets the realities which lie in front of anyone seeking to do justice to the complexities of American social stratification. The authors have faced up to the fact that social class in the 19th and early 20th century sense no longer exists... I hope profoundly that this book, with its wealth of revealing details, its crystal clear perspectives, and its extraordinarily lucid writing, will remove the cant and ritual which are the common baggage of writing on social class in this country. Almost for the first time, this a book on social status in America that has the benefit of sure insight into the revolutionary changes that have taken place in the American poltical and economic structure sine the New Deal. I wish for it the widest possible reading."

To Those Planning to Attend the Vidich-Bensman Conference:

We met last week and have developed a preliminary plan for the Vidich-Bensman conference planned for May 5-7, 2017, CUNY Graduate Center, Dept. of Sociology, 365 Fifth Ave. between 34th & 35th Streets, New York City. The tentative schedule is as follows:

Fri. May 5:

7:00-9:30 pm 

Memories of Vidich and Bensman as teachers, collaborators, friends, and family. Participants will have opportunity to read statements, speak extemporaneously, or use audio/visual aids to revisit the lives of these two thinker. We solicit ideas for this session from interested parties

Sat. May 6:

10:00 – 1:00

Session on the legacy of Joseph Bensman:

Beginning with a panel discussion on Robert Jackall and Duffy Graham’s recently published anthology From Joseph Bensman: Essays on Modern Society, we will use a discussion of the anthology to begin to assess Bensman’s legacy as a sociologist and intellectual in relationship to his collaboration not only with Arthur Vidich but Maury Stein, Israel Gerver, Bernard Rosenberg, Robert Lilienfeld, Jack Kamerman, Michael Gavant, and others.

           1:15-2:15 LUNCH

           2:30-5:30

           Session on the Legacy of Arthur Vidich:

Starting with a panel discussion on Arthur Vidich’s memoir With a Critical Eye: An Intellectual and His Times, we will begin to assess Vidich’s individual legacy as a sociologist and intellectual in relationship to his collaboration not only with Joseph Bensman but Stanford Lyman, Guy Oakes, Robert Jackall, Michael Hughey, Maury Stein, Ronald Glassman, and others.

           7:00 DINNER at a local restaurant

Sun. May 7:

12:00pm-3:00

The Intellectual Collaborative Legacy of Joseph Bensman & Arthur Vidich and their contribution to sociology. 

3:00-3:30

          Concluding thoughts.

In the sessions on the work of Bensman and Vidich, participants will have the opportunity to discuss their written work, and have that work responded to as well as speak extemporaneously on issues raised. We still are soliciting ideas and are very interested to hear from people who wish to be moderators or participants in the panel discussions. As we hear from participants as to what they wish to contribute, the above schedule will develop more.

We will need to receive copies of papers and/or commitments to serve as commentators on panels by March 15, 2017. Selected papers will be distributed to all participants via email unless authors explicitly request a paper not be circulated.

For guidance regarding content, please see the article published in 1996 by Jerry Levy; it is a review essay of Arthur’s anthology The New Middle Classes. This paper is but one of many possible perspectives on their work.

While we will continue to email you updates, you may also visit this blog site dedicated to Arthur's career, maintained by Charles Vidich, for updates on the conference.

If you know of salient work already published which you think should be included in this conference, please alert us to those sources. Meanwhile, we encourage attendees to read or review the following books:

• From Joseph Bensman: Essays on Modern Society, Robert Jackall & Duffy Graham
• With a Critical Eye: An Intellectual and His Times, Arthur J. Vidich
• The New Middle Classes: Social, Psychological, and Political Issues (Main Trends of the Modern World), Arthur J. Vidich

We look forward to hearing from you soon. Please also confirm your attendance as soon as possible, whether or not you intend to participate in a panel.

Please call Jerry Levy at his cell number, (301) 775-8840 or his landline, (802) 254-8513 or to contact CJ Churchill by email, cjchurchi@yahoo.com.

All Best,

Jerry Levy & CJ Churchill

To Those Interested in the Work of Arthur Vidich & Joseph Bensman:

This is an announcement for a conference to commemorate the legacy of Arthur Vidich and Joseph Bensman that will be held in New York City May 6-7, 2017. While Vidich and Bensman each made significant individual contributions to sociology, their lifelong collaboration resulted in two major books, several timely anthologies, and many articles. The purpose of the conference will be to explore their joint and individual legacies, their contribution to sociology and the influences they had on their collaborators, colleagues, and students. We welcome participants and presenters.

Thanks to the kind assistance of Dr. Philip Kasinitz, the conference will be held at CUNY Graduate Center, Dept. of Sociology, 365 Fifth Ave. between 34th & 35th Streets, New York, NY on May 6 & 7 (Saturday & Sunday), 2017. We may also have a get-together at CUNY on Friday evening May 5.

We need to know with some certainty who plans to attend and who plans to contribute a paper and/or serve as a discussant. With under a year until the scheduled date of the conference, we need to begin to have a sense of how many people intend to come and contribute.

Please reply via email to CJ Churchill, cjchurchi@yahoo.com, or by phone to Jerry Levy at 301.775.8840 (cell) or 802.254.8513 (landline). In either case, it will help if you could provide us with your phone numbers to facilitate communication as needed. 

We also suggest that you submit your email contact at this blog site so that you can receive automatic notifications of ongoing updates and announcements about this important conference.

Once again, if you would like to attend or present a paper please contact CJ Churchill, cjchurchi@yahoo.com, or call by phone to Jerry Levy at 301.775.8840 (cell) or 802.254.8513 (landline).

We look forward to hearing from you soon. Please feel free to forward this announcement to anyone you know who might be interested in the conference.

All Best,
CJ Churchill & Jerry Levy

Those Planning to Attend the Vidich-Bensman Conference

Joseph Bensman and Arthur Vidich in New York City, Circa 1980

December 15, 2016


To Those Planning to Attend the Vidich-Bensman Conference:

We met on Dec. 9, 2016, and we are happy to report that the conference is shaping up the way we had hoped. We already have commitments from a number of speakers. However, you should all know that we have received thousands of hits on our blog site reflecting great interest in the conference so we urge you to make your interest known to us so we can plan accordingly.

We have commitments from participants to write papers, participate in the Friday night session where we will be expressing more personal remembrances of Arthur and Joe, and the Saturday and Sunday sessions where we will discuss their substantive work. With your help, we have located colleagues and students of Bensman and Vidich some of whom we were not previously aware. We are still looking for people; we will be contacting individuals to ask them what panels they want to serve on.

The deadline for papers is March 15, but we will certainly accept work before then and will send to interested parties immediately.

We will have a final schedule for the conference with other instructions by early April. Please go to the following for the preliminary conference program: http://arthurvidich.blogspot.com

The dates of the conference are May 5-7, 2017, and it will be held at: 
CUNY Graduate Center
Dept. of Sociology
365 Fifth Ave. between 34th & 35th Streets
New York City.

For information about the conference, call Jerry Levy at his cell
number, (301) 775-8840 or his landline, (802) 254-8513 or contact us via email at 

bensmanvidichconference@gmail.com. 

All Best,
Jerry Levy & CJ Churchill

This is a site dedicated to the life of Arthur Vidich.