Editing Symbolic interactionism (section)

=== George Herbert Mead ===

Symbolic interaction was conceived by [[George Herbert Mead]] and [[Charles Horton Cooley]]. Mead was born in South Hadley, Massachusetts in the year 1863. Mead was influenced by many theoretical and philisocial traditions, such as, utilitarianism, evolutionism, pragmatism, behaviorism, and the looking-glass-self. Mead was a [[social constructionist]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Housley |first=William |date=April 2008 |title=Book review: Larry T. Reynolds and Nancy J. Herman—Kinney, Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism. Walnut Tree, CA: Altamira Press, 2003, 1077 pp. ISBN 0 7591 0092 6. $110.00 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14687941080080020606 |journal=Qualitative Research |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=266–267 |doi=10.1177/14687941080080020606 |issn=1468-7941|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Mead argued that people's selves are social products, but that these selves are also [[Purposive behaviorism|purposive]] and creative, and believed that the true test of any theory was that it was "useful in solving complex social problems".<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last1=Griffin|first1=Emory A.|title=A First Look at Communication Theory|last2=Ledbetter|first2=Andrew|last3=Sparks|first3=Glenn Grayson|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education|year=2015|isbn=9780073523927|edition=9th|location=New York|oclc=875554087}}</ref> Mead's influence was said to be so powerful that sociologists regard him as the one "true founder" of the symbolic interactionism tradition.
Although Mead taught in a philosophy department, he is best known by sociologists as the teacher who trained a generation of the best minds in their field. Strangely, he never set forth his wide-ranging ideas in a book or systematic treatise. Mead began his teachings at the University of Michigan then moved to the University of Chicago.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.vernonpress.com/book/568 |title=Symbolic Interactionism: The Basics [E-book, PDF] |date=2019 |publisher=Vernon Press |isbn=978-1-62273-517-4 |language=en |doi=10.54094/b-5691646dff}}</ref> After his death in 1931, his students pulled together class notes and conversations with their mentor and published ''[[Mind, Self and Society]]'' in his name.<ref name=":2" /> It is a common misconception that [[John Dewey]] was the leader of this sociological theory; according to ''The Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism,'' Mead was undoubtedly the individual who "transformed the inner structure of the theory, moving it to a higher level of theoretical complexity."<ref name=":3">Reynolds, Larry T., and Nancy J. Herman-Kinney. 1958(2003). ''Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism''. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press. {{ISBN|978-0759100923}}. [[OCLC]]&nbsp;[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51059349 51059349].</ref>[[File:George Herbert Mead.jpg|alt=George Herbert Mead|thumb|George Herbert Mead]]
''Mind, Self and Society'' is the book published by Mead's students based on his lectures and teaching, and the title of the book highlights the core concept of social interactionism. ''Mind'' refers to an individual's ability to use symbols to create meanings for the world around the individual – individuals use language and thought to accomplish this goal. ''Self'' refers to an individual's ability to reflect on the way that the individual is perceived by others. Finally, ''society'', according to Mead, is where all of these interactions are taking place. A general description of Mead's compositions portray how outside [[social structure]]s, [[Social class|classes]], and [[Power (social and political)|power]] and abuse affect the advancement of self, personality for gatherings verifiably denied of the ability to characterize themselves.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brewster|first=Kiyona|date=August 2013|title=Beyond classic symbolic interactionism: Towards a intersectional reading of George H. Mead's 'Mind, Self, and Society'|journal=[[American Sociological Association]]|series=Conference Papers|pages=1–20|via=SocINDEX with Full Text.}}</ref>