Parsons, Talcott (1902-1979), was an American sociologist. He is considered the most important theorist of the sociological school of thought called structural-functionalism. This school stressed the importance of social status and institutions in a society (see Sociology (Development of social research) ).
Parsons regarded society as a system whose parts fit together and function to maintain the stability of the society. According to Parsons, every society has three parts: (1) the individual, (2) the relationships among many individuals, and (3) the society’s culture in general. Any change in one part causes a reaction in and from the other parts.
Parsons was born on Dec. 13, 1902, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and graduated from Amherst College in 1924. He later studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science and, in 1927, he received a doctorate from the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Parsons taught at Harvard University from 1927 to 1973. Parsons’s books include The Structure of Social Action (1937) and The Social System (1951). He died on May 8, 1979.
