American Journal of Sociology

AJS History

For information on the history of the AJS, here are a few links:

Past AJS Editors:

2015 – 2022, Elisabeth S. Clemens

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • In progress

2001 – 2015, Andrew Abbott

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Structural Holes and Good Ideas.” Ronald S. Burt, Vol 110(2): 349-399.
  • “Network Dynamics and Field Evolution: The Growth of Interorganizational Collaboration in the Life Sciences.” Walter W. Powell, Douglas R. White, Kenneth W. Koput, Jason Owen-Smith, Vol 110(4): 1132-1205.
  • “The Mark of a Criminal Record.” Devah Pager, Vol 108(5): 937-975.
  • “Syndication Networks and the Spatial Distribution of Venture Capital Investments.” Olav Sorenson and Toby E. Stuart, Vol 106(6): 1546-1588.
  • “Delinquent Peers Revisited: Does Network Structure Matter?.” Dana L. Haynie, Vol 106(4): 1013-1057.

1998 – 2000, Roger Gould

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Systematic Social Observation of Public Spaces: A New Look at Disorder in Urban Neighborhoods.” Robert J. Sampson and Stephen Raudenbush, Vol 105(3): 603-651.
  • “Where Do Interorganizational Networks Come From?” Ranjay Gulati and Martom Gargiulol, Vol 104(5): 1439-1493.
  • “What is Agency?” Mustafa Emirbayer and Ann Mische, Vol 103(4): 962-1023.
  • “Is Social Capital Declining in the United States? A Multiple Indicator Assessment.” Pamela Paxton, Vol 105(1): 88-127.
  • “The Categorical Imperative: Securities Analysts and the Illegitimacy Discount.” Ezra W. Zuckerman, Vol 104(5): 1398-1438.

1996 – 1998, Edward Laumann

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “World Society and the Nation-State.” John W. Meyer, John Boli, George M. Thomas, Francisco O. Ramirez, Vol 103(1): 144-181.
  • “Recombinant Property in East European Capitalism.” David Stark, Vol 101(4): 993-1027.
  • “Manifesto for a Relational Sociology.” Mustafa Emirbayer, Vol 103(2): 281-317.
  • “What’s Driving Mexico-US Migration? A Theoretical, Empirical, and Policy Analysis.” Douglas S. Massey and Kristin E Espinosa, Vol 102(4): 939-999.
  • “Corporate Elite Networks and Governance Changes in the 1980s.” Gerald F. Davis and Henrich R. Greve, Vol 103(1): 1-37.

1992 – 1996, Marta Tienda

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “A Theory of Structure: Duality, Agency, and Transformation.” William H. Sewell, Vol 98(1): 1-29.
  • “Do Neighborhoods Influence Child and Adolescent Development?” Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Greg J. Duncan, Pamela K. Klebanov, Naomi Sealand, Vol 99(2): 353-395.
  • “Embeddedness and Immigration: Notes on the Social Determinants of Economic Action.” Alejandro Portes and Julia Sensenbrenner, Vol 98(6): 1320-1350.
  • “A Status-Based Model of Market Competition.” Joel M. Podolny, Vol 98(4): 829-872.
  • “Network Analysis, Culture, and the Problem of Agency.” Mustafa Emirbayer and Jeff Goodwin, Vol 99(6): 1411-1454.

1984 – 1992, William Parish

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness.” Mark Granovetter, Vol 91(3): 481-510.
  • “Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital.” James S. Coleman, Vol 94(S): S95-S120.
  • “Community Structure and Crime: Testing Social Disorganization Theory.” Robert J. Sampson and W.Byron Groves, Vol 94(4): 774-802.
  • “Media Discourse and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: A Constructionist Approach.” William A. Gamson and Andre Modigliani, Vol 95(1): 829-872.
  • “Social Contagion and Innovation: Cohesion Versus Structural Equivalence.” Ronald S. Burt, Vol 92(6): 1287-1335.

1978 – 1984, Edward Laumann

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “The Economics of Organization:The Transaction Cost Approach.” Oliver E. Williamson, Vol 87(3): 548-577.
  • “Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structures.” Arlie R. Hochschild, Vol 85(3): 551-575.
  • “Threshold Models of Collective Behavior.” Mark Granovetter, Vol 83(6): 1420-1443.
  • “Homophily, Selection, and Socialization in Adolescent Friendships.” Denise B. Kandel, Vol 84(2): 427-436.
  • “Age and the Experience of Crime.” Travis Hirschi and Michael Gottfredson, Vol 89(3): 552-584.

1973 – 1978, Charles Bidwell

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “The Strength of Weak Ties.” Mark Granovetter, Vol 78(6): 1360-1380.
  • “Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony.” John W. Meyer and Brian Rowan, Vol 83(2): 340-363.
  • “Population Ecology of Organizations.” Michael T. Hannan and John H. Freeman, Vol 82(5): 929-964.
  • “Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: Partial Theory.” John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald, Vol 82(6): 1212-1241.
  • “City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place.” Harvey Molotch, Vol 82(2): 309-332.

1966 – 1973, C. Arnold Anderson

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Path Analysis: Sociological Examples.” Otis D. Duncan, Vol 72(1): 1-16.
  • “Adult Sex Roles and Mental Illness.” Walter R. Gove and Jeannette F. Tudor, Vol 78(4): 812-835.
  • “Issues in Multiple Regression.” Robert A. Gordon, Vol 73(5): 592-616.
  • “General Model for Analysis of Surveys.” Leo A. Goodman, Vol 77(6): 1035-1086.
  • “Sex, Marital Status, and Mortality.” Walter R. Gove, Vol 79(1): 45-67.

1960 – 1966, Peter Blau

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Notes on the Concept of Commitment.” Howard S. Becker, Vol 66(1): 32-40.
  • “The Professionalization of Everyone?” Harold L. Wilensky, Vol 70(2): 137-158.
  • “Police Encounters with Juveniles.” Irving Piliavin and Scott Briar, Vol 70(2): 206-214.
  • “Professions in Process.” Rue Bucher and Anselm Strauss, Vol 66(4): 325-334.
  • “Institutional Completeness of Ethnic Communities and the Personal Relations of Immigrants.” Raymond Breton, Vol 70(2): 193-205.

1959 – 1960, Everett Hughes

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Some Alternatives to Ecological Correlation.” Leo Goodman, Vol 64(6): 610-625.
  • “The Professionalization of Everyone?” Harold L. Wilensky, Vol 70(2): 137-158.
  • “The Cooling-Out Function in Higher Education.” Burton R. Clark, Vol 65(6): 569-576.
  • “Social Class and Parental Values.” Melvin L. Kohn, Vol 64(4): 337-351.
  • “Industrial Man: The Relation of Status to Experience, Perception, and Value.” Alex Inkeles, Vol 66(1): 1-31.

1957 – 1958, Peter Rossi

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Social Behavior as Exchange.” George C. Homans, Vol 63(6): 597-606.
  • “The Local Economy as an Ecology of Games” Norton E. Long, Vol 64(3): 251-261.
  • “Fashion.” Georg Simmel, Vol 62(6): 541-558.
  • “Out of Utopia: Toward a Reorientation of Sociological Analysis.” Ralf Dahrendorf, Vol 64(2): 115-127.
  • “Superordinate Goals in the Reduction of Intergroup Conflict.” Muzafer Sherif, Vol 63(4): 349-356.

1952 – 1957, Everett Hughes

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Conditions of Successful Degradation Ceremonies.” Harold Garfinkel, Vol 61(5): 420-424.
  • “Role-Taking, Role Standpoint, and Reference Group Behavior.” Ralph H. Turner, Vol 61(4): 316-328.
  • “National Comparisons of Occupational Prestige.” Alex Inkeles and Peter H. Rossi, Vol 61(4): 329-339.
  • “Embarrassment and Social Organization.” Erving Goffman, Vol 62(3): 264-271.
  • “Urban Neighborhoods and Informal Social Relations.” Wendell Bell and Marion D. Boat, Vol 62(4): 391-398349-356.

1940 – 1952, Herbert Blumer

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Dilemmas and Contradictions of Status.” Everett Hughes, Vol 50(5): 353-359.
  • “The Folk Society.” Robert Redfield, Vol 52(4): 293-308.
  • “Quota Restriction and Goldbricking in a Machine Shop.” Donald Roy, Vol 57(5): 427-442.

1936 – 1940, Ernest Burgess

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Urbanism as a Way of Life.” Louis Wirth, Vol 44(1): 1-24.

1925 – 1936, Ellsworth Faris

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Attitudes can be Measured.” L.L. Thurstone, Vol 33(4): 529-554.
  • “Human Migration and the Marginal Man.” Robert Park, Vol 33(6): 881-893.

1895 – 1925, Albion Small

MOST HIGHLY CITED PUBLICATIONS DURING EDITOR’S TENURE:

  • “Culture: Genuine and Spurious.” Edward Sapir, Vol 29(4): 401-429.
  • “The Number of Members as Determining the Sociological Form of a Group.” Georg Simmel, Vol 8(1); 1-46.
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