Pitirim Sorokin Between East and West : Russian traces in rural sociology

Pitirim Sorokin (1889–1968) was a young social scientists, who worked for a short academic period in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) before and during revolution. There he followed newest streams in western and eastern philosophy, made field research in Russia and worked for a new synthesis in sociology. Neo-positivism and empiricism characterized young Sorokin’s own research but he had strong interest on theories, and he made a major effort to develop an own theoretical interpretation of society. During his first years in United States he contributed rural sociology by lectures and publications with Carle C. Zimmerman. Principles of Rural-Urban Sociology (1929), followed by Systematic Source Book in Rural Sociology (1930–32) became the synthesis of previous works in rural sociology. This article aims to bridge the two phases in Sorokin’s life and to evaluate his contribution on rural sociology, as well as the reception of his works.