Wallerstein, Immanuel

Wallerstein, Immanuel (Maurice)

(1930– ) sociologist; born in New York City. He studied at Columbia University (B.A. 1951; M.A. 1954; Ph.D. 1959), and at Oxford (1955–56). He taught at Columbia (1958–71), McGill University, Montreal, Canada (1971–76), and State University of New York: Binghamton (1976), where he was distinguished professor of sociology and director of the Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economics, Historical Systems, and Civilizations. He wrote many texts dealing with the economy and political systems of the world, including The Modern World-System (2 vols. 1974, 1980), The Politics of the World Economy (1984), and Geopolitics and Geoculture (1991).

Wallerstein, Immanuel

(1930-) US sociologist and social historian, born in New York and educated at Columbia University. He researched primarily in Africa, between 1955 and 1970. The first volume of his Modern World-System appeared in 1974, and since 1976 he has been Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York, Binghamton, and Director of the Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations. His major contribution has been the development of WORLD SYSTEMS theory and the coordination of a large body of research which comprises interdisciplinary studies in sociology, economics, politics and history. The most general statements of his approach are contained in his The Capitalist World-Economy (1979), a collection of essays, and Historical Capitalism (1983). see also CENTRE AND PERIPHERY.