Gino Germani

Gino Germani was a Argentinian sociologist of origin Italy (Rome, 1911 - Rome, 1979).

Biography

Born in Italy, the young person Gino Germani grows whereas the Italian Fascisme gains in power. After one period of imprisonment, following the distribution of lampoons antifascists, and the death of his/her father, Germani and its mother will emigrate with Buenos Aires in Argentina in 1934. It will reside at it during nearly thirty years. In Buenos Aires, it will supplement its studies of economy which it had already carried out in Italy with a formation in Philosophie with the Université of Buenos Aires (UBA). He works then with the Ministry for the Agriculture. He will begin a career of researcher in sociology in this same university.

But, whereas he had fled authoritarianism mussolinien of Italy, Germani finds the political situation Argentinian of the time difficult. During the years of the Péronisme, it will be far away from the university, will give courses in private institutions and will translate works of social sciences coming from Europe and North America (such as for example Raymond Aron, Erich Fromm, Bronislaw Malinowski, George Herbert Mead and Margaret Mead). In 1955 it turns over to the UBA as professor of sociology and the following year as director of the institute of sociology. Germani obtains UBA the creation of the department of sociology. This department will know very active beginnings, but under the attacks of the monks who criticize his social project and of the Communists who criticize his bonds with the United States, Germani multiplies with the beginning of the year 1960, its stays outside and in particular in the United States. It then gives up gradually its loads with the UBA. In 1966, it is named professor of Latin-American studies with the Université Harvard in the United States. In 1975, he will teach in Naples in Italy. He will die in 1979 in Rome.

The sociology of Germani

Argentinian and Latin-American sociology was deeply marked by the work of Gino Germani. It practiced sociology without concessions. Its sociology scientifically founded, was removed from the prejudices of social philosophy, but also socially committed. Germani paid an special attention to the methods of research. Its meeting with the sociology of Emile Durkheim is important, but they are its readings of work in sociology as it was practiced then in the United States which is most outstanding. Germani is particularly influenced by Parsons, Lundberg, and Robert and Helen Lynd. The influence of sociology étasunienne on the work of Germani is so important that certain Latin-American sociologists regard it as a sociologist étasunien. The Argentinian sociologist Torcuato di Tella is regarded as the successor of Germani. In order to maintain the tradition of Germani in Argentina, the faculty of social sciences of the University of Buenos Aires created the Research institute Gino Germani.

Topics of its sociology

The sociology of Gino Germani is articulated mainly around two axes. Firstly around the study of freedom, the democracy and the Authoritarianism and in the second place the study of the Progress and the modernization. Germani will be always critical Nationalisme S and in particular of Argentinian nationalism and movements populist. It describes nationalism like “a suicide for the human race”. The two most outstanding works of Germani take again these topics.

The social structure of Argentina

In this work ( social Estructura of Argentina - 1955), Germani analyzes the data of the Argentinian censuses. This work will quickly become a work headlight of the sociology of the Latin America. It studies there the incidences of European immigration and the internal migrations on the social structure of Argentina. It also analyzes there the transformation of the rural world by the industrialization and its effects on the social stratification of this nation then made up of a very large majority of immigrants.

Policy and company in one time of transition

In this work ( Política there sociedad in una época of transición - 1962), Germani tries to sit its scientific sociology and its project positivist. It carries out there an analysis of Argentina which it describes like a company of transition. It develops the topics suitable for the Théorie of modernization. It analyzes the social changes, the reduction in the references to the religion and the Sécularisation. It releases an increasing specialization of the tasks (administration, bureaucracy, work) and social spheres of activity. For Germani the fast speed of these phenomena associated with technical projections in Latin America creates social strains and explains the populist movements like the Péronisme.

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