Bio: (1910–1995) American sociologist. Edward Shils worked at the University of Chicago for over fifty years, while also teaching at several universities in Britain – the London School of Economics, Cambridge, University of London, etc. He was the founder and editor of the journal Minerva.

Shils is most renowned for his translations of the works of Max Weber from German into English and their popularization in American sociology. He is also known for collaboration with Talcott Parsons in writing Toward a General Theory of Action (1951). In books The Intellectuals and the Power (1972), The Calling of Sociology (1980), and The Academic Ethic (1983), Shils analyzed the role and power of intellectuals in the formation of public policy. He researched the topic of macro-sociology and solidarity in the books Center and Periphery. Essays in Macrosociology (1975), Tradition (1981), and The Constitution of Society (1982).

Higher education was the topic of The Calling of Higher Education. The Academic Ethic and Other Essays on Higher Education (1997) and Max Weber on Universities. The Power of the State and the Dignity of the Academic Calling in Imperial America (1973). He opposed both the idea that universities should be directly involved in politics and student activism of the 1960s, advocating for universities that would be autonomous and independent from the state and wider politics.

Main works

The Methodology of the Social Sciences (1949);

Toward a General Theory of Action (1951);

Max Weber on Law in Economy and Society (1954);

The torment of secrecy : the background and consequences of American security policies (1956);

The Intellectual Between Tradition and Modernity: The Indian Situation (1961);

Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory, Two Volumes in One (ed.). (1961);

The Intellectuals and the Power (1972);

Max Weber on Universities. The Power of the State and the Dignity of the Academic Calling in Imperial America (1973);

Center and Periphery. Essays in Macrosociology (1975);

The Calling of Sociology (1980);

Tradition (1981);

The Constitution of Society (1982);

The Academic Ethic (1983);

The Calling of Higher Education. The Academic Ethic and Other Essays on Higher Education (1997).