Semi-Plenary Session: "Robert K. Merton: A Modern Master of Sociology

Using the term ambivalence in the title of a talk honoring the life and work of Robert K. Merton seems perfectly plausible. For one thing, the man himself was the object of considerable ambivalence. Evoking the (expectable) negative sentiment customarily directed against outstanding public figures, Merton was resented for ways in which he appeared to deploy an interest in others in manipulative ways and to pursue a seemingly insatiable agenda of selfaggrandizement. On the other hand, there were those, myself included, who were awestruck by the depth of his collegial goodwill and of his proactive generosity toward younger colleagues and students. In this regard, David Caplovitz's review of a Merton Festschrift (1977) sets a high bar: Caplovitz not only extols Merton's brilliance as a lecturer and his talents as a poet, but also highlights the boundless energy and wit with which he tackled the prose of all hapless texts that came his way. Again, there are those who now blame Bob Merton (along with Talcott Parsons) for having narrowed theoretic discourse in sociology and thereby derailed the project of robust advances American sociology to the extent that it has faltered irreversibly since his deat