Grimshaw, Allen Day

Professor Allen Day Grimshaw was born on December 16, 1929. Grimshaw attended Purdue University (1946-1948) where he majored in Engineering before transferring to the University of Missouri (1948-1952) where he received his B. A. in Anthropology and Sociology and his M.A. in Sociology. He then went on to the University of Pennsylvania where he obtained his PhD in Sociology (1954-1959).

Professor Grimshaw joined the Indiana University Department of Sociology in 1959 where he remained until his retirement in 1994. Grimshaw’s early research, including his PhD dissertation, focused on race relations and violence in the United States. His most influential work during this period was his volume Racial Violence in the United States. Grimshaw’s other major area of interest was sociolinguistics. His most notable contribution in this field came in the form of the Multiple Analysis Project (MAP) which was the first sociolinguistic study to bring together representatives of different professions to investigate the same data record of a particular speech event. This research resulted in the publication of two books: Collegial Discourse: Professional Conversation Among Peers, and What’s Going On Here?: Complementary Studies of Professional Talk. Combining his interest in social conflict and sociolinguistics, Professor Grimshaw also conducted a series of analyses of international negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States. Grimshaw’s most notable research initiatives in this area were the Generals and Admirals International Negotiation (GAIN) and Aral Sea projects as well as his edited volume, Conflict Talk.