Janowitz, Morris.

Sociologist.

From the description of Reminiscences of Morris Janowitz: oral history, 1984. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122481748

Morris Janowitz was born on October 22nd, 1919 (Died November 7th, 1988), and grew up in Paterson, New Jersey. After graduating from Eastside High School and New York University with a Journalism degree, Morris entered the service in 1943. There he was commissioned by the Office of Strategic Services while with the Psychological Warfare Branch, as he served as an Intelligence Officer determining the levels of the German Armed Forces' morale throughout the war. After receiving the purple heart for sustaining wounds after an air raid in London, and the Bronze Star for his "meritorious service in connection with military operations" in the European Theater of Operations, Janowitz left the service in November of 1945, but continued to work with Washington D.C. in interpreting foreign and Fascist propaganda. Janowitz earned his Doctorate degree in the Social Sciences, and taught at the University of Chicago while writing numerous publications. Morris stayed very active in his community, earning the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service given by the Department of the Army. He passed away on November 7th, 1988 due to Parkinson's Disease.

From the description of [The Morris Janowitz collection] 1941-1988. (Pritzker Military Library). WorldCat record id: 781444298

Sociologist. A.B. New York University, 1941. Ph. D., University of Chicago, 1948.

From the description of Papers, 1940-1989 (inclusive). (University of Chicago Library). WorldCat record id: 52246232

Morris Janowitz was born on October 22, 1919 to Samuel and Rose Janowitz, Polish immigrants living in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended Washington Square College of New York University from 1937 to 1941, graduating with a B.A. in economics. As World War II began, he went to work for the Department of Justice Special War Policies Unit until he was drafted in 1943. Janowitz was assigned to the Research and Analysis Branch of the Office of Strategic Services and sent to work for the Psychological Warfare Division at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London, where he analyzed German radio broadcasts. Janowitz's later sociological studies of the military, mass communications, and propaganda were ultimately rooted in the interests he developed and the early training he received during the war.

When World War II ended, Janowitz went to the University of Chicago, where he earned his Ph.D. in sociology in 1948. He became an instructor at the University of Chicago in 1947, and was promoted to assistant professor when he finished his dissertation the following year. He published The Dynamics of Prejudice with Bruno Bettelheim in 1950. In 1951 he left for the University of Michigan. There he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming an associate professor in 1953 and a full professor in 1957. In 1959 he published Sociology and the Military Establishment; it was followed in 1960 by The Professional Soldier.

In 1961, Janowitz was invited back to the University of Chicago as a visiting professor in the Graduate School of Business. The following year he rejoined the University of Chicago's Department of Sociology and stayed for the rest of his career. He served as chair of the department from 1967-1972. Janowitz revitalized the study of sociology at Chicago by founding the Center for Social and Organization Studies, bringing in his Inter-University Seminar for the Study of the Armed Forces and Society from the University of Michigan and seeking out foundation money to support other workshops and programs. In 1974, he founded Armed Forces and Society, a journal closely linked to the Inter-University Seminar, and served as its editor for almost 10 years.

In 1978 Janowitz published The Last Half-Century: Societal Change and Politics in America, which won the Laing Prize, the highest honor bestowed on books written by University of Chicago faculty and published by the University of Chicago Press. His final book, published in 1985, was entitled The Reconstruction of Patriotism: Education for Civic Consciousness, and could be described as Janowitz's prescription to solve some of the problems of advanced industrial democracies that he had detailed in The Last Half-Century.

Janowitz died of Parkinson's disease on November 7, 1988. Some of the honors he received over the course of his career include the Army's Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service (1977), an honorary doctorate from the University of Toulouse (1977), a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (1976), and the Distinguished Scholarship Award of the American Sociological Association (1984). He was also the first scholar to hold the S.L.A. Marshall chair at the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences in Alexandria, VA (1986).

From the guide to the Janowitz, Morris. Collection, 1940-1989, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)