Sex and Society

William Isaac Thomas (1863-1947), was an American sociologist. He is noted for his pioneering work on the sociology of migration on which he cooperated with Florian Znaniecki, and for his formulation of what became known as the Thomas theorem. From 1880 Thomas studied literature and classics at the University of Tennessee, where he obtained a B. A. degree in 1884 and became Adjunct Professor in English and Modern Languages. While at Knoxville, Thomas also taught courses in Greek, Latin, French, German, and, interestingly, natural history. At the same time, he developed an interest in ethnology and social science after reading Herbert Spencer's Principles of Sociology. 1907 saw the publication of Thomas's first major work, Sex and Society. His other works include: The Relation of the Medicine-Man to the Origin of the Professional Occupations (1913), The Unadjusted Girl with Cases and Standpoint for Behavior Analysis (1923), The Child in America: Behavior Problems and Programs (1928) and Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences (1937).