Arlie Hochschild

Arlie Hochschild
File:Arlie Russell Hochschild.jpg: Paul572 derivative work: Innisfree987 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Arlie Hochschild
Birth date	1940
Birth place	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Occupation	Sociologist, author, professor
Alma mater	Harvard University (A.B.), University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D.)
Notable works	The Managed Heart; The Second Shift; The Time Bind; Strangers in Their Own Land

Arlie Hochschild Arlie Hochschild (born 1940) is an American sociologist and author known for pioneering research on emotion, work, family, and political culture. Her interdisciplinary scholarship has influenced studies across sociology, psychology, anthropology, gender studies, and political science, informing debates at institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, and Harvard University. Hochschild's concepts have been cited in discussions involving public policy at United States Congress, labor movements like Service Employees International Union, and cultural analyses in media outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Early life and education

Hochschild was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in a family connected to intellectual and civic circles of Massachusetts. She completed an A.B. at Radcliffe College associated with Harvard University and earned a Ph.D. in sociology from University of California, Berkeley, where she studied under prominent scholars linked to traditions represented by Talcott Parsons, Erving Goffman, and Herbert Blumer. During her formative years she engaged with student movements inspired by events such as the Free Speech Movement and debates surrounding civil rights including the Civil Rights Movement and the Mississippi Freedom Summer.

Academic career and positions

Hochschild has held faculty appointments at major research universities, including University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Santa Barbara, and University of California, Los Angeles. She served as a professor in sociology and as a visiting scholar at institutions such as Harvard University and Princeton University. Her work has been supported by fellowships and grants from organizations like the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Russell Sage Foundation. Hochschild has lectured at policy-oriented venues including Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, and international forums like the Royal Society and the European Sociological Association.

Major works and theories

Hochschild is author of several influential books and articles that shaped contemporary social theory. Her 1983 book, The Managed Heart, introduced a taxonomy later discussed alongside works by Erving Goffman and Armand Mauss. The Second Shift (co-authored with Anne Machung) entered debates paralleling scholarship by Judith Butler and Nancy Fraser on gender and labor. The Time Bind explored themes consonant with studies by Saskia Sassen and Richard Sennett on work-life boundaries. Her ethnographic study Strangers in Their Own Land engaged methods akin to those used by Clifford Geertz and intersected with research by Robert D. Putnam and Thomas Frank on political realignment. Across these works she advanced theoretical innovations connected to emotional regimes, feeling rules, and the commercialization of affect discussed alongside theorists such as Arlie Russell Hochschild (note: do not link), Pierre Bourdieu, and Michel Foucault.

Research on emotional labor and the commercialization of feeling

In The Managed Heart Hochschild developed the concept of "emotional labor," situating it within service industries like airline flight attendants’ roles examined during labor disputes involving Air Line Pilots Association and Association of Flight Attendants. She analyzed "feeling rules" as social norms comparable to frameworks in work by Émile Durkheim and Max Weber on social regulation. Her research traced connections to organizational studies at Bell Labs and corporate practices in firms such as McDonald's and Disneyland, and it informed union strategies at Service Employees International Union and policy discussions in venues like United States Department of Labor. Subsequent scholars, including Arlie Hochschild’s interlocutors like Eva Illouz, Siri Hustvedt, and Ann Swidler, expanded on emotional labor in contexts from healthcare at Mayo Clinic to education in systems like New York City Department of Education.

Political sociology and the "deep story" concept

Hochschild's political sociology work, notably in Strangers in Their Own Land, introduced the "deep story"—a narrative framework for understanding how cultural feeling structures shape political identities. She employed ethnographic methods similar to those used by Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Paul Willis and engaged audiences at policy forums such as National Public Radio and C-SPAN. Her fieldwork in regions affected by industry and environmental conflict connected to case studies involving Louisiana, the Gulf of Mexico, the BP oil spill, and labor struggles in sectors linked to United States Steel Corporation and BASF. The deep story concept influenced analyses by political scientists like Robert Putnam, Ian Buruma, and Yascha Mounk on polarization, identity politics, and populist movements exemplified by events such as the 2016 United States presidential election and the rise of parties comparable to National Front (France) and UK Independence Party.

Awards, honors, and influence

Hochschild's scholarship has received honors from academic and civic bodies, including awards from the American Sociological Association, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Her books have been finalists and winners of prizes administered by organizations like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and have been cited in policy debates at United States Congress hearings and international conferences hosted by the United Nations. Her influence extends to scholars across gender studies, labor history, environmental studies, and political sociology, shaping curricula at universities such as Columbia University, Yale University, Stanford University, and Oxford University.

Category:American sociologists Category:Women sociologists