My name is Jim Chriss. I received my Ph.D. in sociology from the
University of Pennsylvania. I'm currently assistant professor and head
of the sociology and criminology programs at Kansas Newman College.
My interests in sociology have been largely theoretical, and at this
time I'm conducting extensive background research and literature reviews
for an undergraduate theory textbook I'm writing. I just completed a
fairly lengthy discussion of Talcott Parsons, and especially his later
move toward the AGIL (four function) schema and cybernetics. Theories
of action have always been as important to me as theories of social
systems, and so I've also spent a lot of time on micro theories such as
those of Goffman, Garfinkel, Homans, and network/identity theories,
especially as represented by Peter Burke's recent work. I find the idea
of Perceptual Control Theory intriguing, but I need a lot more time to
study it. In the meantime, I'd like to know what anyone on this list
makes of sociologist Jack Gibbs' control theory, especially as
delineated in his two books Control (1989), and A Theory About Control
(1994)? Is it relevant to PCT?
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Dr. James J. Chriss
Kansas Newman College
Sociology Department