Richard Swedberg


Richard Swedberg is a Swedish sociologist. Since 2002 he works at the Department of Sociology at Cornell University.

Education

He received a PhD in sociology from Boston College ; he also holds a law degree from Stockholm University.

Research

Swedberg's two specialties are social theory and economic sociology. The focus in his work on social theory is currently on theorizing or how to learn to theorize.

Publications

So far he has produced a monograph on theory, with practical instructions for how to theorize and an anthology. Swedberg is also the co-author, together with Peter Hedstrom, of Social Mechanisms. As to economic sociology, he has been a contributor to this field since its renewal in the mid-1980s. Swedberg has written extensively on the works by Max Weber and Joseph Schumpeter and is currently working on the financial crisis. He is the author of e.g. Economics and Sociology, Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology and Tocqueville's Political Economy. His edited work includes The Economics and Sociology of Capitalism, Handbook of Economic Sociology and Sociology of Economic Life. His vitae as well as some of his writings are available at his webpage at Cornell University.

Honours

On January 29, 2016 Swedberg received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Uppsala University for his insights in "how useful the work of classical thinkers can be in understanding contemporary society".