Meaning & Measurement Mini-Conference

Gary Fine — Northwestern University g-fine@northwestern.edu Areas of interest include social psychology, sociology of culture, sociology of science, qualitative sociology, social theory, and collective behavior. Before coming to Northwestern, Fine was on the faculty of the University of Georgia and the University of Minnesota, and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. His current research has three distinct streams. First, he is interested in the development of reputations of individuals with "difficult reputations" by means of reputational entrepreneurs (Warren Harding, Benedict Arnold, John Brown, Henry Ford). This research was recently published in Difficult Reputations: Collective Memories of the Evil, Inept and Controversial (University of Chicago Press, 2001). His current research on reputations deals with reputations and memories of the American left and right during the 1935-1955 period, including the way that Adolf Hitler is remembered in the United States. As an ethnographer, he is completing a book on economic and social organization of art worlds, focusing on contemporary folk art. His current ethnographic work involves operational meteorologists working for the National Weather Service. His recent publications include Kitchens: The Culture of Restaurant Work (University of California Press, 1996); Morel Tales: The Culture of Mushrooming (Harvard University Press, 1998), and Gifted Tongues: High School Debate and Adolescent Culture (Princeton University Press, 2001). His final stream of research involves the interpretation of rumor and contemporary legend, particularly political and economic rumors. His most recent book in this arena is Whispers on the Color Line: Rumor and Race in America (University of California Press, 2001). His current research involves a study of rumors about immigration and the world economy.