DIE WANDERJAHRE: THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF AMERICAN STUDENTS IN GERMAN UNIVERSITIES, 1870 TO 1914

Chris Bernert has been able to fulfill only a part of his dream of a thorough analysis of the interconnections between Germany and America by way of the men and ideas which shaped American Sociology. Nevertheless, what he has given us is insightful.;Chris has therefore set the tone for the further development of the concept of diffusion. While traditionally a concept within the macro historical evolutionist domain, diffusion has been transformed by him into a concrete social process. The implication of his work therefore goes beyond the specifics of sociological history. It, in fact, sets the tone for a fuller understanding of the relationship between middle range and macro level social change.;The notion of diffusion initially applied to the founders of American Sociology in general as well as to the specific context of Albion Small as a carrier of ideas. The discussion of the career of causal analysis demonstrates another dimension to the diffusion concept, that is the process by which a fundamental transformation of the approach to Sociology resulted from interconnections across academic disciplines. The discussion of the Weber thesis more specifically demonstrates the difficulties involved in the diffusion of ideas. Although the process of diffusion involves carriers, the existence of an idea and a willing carrier does not suffice to complete the transaction. This gives a clear sense of the fact that social forces have to be considered when diffusion is being studied. The discussion of 19th Century American History demonstrates that the intellectual debt owed by the American Academy to Germany goes beyond the field of Sociology.