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Paul Starr

ポール・スター

Pōru Sutā

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1949-05-12
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Princeton, New Jersey, United States

Career

Occupations
sociologist, professor, public intellectual, author
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
Princeton University, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (Stuart Chair in Communications and Public Affairs), The American Prospect (co-founder, co-editor), Sandra Starr Foundation (president)
Memberships
American Sociological Association
Influenced By
Daniel Bell, Immanuel Wallerstein
Influenced
health policy scholars, media studies scholars

Education

Columbia University
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1966–1970
Year of Graduation: 1970
Country: United States
Harvard University
Department of Sociology
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1972–1978
Year of Graduation: 1978
Country: United States
Ph.D. in Sociology

Awards

Bancroft Prize
1984
Work: The Social Transformation of American Medicine
Organization: Columbia University (Bancroft Prize)
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
1984
Work: The Social Transformation of American Medicine
Organization: Columbia University (Pulitzer Prize)
Result: 受賞
C. Wright Mills Award
1984
Work: The Social Transformation of American Medicine
Organization: Society for the Study of Social Problems
Result: 受賞
Goldsmith Book Prize
2005
Work: The Creation of the Media
Organization: Harvard University (Goldsmith Book Prize)
Result: 受賞
James Hamilton Award (American College of Health Care Executives)
1984
Work: The Social Transformation of American Medicine
Organization: American College of Health Care Executives
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Social Transformation of American Medicine

1983 Nonfiction (history of medicine / sociology)

A sweeping historical-sociological study of the development of the American medical profession and health care institutions, analyzing how medicine and society shaped each other.

professionalizationinstitutional changehealth policysocial history

The Creation of the Media

2004 Nonfiction (media studies / political history)

Traces the institutional origins of modern communications and examines how media shaped political and social life.

media historyorigins of policypolitics and information

Freedom's Power

2007 Nonfiction (political thought)

Examines the nature and contemporary relevance of liberalism, reassessing the relationship between freedom and community.

liberalismfreedompolitical philosophy

Remedy and Reaction: The Peculiar American Struggle over Health-Care Reform

2011 Nonfiction (health policy)

Examines the history and politics of health care reform in the United States, mapping the dynamics of reform efforts and resistance.

health care reformpolicy processpolitical resistance

Entrenchment: Wealth, Power, and the Constitution of Democratic Societies

2019 Nonfiction (political sociology)

A comparative analysis of how wealth and power become entrenched within democratic institutions.

power structuresinequalitydemocracy

American Contradiction: Revolution and Revenge from the 1950s to Now

2025 Nonfiction (contemporary politics / social history)

Traces political and social conflicts in the United States since the 1950s, discussing contemporary changes and contradictions.

contemporary politicssocial changehistorical comparison

Bibliography

  • American Contradiction: Revolution and Revenge from the 1950s to Now (2025)
  • Defining the Age: Daniel Bell, His Time and Ours (ed., 2021)
  • Entrenchment: Wealth, Power, and the Constitution of Democratic Societies (2019)
  • Remedy and Reaction: The Peculiar American Struggle over Health Care Reform (2011)
  • Freedom's Power: The True Force of Liberalism (2007)
  • The Creation of the Media: Political Origins of Modern Communications (2004)
  • The Logic of Health Care Reform (rev. ed. 1994; orig. ed. 1992)
  • The Politics of Numbers: The Population of the United States in the 1980s (1987, ed.)
  • The Social Transformation of American Medicine (1983)
  • The Discarded Army: Veterans After Vietnam (1974)
  • The University Crisis Reader (1971, ed.)
  • Up Against the Ivy Wall (1968, co-author)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
analytical, institutional analysishistorical-sociological narrativepolicy-oriented clear exposition
Recurring Motifs
relations of institutions and professionspower and inequalityhealth policy and social impactmedia and democracy

Legacy

Paul Starr is an influential sociologist in the history of American medicine and media. His The Social Transformation of American Medicine received wide interdisciplinary acclaim, including the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes. He has shaped both academic debates and public policy discussions as a public intellectual.

Academic Societies

  • American Sociological Association

Archives

  • Princeton University Archives

Quotes

  • "The Social Transformation of American Medicine" was an exploration of medical care that had unprecedented scope and narrative power.
    Source: Keith Wailoo et al., Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law (2004) (2004)

Trivia

  • Co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect (liberal magazine).
  • Served as a senior advisor for President Bill Clinton's 1993 health care reform plan.
  • Won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and the Bancroft Prize for The Social Transformation of American Medicine.
  • Holds the Stuart Chair in Communications and Public Affairs at Princeton University.