Question: Edward Otto Laumann (born August 31, 1938) is an American sociologist, Laumann earned his Ph.D. in the Harvard Department of Social Relations in 1964, where he studied under Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist of the classical tradition, best known for his what, and structural functionalism?

Edward Otto Laumann (born August 31, 1938) is an American sociologist.  He is the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago.  He has written extensively on social stratification, urban sociology, organizational sociology, health and aging, and is widely recognized as a pioneer in the areas of social network analysis and the sociology of sexuality.  Laumann earned his Ph.D. in the Harvard Department of Social Relations in 1964, where he studied under George Homans, Talcott Parsons, and Harrison White.  In 2013, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. <SEP> Pierre L. van den Berghe (born 1933) is professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology at the University of Washington, where he has worked since 1965.  Born in the Belgian Congo to Belgian parents, and spending World War II in occupied Belgium, he was an early witness to ethnic conflict and racism, which eventually led him to become a leading authority on ethnic relations.  He has conducted field work in South Africa, Mexico, Guatemala, Iran, Lebanon, Nigeria, Peru, and Israel.  Early in his career, he lectured at the University of Natal alongside Leo Kuper and Fatima Meer.  A student of Talcott Parsons at Harvard (receiving the Ph.D. in 1960), he nevertheless had little interest in structural functionalism and was one of the first proponents of sociobiological approaches to social phenomena. <SEP> Michael H. Schwartz (born 1942) is an American sociologist and prominent critic of the Iraq war.  He is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in New York, where he also serves as faculty director of the Undergraduate College of Global Studies and Chair of the Sociology Department.  Schwartz has written extensively in the areas of economic sociology and social movements.  Schwartz received his doctorate from the Department of Social Relations, Harvard University, where he was a student of Harrison White and Charles Tilly.  His writings on Iraq have appeared in "TomDispatch", "Asia Times", "Mother Jones", and "Contexts".  In "Radical Protest and Social Structure", Schwartz develops the concept of structural ignorance to refer to how individuals make choices and decisions in regard to collective action based on their position in the social structure, which constrains their access to relevant information. <SEP>  Parsons is considered one of the most influential figures in the development of sociology in the 20th century.  After earning a Ph.D. in economics, he served on the faculty at Harvard University from 1927 to 1979. Talcott Parsons (December 13, 1902 – May 8, 1979) was an American sociologist of the classical tradition, best known for his social action theory and structural functionalism.  In 1930, he was among the first professors in its new sociology department.