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Viktor Gecas
Professor of Sociology
Viktor Gecas received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1969. He joined the faculty of Purdue University in 2003 as Department Head.
Office Phone: (765) 494-4667
Email: vgecas@purdue.edu
Specialization: Social Psychology; Family Sociology; life course.
Courses:
Taught (Last two years)
SOC 100 - Introduction to Sociology
SOC 659 - Social Psychology of Marriage and Family
SOC 497H - Senior Honors Seminar Topic: Family Patterns and Problems in American Society.
SOC 498H - Senior Honors Paper
Prior to his appointment at Purdue University, Dr. Gecas was a Professor of Sociology at Washington State University, where he taught and conducted research from 1969 to 2003. Most of his research and writing deal with socialization in families, particularly with regard to the development and expression of self and identities within parent-child, marital, and sibling relations. He has published two books (co-authored) and over sixty journal articles and book chapters on these topics. He has served as Chair of the Social Psychology Section of the American Sociological Association, Chair of the Research and Theory Section of the National Council on Family Relations, Vice President of the Pacific Sociological Association, Council of the Emotions Section of ASA, and on the editorial boards of Social Psychology Quarterly, Journal of Marriage and Family, Family Perspectives, and Symbolic Interaction. He teaches courses in family sociology and social psychology.
Positions at Purdue University
2003 – present Professor of Sociology
2003 – 2009 Department Head
Service to the Profession
American Sociological Association:
Chair, Social Psychology Section, 1995-96
Chair, Cooley-Mead Award Committee, Social Psychology Section, 1988-89
Program Chair, Section on Emotions, 1992-94
Secretary/Treasurer, Section on Emotions, 1993-95
Pacific Sociological Association:
Vice President - Elect, 1990-91
Vice President, 1991-92
Chair, Committee on Committees, 1991-92
National Council on Family Relations:
Chair, Research and Theory Section, 1985-87
Editorial Board, Sociological Perspectives on Social Psychology, 1991-95
Editorial Board, Social Psychology Quarterly, 1987-90; 1996-99; 2003 –
Associate Editor, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1975-81
Associate Editor, Family Perspective, 1984-91
Associate Editor, Symbolic Interaction, 1986-90
Occasional Reviewer for the National Science Foundation
Occasional Reviewer for the NIMH.
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