Thomas J. Scheff, one of Karlstad University’s first honorary doctors, has passed away. The university is saddened by the news of his passing and honors his memory.
Bengt Starrin, professor emeritus at Karlstad University, became acquainted with Thomas Scheff in the 1970s and remembers him fondly. He says that Scheff was not only a prominent researcher but a man with a great sense of humour, a skilled storyteller and an entertainer.
– I remember his amazing ability to captivate his audience. I will never forget his iconic dance moves during one of his many lectures, which were captured on film and replayed for weeks on the University of California’s TV channel.
Thomas Scheff, professor emeritus at the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is regarded as one of the leading figures in the field of social psychology. Bengt Starrin emphasises his significance as an honorary doctor.
– For a great number of years, he played a crucial role in the development of the sociological and social-psychological research at Karlstad University.
– Through regular seminars, doctoral courses and collaborative research projects that resulted in articles, books and theses, he contributed to the research development at Karlstad University, particularly in terms of the role of emotions, and especially the significance of shame, for both the individual and society.
Scheff spent many years refining a general theory of the socio-emotional world – a theory that took shape in his book Microsociology: Discourse, Emotion and Social Structure published in 1990. The book attracted widespread international attention and came to be regarded as a milestone in the sociology of emotions.
His scholarly work was characterised by a careful search for the smallest components of human interaction, and how these elements come together to form larger wholes.
– Thomas Scheff is no longer with us physically – but his legacy will live on. Or as he used to say: “We are living in the mind of the other without knowing it.”, says Bengt Starrin.
Thomas Scheff was 95 years old. Together with Håkan Hagegård, Elisabeth Hamrin and Bengt Stenlund, he was among the first honorary doctors appointed by Karlstad University when the tradition of awarding honorary doctorates began in 2000.
