I Never Metatheory I Didn't Like

Abstract

The invitation to write autobiographically for the Centennial Celebration of the Department of Sociology at the University of Kansas arrived at an opportune moment for me. First, I was in the midst of book in which I was writing about the role of biography and autobiography in metatheoretical work in sociology (Ritzer 1991a). Second, I had just finished a review essay in which I analyzed three recent biographical and autobiographical works from (hat point of view (Ritzer 1991b). Third, I'd been reading a hot new autobiographical expose on drugs, booze, sex, and glitz in Hollywood, You'll NeverEat Lunch in ThisTownAgain byJulia Phillips (1991), that had startling similarities to my experiences at Kansas in the early 1970s. It is the fact that biographical work is of intellectual and personal concern that I am able to overcome the natural embarrassment about writing autobiographically and to deal with my "Kansas years."