| Arthur B. Shostak | |
| Birth Place: | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Known For: | Futuristics, Sociology, Holocaust/Shoah Scholarship |
| Education: | BA (1958), PhD (1961) |
| Alma Mater: | Cornell University (1954–1958) Princeton University (1958–1961) |
| Occupation: | Sociologist, Futurist, Holocaust/Shoah Scholar |
| Spouse: | lynn seng |
| Awards: | Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, German Marshall Fund, Social Science Research Council, Ford Foundation Fellowship, American Sociological Association Distinguished Career for the Practice of Sociology Award, Drexel University Lifetime Achievement Award |
Arthur Benett Shostak[1] (born May 11, 1937), is an American sociologist and futurist, and former professor of sociology at Drexel University. His research areas include futuristics, the history and future of the American work force, organized labor, industrial sociology, the management and social implications of modern technology, and Holocaust/Shoah scholarship.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1937,[2] Shostak received his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University in 1958.[2] In 1961, he received his Ph.D. in Industrial Sociology at Princeton[2] and began teaching at Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania until 1967.[3] He became professor of sociology at Drexel where he taught courses on the effects of technology, industrial and urban sociology, and race and ethnic relations.[2] In 1975 he began serving as an adjunct sociologist with the National Labor College and AFL-CIO George Meany Center for Labor Studies until 2000.[3] Alongside professorship, he was director of the Drexel University Center for Employment.[3] He was also a longtime participant in the World Future Society of futurists where he headed the Philadelphia chapter until 2003.[4] In 2003, Shostak retired from Drexel.[5] In 2006, he began work as a Holocaust Scholar, and in 2017, he published "Stealth Altruism: Forbidden care as Jewish resistance in the Holocaust." Shostak continues to offer lectures and webinars on the subject.
Shostak's articles and books investigate a wide range of topics, all of which are mostly future oriented. Such topics include childhood and adolescent education, globalization, foreign policy, war and peace, information technology, bio, nano, and space technology, labor movements, utopias, and Holocaust/Shoah scholarship.