Dale W. Tomich, (1946-2024), Professor Emeritus of Sociology Binghamton University, passed away on August 17th, 2024.
Dale joined Binghamton’s Sociology faculty in 1976, after completing his PhD in European History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He remained at Binghamton until his retirement in 2018.
Dale brought a social historian’s ethos to the sociological project of revealing the social structures and processes that shape society. Inspired to write history from the bottom by his former professor and founder of social history, E.P. Thompson, Dale centered his own research agenda on those enslaved in the plantations of the Americas. At first blush his social history ethos might very well have clashed with the intellectual project he was recruited to help build at Binghamton: that of world-systems analysis. Dale, arriving the same year as the architect of world-systems analysis (Immanuel Wallerstein), embraced the apparent paradox of squaring social history with world-systems analysis, leading to significant contributions on both the study of slavery and world-systems analysis.
Dale contributed to the study of slavery by illuminating its relationship to the capitalist world-economy. His revised and re-printed first book, Slavery in the Circuit of Sugar: Martinique and the World Economy (1830-1848) (Johns Hopkins, 1990; SUNY Press, 2016), models how archival research on planters and their enslaved laborers in a tiny island unmasks the inner workings of a global circuit of sugar. Later, Dale developed the concept of the "second slavery," to explore the unprecedented expansion of industrial slavery in the Americas in the 19th century. Dale’s innovative perspectives on slavery and capitalism activated an international research network, the Second Slavery Seminar. It birthed collaborations such as the American-Brazilian-Cuban team of scholars (Rafael de Bivar Marquese, Reinaldo Funes Monzote, and Carlos Venegas Fornio) he collaborated with to explore the interrelation of slavery, technology and nature in shaping the US South, Brazil and Cuba as frontiers of capitalist production. Their book, Reconstructing the Landscapes of Slavery: A Visual History of the Plantation in the 19th century Atlantic World (North Carolina, 2021), won the 2021 prize from the Historical Materials, Reference and User Service Association of the American Library Association.
Similarly, Dale re-thought how to do world-systems analysis such that it better incorporated agency and local complexity. Mentored by the Marxist historian, Harvey Goldberg, Dale chaffed at Wallerstein’s tendency to gloss the particularities of labor processes to build theory. Political economists of the world-system in the American Sociological Association affirmed the insights gleaned from Dale’s approach by awarding his first book with their book prize. Dale also specified, in dialogue with other graduate students attracted to Binghamton as a hub of world-systems analysis, a methodological antidote: a call not just to analyze any given place as a function of the capitalist world-economy whole, but to analyze its parts in relationship to each other as a means of gleaning how the whole forms and transforms. He thereby developed the methodologic logic for what some at Binghamton and beyond now call a world-historical approach, and which presciently anticipated global historical sociology’s relational turn. Many of these ideas are fleshed out in a series of essays collected in Through the Prism of Slavery: Labor, Capital, and World Economy (Routledge, 2004; EDUSP, 2011).
At Binghamton, Dale served the department of sociology generously for many years as an active advisor, Graduate Director and Chair (on several occasions) and the Fernand Braudel Center as Deputy Director and member of Review’s Editorial Board. He is remembered by several generations of graduate students as a beloved advisor; one who encouraged them to craft ambitious intellectual agendas of their own.
We invite you to share your memories of Professor Tomich below.
Memories:
I wrote this on my social media page after learning about his passing: I am deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Dale Tomich. His work, spanning from the comparative method (“incorporated comparison”) to the intricacies of slave-based commodity production and his concept of the “second slavery,” has been profoundly influential, not only in academic circles but also in my own studies. Beyond being an influential researcher and professor, Dale was a close mentor and friend, whose guidance changed the trajectory of my life and as well as my wife, Sophia’s. When I entered Binghamton University’s graduate school, I felt like a fish out of water. Despite my prior experiences, nothing could prepare me for this new chapter. I felt lost, and uncertain about the program, the professors, and what was expected of me as a student and scholar. It seemed only a matter of time before I would have to leave. Everything changed during the spring semester when I enrolled in Dale’s “Problems of Method” course. After presenting on Jean-Paul Sartre’s Search for a Method, Dale looked somewhat shocked and asked to meet with me after class. In that meeting, he not only complimented my research but also expressed genuine concern about my future in the sociology department. He offered to take me under his wing and introduced me to others, like Professor Richard E. Lee, who could guide me through my graduate career and integrate me into the Fernand Braudel Center. Over the next seven years, I had the privilege of studying under both Dale and Richard. They taught me more about research and world-systems analysis than I ever imagined, and they pushed me to be creative with my work, never confined to a single discipline or perspective. More than that, Dale made me feel valued as a person. I often found myself sitting outside his office, waiting to ask a quick question about my research. Those quick questions often turned into hours-long conversations. We discussed everything from Sophia, who was also in the program by that time, to the movies and shows we were watching, music, life in Binghamton, and even where we grew up. Dale was fascinated by my work on low-budget movies and my side gig in videography, as well as the fact that I hunted. He was genuinely interested in who I was and, more importantly, genuinely concerned about where I was going. In these conversations, Dale revealed himself to be not just a revered scholar and mentor but a down-to-earth friend who cared deeply about my and Sophia’s happiness. One of the highlights of my time with Dale was when he invited me to be part of a project he was working on with the renowned anthropologist Sidney Mintz, one of his main inspirations and mentors. Dale had been in conversation with Sid, and they wanted to conduct a series of videotaped interviews. I was honored that Dale asked me to join. Although my role was to film and edit, those few days in Baltimore allowed me to witness conversations, both on and off camera, that revolutionized my perspective on a wide range of topics, both academic and personal. I gained insight not only into their research but also into their passion for their craft (both research and teaching), how it led them to get into the fields they were in, and how it influenced their overall lives both professionally and personally. In short, this trip not only became a scholarly endeavor or a working gig but, more importantly, a meditation on the essence of life and why we choose to do what we do. Since graduating, Dale and I tried to stay in touch, but it was challenging. Last summer, we reconnected when he asked me to help assemble a workout machine. More importantly, he wanted to see both me and Sophia. Despite working 14-hour days for my summer program, I made time to visit him and Luiza whenever I could. We talked about our lives, work, and research. Unfortunately, following that month, despite our best intentions and some exchanged emails, we never had the chance to meet up again. The world has lost not only a brilliant researcher but a truly great man. My heart goes out to his wife, Luiza, and his daughter, Laura. Dale had an enormous impact on my life, and I am deeply saddened by his passing. I’m going to miss him profoundly. RIP, Dale.
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I was saddened to hear the news of the passing of one of my teachers, Dale Tomich. I am truly grateful to Dale for introducing me to Marx's method in detail, referred to as the relational method at Binghamton University. During one semester, Dale taught a method course where we delved into Capital Vol 1 and its supplements, such as Grundrisse. Our approach to studying Capital was not theoretical or ideological but instead focused on understanding the scientific work by deconstructing the method used in thinking, constructing arguments, and compiling data. We learned Capital as a method of presentation and abstraction. I recall my assignment being critiqued for being too philosophical. Dale reminded us that we study the method not for philosophical reasons but for its practical application in learning and understanding the history of Capital, including in specific regions such as Indonesia. The relational method that Dale taught has been invaluable to my research and writing. Thanks to his teachings, I have developed two writing pieces on Marx's research strategy in "Bacaan Bumi," the supplement of Australia's popular website called "Inside Indonesia: https://www.insideindonesia.org/topics/bacaan-bumi/4b-strategi-penelitian-marx-i https://www.insideindonesia.org/topics/bacaan-bumi/strategi-penelitian-marx-ii" Apart from Dale, Kelvin Santiago-Valles also imparted his knowledge of the relational method to me. Dale and Kelvin were influenced by and close to Terence Hopkins, one of the founders of the world system perspective. Their approach to understanding the world system began not with the core-periphery pair concepts but through the use of relational methods. As a historian, Dale demonstrated an approach similar to contemporary anthropologists's approach, which focused on a specific locality within a region and connected it to the global process of capitalism. A cherished memory I have is when my wife and I attended the baby shower of our friend Roberto Ortiz's first child. Dale and his wife warmly welcomed us when we met at the baby shower. At the gathering, my wife sat in the pregnant woman's chair, and Dale's wife joked that whoever sat there would become pregnant. Surprisingly, we had a second child afterward. During this difficult time, I hope that Dale's family finds the strength to cope with their loss. I am confident that his legacy of the relational method of thinking will be appreciated by many. The benefits of this method are evident in gaining a deeper understanding of the history of global capitalism and its impact on Indonesia. Selamat Jalan Dale... Karib
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Professor Dale W. Tomich served as my doctoral committee chair. He was a very special
mentor and teacher, a deeply intelligent and kind soul, a gentle and sweet giant who
taught his student from the heart as well as the mind—especially in the most essential
fields of methods and theories—in his courses and by way of his delicately expressed
questions as a teacher. Even his silences mattered. He made the study of methods and
dialectics enjoyable even and especially reading through that Chapter I. My field
was not in the study of slavery in sugar plantations, but the core of what Dale taught
was even more essential and transformative. Dale helped free my/our minds from being
enslaved to rigid and overly deterministic structures of thinking, so that we could
taste the sugar-sweet labor of searching for truth in a creatively dialectical way
for the rest of our lives. He kindly helped me plant in myself a deep and still enduring
interest in methods and dialectics, such that every day, as I breathe in and out methods,
I am remembering him as well. He lives in everything I wrote and will write, and remain
from me, because matters of method and theory (my specialties) are everywhere in one’s
life and work. He open-mindedly supported my doing sociology in a transdisciplinary
and transcultural way, respecting my personal choices and topics that I have been
interested in exploring. In one of his emails to me, responding to a request I had
made for advice, he wrote, “You have carved out a distinctive niche for yourself.
You would know better than I could speak meaningfully to your work at this point.”
This is the style of a mentor and teacher who has learned from the deepest corners
of his heart that in teaching and mentoring too one must plant sugars in a non-enslaving
way. Dale was a serious scholar, dedicated to helping sociology be liberating. Were
we to follow his dialectical method, we would also treat life and death dialectically.
You can’t have one without the other. Body is mortal, but the spirit can endure and
live long. Dale’s will live forever, not just in his significant writings, but in
the hearts and minds of his students and all those he touched. I am grateful for having
met him in my life and education. Looking back and taking this opportunity, I wish
to share with all those who came to Binghamton sociology to learn about society and
themselves that it was truly a special place. All departments have their ups and downs,
but having now been elsewhere, I can see that we all truly engaged with learning about
society for making it better. Dale exemplified, along with Terence K. Hopkins, Immanuel
Wallerstein, and other faculty and students, serious and critical engagement with
the study of society, always treating the world as one boat we are all in, one that
is worth saving, even in gravest times like today.
Mohammad H. (Behrooz) Tamdgidi, Ph.D.
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We lost a much beloved colleague and friend, when Dale passed away. He was like a
brother to me from the moment we met in 1975 in the Binghamton Sociology Department.
He served on my PhD committee, which led to our developing an enduring symbiotic intellectual
relationship lasting almost half a century, enriching our friendship. Starting with
Grundrisse and Capital, we worked through methodological issues regarding world-historical
analysis. The only such piece we ever co-authored was a presentation entitled: “Why
is the World Market Organized into States?” at an International Studies Association
conference in 1987. Otherwise, we collaborated in exchanging and developing each other’s
work – whether on slavery, settler capitalism, or comparative agrarian transformations.
I will also remember Dale as a dear friend, dedicated and inspiring scholar, and authentic
person.
Philip McMichael
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Dale brought great insight and intelligence to his work and helped to instill that
in others. He was very generous with his time and attention. He served on committees
and shared his understandings with several of my students in anthropology
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Professor Tomich was "Captain" to me. He was my Captain in how he lived his life uprightly.
He was my Captain in how he thought me how to appreciate complexity, nuance, ambiguity,
and asymmetries in categories of thought and practice. Above all, I referred to him
as "Captain" because he was empathic and deep in his humanity toward me. I came to
Binghamton University from Clark University in Worcester MA in 1996. He saw something
in me as a thinker, scholar, and person. He did his best to make sure that these qualities
rose to the top. Many times when I doubted myself, Tomich was the towering presence
that reassured me that I had the qualities he saw. He made sure I came to embrace
these virtues in me. Professor Tomich's presence was formative and crucial at this
juncture of my life as a Graduate student in pursuit of Doctorate because my family
was caught up in the political whirlpool and whirlwinds of Ghana. This left me lost
and at times, despondent. He made sure to check on me, follow-up on my progress in
school, as well as ground me in life. I found in him a mentor beyond emotional, academic,
and in some instances, financial measure. Lastly, my first paper I wrote for his "Introduction
to World Systems" was a comparative analysis of Wallerstein and Lughod's views on
Capitalist hegemonic processes and centers. He read it carefully and commented at
the end, "Insightful." This is one such times that he saw my erudition at a time when
I thought it to be ordinary. Even till his passing, we remained in communication and
in touch. May his Wife and Colleague, Luiza, and his Daughter Laura, remember the
light he left behind. I will miss him very much.
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The happiest memory I have of Dale is from 2015. He attended the baby shower we organized
when my wife was pregnant with our first daughter. Dale, accompanied by Luiza, was
one of the few faculty members that made it to the shower. Moreover, he participated
in the silly games we organized and joked with us the entire time. That is something
I will always appreciate: as we all know, he did serious and groundbreaking academic
work and put serious work in his teaching, but he also knew how to make people (including
students) around him comfortable by embracing those lighter, joyous moments of life.
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I was a graduate student in History in the late 1970s, but took the odd course in
the Sociology Department and largely hung out with graduate students there, as well
as younger faculty. Dale was an extremely bright, congenial, supportive and rigorously
historical sociologist whom I sdmited. So sorry to hear of his death. Condolences
to his friends and family.
