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Orlando Patterson

オーランド・パターソン

Orlando Patterson

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1940-06-05 （Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica）
Nationality
Jamaica, United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Mona, Jamaica → Kingston, Jamaica → London, United Kingdom → Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Career

Occupations
Sociologist, Historian, Writer, Professor, Public intellectual
Active Years
1962-2025
Affiliations
Harvard University, Department of Sociology, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow), American Academy of Political and Social Science (Ernest W. Burgess Fellow)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow), American Sociological Association, American Academy of Political and Social Science
Influenced By
David Glass (doctoral advisor), James Baldwin, Caribbean Artists Movement
Influenced
Mabel Berezin, Marion Fourcade, Peter Moskos, Contemporary sociologists and historians (broad scholarly influence)

Education

University of the West Indies, Mona
Economics (concentration in Sociology)
Degree: BSc (Economics)
Period: 1959–1962
Year of Graduation: 1962
Country: Jamaica
Served as president of the Economics Society, president of the Literary Society, and editor of the student magazine
London School of Economics
Sociology
Degree: PhD
Period: 1962–1965
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: United Kingdom
Wrote PhD dissertation 'The Sociology of Slavery'

Awards

National Book Award (Nonfiction)
1991
Work: Freedom in the Making of Western Culture (later retitled Freedom, Vol. 1)
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
Gold Musgrave Medal
2015
Organization: National Gallery of Jamaica (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2016
Category: 終身業績
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
Result: 受賞
Order of Merit
2020
Organization: Government of Jamaica
Result: 受章
Hegel Prize
2024
Organization: City of Stuttgart (cultural award)
Result: 受賞
Barry Prize for Distinguished Intellectual Achievement
2023
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
Walter Channing Cabot Faculty Prize
1997
Organization: Harvard University
Result: 受賞
Walter Channing Cabot Faculty Prize
1983
Organization: Harvard University
Result: 受賞
Ralph Bunche Award (co-winner)
1983
Category: 学術賞
Organization: American Political Science Association / Howard University
Result: 受賞
Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship (formerly Sorokin Prize)
1983
Organization: American Sociological Association
Result: 受賞
Best Novel in English (World Festival of Black Arts, Dakar)
1965
Work: The Children of Sisyphus
Category: 小説
Organization: World Festival of Black Arts (Dakar)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Sociology of Slavery: Black Society in Jamaica, 1655–1838

1967 Academic (historical sociology)

A historical and comparative sociological analysis of slavery and the formation of black society in Jamaica.

SlaveryColonial ruleCulture and social structure

Slavery and Social Death

1982 Academic (sociology)

Develops the concept of 'social death' in slavery, theorizing the social position and consequences for enslaved peoples.

Social deathAgency and freedomRelations of power

Freedom in the Making of Western Culture

1991 Academic (intellectual history / cultural sociology)

A comparative-historical study of how the concept and practice of freedom developed in Western culture; winner of the National Book Award.

Concepts of freedomCivil societyComparative historical analysis

Bibliography

  • The Sociology of Slavery: Black Society in Jamaica, 1655–1838
  • Ethnic Chauvinism: The Reactionary Impulse
  • Slavery and Social Death
  • Freedom in the Making of Western Culture
  • The Ordeal of Integration
  • Rituals of Blood: Consequences of Slavery in Two American Centuries
  • Freedom: Freedom in the Modern World
  • The Cultural Matrix: Understanding Black Youth (with Ethan Fosse)
  • The Confounding Island: Jamaica and the Postcolonial Predicament
  • The Paradox of Freedom: A Biographical Dialogue (with David Scott)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Comparative-historical and theoretical academic style, emphasizing conceptual definition and historical nexus.Argumentative and highly analytical theoretical construction.
Recurring Motifs
FreedomSlavery and social deathIdentity and belongingDevelopment and social structures

Legacy

Known for comparative-historical research across sociology and history, Patterson has had major influence on slavery studies, the reassessment of freedom as a concept, and the academic understanding of black societies. He is also recognized as an educator and public intellectual and a recipient of many international honors.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Academy of Political and Social Science (Ernest W. Burgess Fellow)
  • American Sociological Association

Archives

  • Harvard University Archives

Quotes

  • At the heart of slavery is the problem of 'social death'—the social annihilation of the person.
    Source: Slavery and Social Death (1982)

Trivia

  • Published novels early in his career and won Best Novel in English at the 1965 World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar.
  • Served as special advisor to Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley from 1972 to 1979.
  • Won the National Book Award in 1991 for his work on freedom and Western culture.