Jesse R. Pitts
Encyclopedia
Jesse Richard Pitts was an American sociologist specializing in deviance and social control, family sociology, sociological theory, French society, and criminology. He is considered one of the leading disciples of Talcott Parsons
, dean of American sociologists for much of the 20th century. Pitts is perhaps best known for his contributions to a large textbook on sociology, Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory, edited by Parsons and published in 1961. He pioneered sociological work on marginality
, deviance
and conformity
. He was interested particularly in criminology
and the institutional treatment of mental illness. Raised on both sides of the Atlantic, Pitts felt at home in France as much as in the United States. He created the Franco-American periodical The Tocqueville Review, serving as editor from 1978 to 1991.
on June 13, 1921. He was the only child of Howard Earl ("Doc") Pitts (1889–1951), a veterinarian from Marietta, Ohio
, who fought in France with the Expeditionary Forces during WWI. Before returning to the States, Doc married Denyse Dinin in Decize. When Jesse (named after Jess Willard
, the boxer) was 7, his parents separated and he went to France with his mother. He did not see his father again until a summer vacation in 1937 where he met his numerous cousins in Marietta, Ohio.
Pitts developed an early interest in politics in France and, at age 15, joined the communist party and distributed leaflets. At 16, French police turned him back from the Spanish frontier as he sought to join the Spanish Civil War
.
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. Initially interested in economics
, he was attracted to sociology
by Parsons, who taught at Harvard. Majoring in sociology, with a minor in economics, he graduated magna cum laude in June 1941. At Harvard, Pitts joined the Trotskyites but lost interest in the movement following the fall of Paris to the Nazis in June 1940. He tried to enlist and was placed on a waiting list in Canada but was never called up. After graduation he found a job at Macy's in New York. While he found the job unsatisfying, his roommate Jim Chapin
introduced him to Jazz
which was thriving in New York City
and he truly enjoyed (later he would often start his classes with Miles Davis
recordings.) Once the U.S. declared war, he enlisted in the US Air Corps and went into pilot training then sent to England in 1943, to the Base in Kimbolton as part of the 379th Bombardment Group (heavy). As second lieutenant he accomplished 25 missions (including 3 first missions over Berlin) over France and Germany as copilot of a B-17 bomber (H). Back in the U.S. he instructed new pilots, sold war bonds, and was a pilot for the Air Transport Command when he was discharged in October 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
as well as the French
Croix de Guerre
. He started writing about his experience with the intention to write a book but this would go on hold until he retired from teaching 50 years later.
to generate funds required for his academic goal. In May 1947, he married Monique Bonnier, daughter of the late Claude Bonnier, engineer and hero of the French Resistance
.
Jesse and Monique were married in the American Cathedral in Paris
.
Jesse Pitts returned to Harvard in the summer of 1948 and by June 1950 was ready to go to France to work on his thesis, with Talcott Parsons
as adviser. The stay in France extended to 3 years, as Jesse wrote for Le Monde
and lectured. In 1953, Parsons asked Pitts to join him in England to work on the projected book: Theories of Society. co-authored by T. Parsons, Ed. Shils, Kaspar Naegle and Jess R. Pitts. The book was published in 1961 and became a standard text for Sociology students.
Pitts received his Ph.D. in 1958 and began his teaching career in Detroit, Michigan, at Wayne State University
, as assistant professor, then as associate professor. In 1964, he left for Oakland University
, in Rochester Michigan, where he taught from 1964 to 1986, as full professor and chairman. He taught at the Harvard Summer School in 1971 and 1975. He was twice a Fulbright Fellow. During a long stay in Paris (1966-1968) he was a lecturer at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes (Paris-Sorbonne). While living in Paris he participated in Television broadcasts and wrote newspapers articles. He wrote a book on the 1968 May events in France, but decided against publishing it. A perfectionist, he put aside many works that did not satisfy him. Politically, while Pitts had held left wing views in his youth, he shifted to more conservative opinions. Almost all of his friends and colleagues were liberal intellectuals and solid Democrats (Democratic Party (United States)
), but Pitts was never reticent to debate issues, often appearing on talk shows and as a columnist for various publications.
His health declining, Pitts barely finished his Memoirs. He died peacefully on August 2, 2003 and was buried in Charlottesville with military honors. His Memoirs were published in 2004, under the title Return to Base, in hard cover followed by a British paper back edition in 2006. A French translation, Retour sur Kimbolton, was published in Paris in 2006, and a second edition appeared in 2009.
Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
, dean of American sociologists for much of the 20th century. Pitts is perhaps best known for his contributions to a large textbook on sociology, Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory, edited by Parsons and published in 1961. He pioneered sociological work on marginality
Marginalization
In sociology, marginalisation , or marginalization , is the social process of becoming or being made marginal or relegated to the fringe of society e.g.; "the marginalization of the underclass", "marginalisation of intellect", etc.-Individual:Marginalization at the individual level results in an...
, deviance
Deviance (sociology)
Deviance in a sociological context describes actions or behaviors that violate cultural norms including formally-enacted rules as well as informal violations of social norms...
and conformity
Conformity
Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people.Conformity may also refer to:*Conformity: A Tale, a novel by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna...
. He was interested particularly in criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
and the institutional treatment of mental illness. Raised on both sides of the Atlantic, Pitts felt at home in France as much as in the United States. He created the Franco-American periodical The Tocqueville Review, serving as editor from 1978 to 1991.
Early life
Pitts was born in East Palestine, OhioEast Palestine, Ohio
East Palestine is a city in Unity Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States, near the border with Pennsylvania. The population was 4,917 at the 2000 census....
on June 13, 1921. He was the only child of Howard Earl ("Doc") Pitts (1889–1951), a veterinarian from Marietta, Ohio
Marietta, Ohio
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio, United States. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth...
, who fought in France with the Expeditionary Forces during WWI. Before returning to the States, Doc married Denyse Dinin in Decize. When Jesse (named after Jess Willard
Jess Willard
Jess Willard was a world heavyweight boxing champion. He won the heavyweight title from Jack Johnson in April 1915 and lost it to Jack Dempsey in July 1919....
, the boxer) was 7, his parents separated and he went to France with his mother. He did not see his father again until a summer vacation in 1937 where he met his numerous cousins in Marietta, Ohio.
Pitts developed an early interest in politics in France and, at age 15, joined the communist party and distributed leaflets. At 16, French police turned him back from the Spanish frontier as he sought to join the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Harvard and WWII
He returned to the United States in 1938 to attend Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. Initially interested in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, he was attracted to sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
by Parsons, who taught at Harvard. Majoring in sociology, with a minor in economics, he graduated magna cum laude in June 1941. At Harvard, Pitts joined the Trotskyites but lost interest in the movement following the fall of Paris to the Nazis in June 1940. He tried to enlist and was placed on a waiting list in Canada but was never called up. After graduation he found a job at Macy's in New York. While he found the job unsatisfying, his roommate Jim Chapin
Jim Chapin
James Forbes "Jim" Chapin was an American jazz drummer and the author of popular texts on jazz drumming, the first two volumes of which are Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Vol. I, and Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Vol...
introduced him to Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
which was thriving in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and he truly enjoyed (later he would often start his classes with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
recordings.) Once the U.S. declared war, he enlisted in the US Air Corps and went into pilot training then sent to England in 1943, to the Base in Kimbolton as part of the 379th Bombardment Group (heavy). As second lieutenant he accomplished 25 missions (including 3 first missions over Berlin) over France and Germany as copilot of a B-17 bomber (H). Back in the U.S. he instructed new pilots, sold war bonds, and was a pilot for the Air Transport Command when he was discharged in October 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
as well as the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
. He started writing about his experience with the intention to write a book but this would go on hold until he retired from teaching 50 years later.
Career
Intending to return to Harvard for his Ph.D. Pitts returned to France and created an import-export company in CasablancaCasablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
to generate funds required for his academic goal. In May 1947, he married Monique Bonnier, daughter of the late Claude Bonnier, engineer and hero of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
.
Jesse and Monique were married in the American Cathedral in Paris
American Cathedral in Paris
Consecrated on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1886, The American Cathedral in Paris is the gathering church for the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. The American Cathedral is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion...
.
Jesse Pitts returned to Harvard in the summer of 1948 and by June 1950 was ready to go to France to work on his thesis, with Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
as adviser. The stay in France extended to 3 years, as Jesse wrote for Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
and lectured. In 1953, Parsons asked Pitts to join him in England to work on the projected book: Theories of Society. co-authored by T. Parsons, Ed. Shils, Kaspar Naegle and Jess R. Pitts. The book was published in 1961 and became a standard text for Sociology students.
Pitts received his Ph.D. in 1958 and began his teaching career in Detroit, Michigan, at Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, as assistant professor, then as associate professor. In 1964, he left for Oakland University
Oakland University
Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan, United States in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU...
, in Rochester Michigan, where he taught from 1964 to 1986, as full professor and chairman. He taught at the Harvard Summer School in 1971 and 1975. He was twice a Fulbright Fellow. During a long stay in Paris (1966-1968) he was a lecturer at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes (Paris-Sorbonne). While living in Paris he participated in Television broadcasts and wrote newspapers articles. He wrote a book on the 1968 May events in France, but decided against publishing it. A perfectionist, he put aside many works that did not satisfy him. Politically, while Pitts had held left wing views in his youth, he shifted to more conservative opinions. Almost all of his friends and colleagues were liberal intellectuals and solid Democrats (Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
), but Pitts was never reticent to debate issues, often appearing on talk shows and as a columnist for various publications.
The Tocqueville Review
Pitts founded The Tocqueville Review/La Revue Tocqueville in 1978 and was its editor until 1991. The Review is a French-American bilingual journal devoted to the comparative study of social change in the spirit of Alexis de Tocqueville’s pioneer investigations. Pitts recruited many of his colleagues to author essays on current affairs, history, and political philosophy. In 2003, at the memorial event in Charlottesville, Professor Ted Caplow, first president and founder of the Tocqueville Society, defined the review as:"...a proud monument and one that will long honor him." Caplow also said: "...its intellectual standards are exceptionally high and it continues to attract contributions, both in English and French, from major scholars and public figures on both sides of the Atlantic." Pitts was a member of the Tocqueville Jury which awarded the Prix Alexis de Tocqueville to international scholars.Retirement
In 1986, Jesse retired to Charlottesville. The Department of Sociology at UVA recruited him to teach an occasional course as a lecturer. Fully retiring in 1991, both from teaching and as editor of the Tocqueville Review, he concentrated on writing his war memories and devoted much time with former crewmen of the Penny Ante and other friends from his Bomb Group the 379th. He also joined the Virginia Chapter of the Historical Society (Eighth Air Force) and launched its Newsletter: Plane Talk, and served as editor until 1997.His health declining, Pitts barely finished his Memoirs. He died peacefully on August 2, 2003 and was buried in Charlottesville with military honors. His Memoirs were published in 2004, under the title Return to Base, in hard cover followed by a British paper back edition in 2006. A French translation, Retour sur Kimbolton, was published in Paris in 2006, and a second edition appeared in 2009.
Publications
- 1957: The Bourgeois Family and French Economic Retardation, Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University
- 1961: Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory, Two Volumes in One, with Talcott ParsonsTalcott ParsonsTalcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
(Editor), Edward ShilsEdward ShilsEdward Shils was a Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and in Sociology at the University of Chicago and reputedly an influential sociologist. He was known for his research on the role of intellectuals and their relations to power and public policy...
& Kaspar D. Naegele, New York: The Free Press - 1963: In Search of France co-authored with Stanley HoffmannStanley HoffmannStanley Hoffmann is the Paul and Catherine Buttenweiser University Professor at Harvard University.-Biography:A French citizen since 1947, Hoffmann spent his childhood between Paris and Nice before studying at the Institut d'études politiques...
; Cambridge, Harvard University Press - 1964: Social Approaches to Mental Patient Care, with Morrie SchwartzMorrie SchwartzMorris "Morrie" S. Schwartz was a sociology professor at Brandeis University and an author. He was the subject of the best-selling book Tuesdays With Morrie, which was published in 1997 and later made into a movie....
S. and Charlotte Green Schwartz; co-authors: Mark G. Field, Elliot G. Mishler, Simon Olshansky, Jesse R. Pitts, Rhona Rapoport and Warren T. Vaughan, Jr.: New York and London, Columbia University Press - 1972: Strike at Oakland University, Change (February 1972), p. 18.
- 1980: Talcott Parsons: the sociologist as the last Puritan, American Sociologist, vol. 15, 1980, p. 62 - 64. (This article is based on an earlier address by Pitts, in 1979, to the American Sociological Society.)
- 1986: Celebrating Tocqueville's Democracy in America, 1835–1985, with Olivier Zunz [eds.]; Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia
- 2004: Return to Base: Memoirs of a B-17 Co-pilot, Kimbolton, England, 1943-1944 xix, 280 p., 17pp. of plates: ill., maps, Charlottesville, VA: Howell Press, 2004; revised and published in Great Britain, 2006; and published in French as "Retour sur Kimbolton" in France, 2010
External links
- Pitts's entry as Fellow of the Camargo Foundation (The article mentioned here was withdrawn by Pitts and never published.)
- UN SIECLE A DECIZE - the narriage of Pitts's parents, Captain H. E. Pitts, American Expeditionary Force, and Dina Dinin, in Decize, France, 1919.