The LeFrak Forum and Symposium on Science, Reason, & Modern Democracy in the Department of Political Science present a lecture titled Race and Inequality in Contemporary America by Orlando Patterson, John Cowles Professor of Sociology at Harvard University.  The lecture is on Thursday, January 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Kellogg Center, Lincoln Room.

Professor Patterson is an historical and cultural sociologist who earned his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.  His academic interests include the culture and practices of freedom; the comparative study of slavery and ethno-racial relations; and the cultural sociology of poverty and underdevelopment with special reference to the Carribbean and African American youth.  He is the author of numerous academic papers and 5 major academic books including, Slavery and Social Death (1982); Freedom in the Making of Western Culture (1991); and The Ordeal of Integration (1997).

A public intellectual, Professor Patterson was, for eight years, Special Advisor for Social policy and development to Prime Minister Michael Manley of Jamaica.  He was a founding member of Cultural Survival, one of the leading advocacy groups for the rights of indigenous peoples, and was for several years a board member of Freedom House, a major civic organization for the promotion of freedom and democracy around the world.  The author of three novels, he has published widely in journals of opinion and the national press, especially the New York Times, where he was a guest columnist for several weeks.  

He is the recipient of many awards, including the National Book Award for Non-Fiction which he won in 1991 for his book on freedom; the Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Award of the American Sociological Association; and co-winner of the Ralph Bunche Award for the best book on pluralism from the American Political Science Association.   

For a full biography of Professor Patterson go to http://scholar.harvard.edu/patterson/home