Frances Fox Piven facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frances Fox Piven
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(2012)
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Frances Fox
October 10, 1932 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Political science, sociology |
| Institutions | Boston University, City University of New York |
| Doctoral advisor | Edward C. Banfield |
| Doctoral students | Jane McAlevey, Immanuel Ness |
Frances Fox Piven (born October 10, 1932) is an American professor. She teaches political science and sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She has been teaching there since 1982.
Professor Piven is known for her ideas about how society works and for her work as an activist. An activist is someone who works to bring about social or political change. She supported efforts to help people in need, like the "war on poverty." She also helped with protests to improve welfare rights. These protests happened in New York City and across the country.
She helped create the ideas behind these movements. During her career, she has been on the boards of important groups. These include the ACLU (which protects civil liberties) and the Democratic Socialists of America. She also held leadership roles in professional groups. These include the American Political Science Association. Before this, she taught political science at Boston University.
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Early Life and Education
Frances Fox Piven was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. Her father, Albert Fox, was a storekeeper. When she was one year old, her family moved to the United States. She became a United States citizen in 1953.
She grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. She went to P.S. 148 and Newtown High School. She later attended the University of Chicago. There, she earned a bachelor's degree in City Planning in 1953. She also earned a master's degree in 1956 and a Ph.D. in 1962. She received a scholarship to attend university. To pay for her living costs, she worked as a waitress.
Career Highlights
Piven was married to Richard Cloward until he passed away in 2001. They often worked together on projects. In 1966, they wrote an article for The Nation magazine. It was called "The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty." In this article, they suggested that more people should sign up for social welfare programs. Their idea was that this would show how much the system needed to change. This could lead to a guaranteed minimum income, where everyone gets a basic amount of money. This idea is sometimes called the "Cloward–Piven strategy."
From 2006 to 2007, Professor Piven was the President of the American Sociological Association. This is a major group for people who study society.
While teaching at Boston University, Piven and some colleagues faced a challenge. In 1979, there was a strike by university staff. Piven and others refused to cross the picket line. They held their classes in other places to support the striking workers. The university president, John Silber, threatened to fire them. However, he later changed his mind. Piven and the others returned to teaching. Later, Piven left Boston University to teach at the City University of New York (CUNY).
Activism and Social Change
Throughout her life, Frances Fox Piven has combined her academic work with political action. In 1968, she joined the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest." She promised to refuse to pay taxes to protest the Vietnam War.
In 1983, she helped start an organization called Human SERVE. This group wanted to make it easier for people to register to vote. They suggested that people could register when they used social services or visited the Department of Motor Vehicles. This idea became part of a law in 1993. It was called the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the "Motor Voter Bill."
She is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. This group believes in using democratic ways to achieve socialist goals.
Important Writings
Frances Fox Piven has written many important books. Some of her major works include:
- Regulating the Poor (1972, updated 1993): Written with Richard Cloward, this book looks at how government welfare policies affect people.
- Poor People's Movements (1977): This book explores how social movements by ordinary people can lead to big changes.
- Why Americans Don't Vote (1988) and Why Americans Still Don't Vote (2000): These books examine why many Americans, especially working-class people, do not vote. They also discuss how current election rules might discourage voting.
- The War at Home (2004): This book looks at the effects of the wars started by the Bush administration on people in the United States.
- Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America (2006): This book explores how protests and elections work together to bring about democratic changes in America.
Awards and Recognition
Frances Fox Piven has received many awards for her work. These include:
- Bronislaw Malinowski Award (2015)
- American Sociological Association Career Award for the Practice of Sociology (2000)
- Charles McCoy Career Achievement Award (2004)
- Mary Lepper Award (1998)
- American Sociology Association Lifetime Achievement Award for Political Sociology
- Tides Foundation Award for Excellence in Public Advocacy (1995)
- Annual Award of the National Association of Secretaries of State (1994)
- President's Award of the American Public Health Association (1993)
- Lee/Founders Award of the Society for the Study of Social Problems
- Eugene V. Debs Foundation Prize
- C. Wright Mills Award
Selected Works
- Labor Parties in Postindustrial Societies (1992)
- The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush's Militarism (2004)
- Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America (2006)
- Lessons for Our Struggle (2011)
With Richard Cloward:
- Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare (1971, 2nd ed: 1993)
- Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail (1977)
- New Class War: Reagan's Attack on the Welfare State and Its Consequences (1982)
- Why Americans Don't Vote (1988)
- The Breaking of the American Social Compact (1997)
- Why Americans Still Don't Vote: And Why Politicians Want it That Way (2000)
- Who's Afraid of Frances Fox Piven? The Essential Writings of the Professor Glenn Beck Loves to Hate (2011)
With Lee Staples and Richard Cloward:
- Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing (1984)
With Lorraine Minnite and Margaret Groarke:
- Keeping Down the Black Vote: Race and the Demobilization of American Voters (2009)
