Frances Fox Piven facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frances Fox Piven
Piven in 2012
Born	Frances Fox (1932-10-10) October 10, 1932 (age 92) Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	University of Chicago (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
Spouse(s)	Herman Piven (divorced) Richard Cloward (until his death, 2001)
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 society 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 organize protests for welfare rights in New York City and across the country. She helped create the ideas behind these movements. Throughout her career, she has been part of important groups. These include the ACLU and the Democratic Socialists of America. She also held leadership roles in professional groups. One such group is the American Political Science Association. Before this, she taught political science at Boston University.

Early Life and Education

Frances Fox Piven was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her parents, Rachel and Albert Fox, were from a small town near Minsk. They moved to the United States when Frances was one year old. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.

Piven grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. She went to P.S. 148 for elementary school. Even at a young age, she showed a strong will. She once refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance. She said she could only pledge loyalty to Canada. After elementary school, she attended Newtown High School. Then she went to college in Chicago. She earned three degrees from the University of Chicago. She received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in City Planning in 1953. She then earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in 1956. Finally, she completed her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 1962. She attended college on a scholarship and worked as a waitress to pay for her living expenses.

Career Highlights

Frances 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." This article suggested that more people should sign up for social welfare programs. The idea was that this would put pressure on the system. This pressure could then lead to big changes, like a guaranteed minimum income. This idea is sometimes called the "Cloward–Piven strategy." From 2006 to 2007, Professor Piven was the President of the American Sociological Association.

While teaching at Boston University, Piven and four other professors faced a challenge. This happened after a strike by university staff in 1979. The professors, including Howard Zinn, refused to cross the picket line. They supported the clerical and support staff whose strike was not yet settled. Instead, they held their classes in other locations. The university president threatened to fire them. However, he later changed his mind. Piven and the others returned to their classrooms. Later, Professor Piven moved from Boston University to the City University of New York (CUNY).

Activism and Important Laws

Throughout her life, Professor Piven has combined her academic work with political action. In 1968, she signed a pledge to protest the Vietnam War. She vowed to refuse to pay certain taxes. In 1983, she helped start an organization called Human SERVE. This group aimed to make it easier for people to register to vote. They wanted voter registration to be offered when people used social services or visited the Department of Motor Vehicles. This idea became a part of a national law. It was included in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. This law is often called the "Motor Voter Bill."

She is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She has served as one of its Honorary Chairs. In 2011, Piven took part in a televised debate. It was on PBS as part of the series Free to Choose.

Key Writings

Professor Piven has written many important books. One major work is Regulating the Poor, written with Richard Cloward. First published in 1972, it looks at how government welfare policies have been used. It explains how these policies can affect people in lower income groups. Another book, Poor People's Movements (1977), tells the story of social movements in the U.S. It shows how some of these movements led to important changes.

She also wrote Why Americans Don't Vote (1988) and Why Americans Still Don't Vote (2000). These books explore why many poor and working-class Americans do not vote. They also look at how U.S. election rules might discourage voting. Her book The War at Home (2004) examines the effects of wars on American society. In Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America (2006), she explores how everyday people can create political change. She shows how social movements and elections work together to bring about democratic reforms.

Honors and Awards

Frances Fox Piven has received many awards for her work. These awards recognize her contributions to sociology and political science.

• 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

Works

Here are some of the books Frances Fox Piven has written:

• 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, updated 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)

The writings and papers of Frances Fox Piven are kept at Smith College.