Frederick Howard Buttel (October 15, 1948, Freeport, Illinois – January 14, 2005, Madison, Wisconsin) was the William H. Sewell Professor of Rural Sociology at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. A prominent scholar of the sociology of agriculture, Buttel was also well known for his contributions to environmental sociology.

Early life

Buttel was "born on a dairy farm n northwestern Illinoisto Heye R. and Marian (Highbarger) Buttel"."Obituaries," ''Madison.com'', January 16, 2005.
Accessed: June 17, 2012. His father was a farmer, his mother a school teacher.

Education and career

Buttel earned his B.S. (1970) and M.S. in sociology (1972) degrees at the

, his master's degree in forestry and environmental studies at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and his Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Wisconsin."Memorial Resolution of the Faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison: On the Death of Professor Frederick H. Buttell", April 4, 2005.
Accessed: June 17, 2012. Prior to returning as a faculty member to Wisconsin, he served as a member of the faculty at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. At the latter, he directed the Biology and Society Program. Buttel was editor of the journal, '' Research in Rural Sociology and Development'', and co-editor of '' Society & Natural Resources''. Buttel was a scholar in rural sociology whose research focused on four major areas of study: the sociology of agriculture, environmental sociology, technological change in agriculture, and national and global activism relating to environmental and agricultural policies.

Offices and awards

* Fellow,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, 1987 * President, Rural Sociological Society, 1990–1991 * Excellence in Research Award, Rural Sociology Society, 1993 * Distinguished Contribution to Environmental Sociology Award, Section on Environment and Technology,

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

, 1994 * Chair, Department of Rural Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998–2002 * President, Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society, 1998–1999 * President, Research Committee on Environment and Society (RC24),

International Sociological Association The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national sociol ...

, 1998–2002 * Merit Award, Natural Resources Research Group, Rural Sociology Society, 1999 * Spitz Land-Grant Faculty Award, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004 * Distinguished Rural Sociologist Award, Rural Sociology Society, 2004 * Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Professor, University of Wisconsin, 2004

Recognition

* After his death, the Research Committee on Environment and Society (RC24) of the International Sociological Association established in his honor the Frederick H. Buttel International Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Environmental Sociology. * Recognizing his contributions to the field, the Section on Environment and Technology of the American Sociological Association also renamed its Distinguished Contributions Award for him. * The endowed chair he held at the University of Wisconsin was renamed the Buttel-Sewell Professorship."Daniel Kleinman's curriculum vitae"

Co-authored books

* ''Rural Sociology of the Advanced Societies'' (1980) * ''Labor and the Environment'' (1984) * ''The Sociology of Agriculture'' (1990) * ''Toward a New Political Economy of Agriculture'' (1991) * ''Hungry for Profit: The

Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

Threat to Farmers, Food, and the Environment'' (2000) * ''Environment and Global Modernity'' (2000) * ''Environment, Energy, and Society: A New Synthesis'' (2001) * ''Sociological Theory and Environment'' (2002) * ''New Directions in the Sociology of Global Development, Volume 11'' (2005) * ''Governing Environmental Flows: Global Challenges to Social Theory'' (2006)

References

External links

"Father's Advice Proved Dependable to Professor," ''University of Wisconsin-Madison News'', November 2, 2004

"Four Faculty Receive Hilldale Awards," ''University of Wisconsin-Madison News'', April 29, 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttel, Frederick H. 1948 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American social scientists 21st-century American social scientists American academic journal editors American print editors American sociologists Environmental sociologists Cornell University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Michigan State University faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Writers from Michigan Writers from New York (state) Writers from Wisconsin Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies alumni People from Freeport, Illinois Rural sociologists