Gerald Dale Suttles (1932–2017) was an American urban sociologist. Gerald Suttles was born in North Carolina to parents Gertrude and Berlin Suttles. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1951 to 1955 before attending

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

. Suttles earned his doctorate from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. While researching his first book, Suttles moved to what became the Tri-Taylor area of Chicago's Near West Side, where he lived for three years. ''The Social Order of the Slum'' was published in 1968, and won the C. Wright Mills Award from the

Society for the Study of Social Problems The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) is an organization founded in 1951 in counterpoint to the American Sociological Association. History The Society was founded in 1951 by Elizabeth Briant Lee and Alfred McClung Lee. Professo ...

that year, followed by the University of Chicago's

Gordon J. Laing Award The Gordon J. Laing Award is conferred annually, by the University of Chicago's Board of University Publications, on the faculty author, editor, or translator whose book has brought the greatest distinction to the list of the University of Chicago ...

in 1970. Suttles began teaching at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1967. He left Chicago for a position at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

in 1971. Suttles returned to Chicago in 1976. In 1993, the

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 ...

bestowed upon Suttles its Robert and Helen Lynd Award for Lifetime Achievement. He remained on Chicago's faculty until retirement in 1997. Suttles and his wife Kirsten Gronbjerg moved to

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

, where Suttles accepted an adjunct professorship at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. He died in Bloomington on May 11, 2017. His "Ethnobiography," ''A Journey Through Social Change: From the Mountains of Western North Carolina to the Slums of Chicago'', edited by Kirsten Gronbjerg, his wife, was published in 2020.

Books

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suttles, Gerald D. 1932 births American sociologists Urban sociologists Scientists from North Carolina United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Reed College alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Chicago faculty Stony Brook University faculty 2017 deaths Social constructionism