Adler, Peter 1952-

PERSONAL:

Born February 2, 1952, in Queens Borough, New York, NY; son of Jacob (a garment manufacturer) and Beatrice (a homemaker) Adler; married Patricia Heller (a sociologist and educator), August 20, 1972; children: Jori, Brye. Ethnicity: "Jewish." Education: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, A.B. (magna cum laude), 1973; University of Chicago, M.A. (social sciences), 1974; University of California, San Diego, M.A. (sociology), Ph.D., 1980.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Boulder, CO. Office—Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208-2948. E-mail—socyprof@hotmail.com.

CAREER:

University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, assistant professor, 1980-86; Washington University, St. Louis, MO, visiting associate professor, 1986-87; University of Denver, Denver, CO, professor of sociology, 1987—, and urban studies, 2005—, distinguished university lecturer, 1997-98, department chair, 1987-93. University of Hawaii, visiting adjunct professor, 1986—; guest lecturer at other institutions, including University of Colorado, Wake Forest University, and University of Manitoba; conference organizer and participant; workshop presenter.

MEMBER:

North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, American Sociological Association (chair of sociology of children section, 1995-96), American Society of Criminology, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (vice president, 1984-85; chair of Blumer Award Committee, 1992-93), Institute for Sport and Social Analysis, Midwest Sociological Society (copresident, 2006-07), Pacific Sociological Association, Southern Sociological Society.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Outstanding book award, North Central Sociological Association, 2005, for Paradise Laborers: Hotel Work in the Global Economy; Feminist Mentor Award, Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, 2005.

WRITINGS:

(With Jack D. Douglas, Andrea Fontana, C. Robert Freeman, and others) Introduction to the Sociologies of Everyday Life, Allyn & Bacon (Boston, MA), 1980.

Momentum: A Theory of Social Action, Sage Publications (Newbury Park, CA), 1981.

(Editor, with wife, Patricia A. Adler, and contributor) The Social Dynamics of Financial Markets, JAI Press (Greenwich, CT), 1984.

(With Patricia A. Adler) Membership Roles in Field Research, Sage Publications (Newbury Park, CA), 1987.

(With Patricia A. Adler) Backboards & Blackboards: College Athletes and Role Engulfment, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), 1991.

(Editor, with Patricia A. Adler, and contributor) Constructions of Deviance: Social Power, Context, and Interaction, Wadsworth Publishing (Belmont, CA), 1994, 5th edition, 2006.

(With Patricia A. Adler) Peer Power: Preadolescent Culture and Identity, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 1998.

(Editor, with Patricia A. Adler and H. Jay Corzine, and contributor) Encyclopedida of Criminology and Deviant Behavior, Volume 1, Taylor & Francis (Philadelphia, PA), 2001.

(Editor, with Patricia A. Adler, and contributor) Sociological Odyssey: Contemporary Readings in Sociology, Wadsworth/Thomson Learning (Belmont, CA), 2001, 2nd edition, 2007.

(With Patricia A. Adler) Paradise Laborers: Hotel Work in the Global Economy, ILR Press (Ithaca, NY), 2004.

Contributor to books, including Crime at the Top, edited by John M. Johnson and Jack D. Douglas, J.B. Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1978; Researching Sensitive Topics, edited by Claire M. Renzetti and Raymond M. Lee, Sage Publications (Newbury Park, CA), 1993; Doing Everyday Life: Ethnography as Human Lived Experience, edited by Mary Lou Dietz, Robert Prus, and William Shaffir, Copp Clark Longman (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), 1994; Ethnography at the Edge: Crime, Deviance, and Field Research, edited by Jeff Ferrell and Mark S. Hamm, Northeastern University Press (Boston, MA), 1998; and Contempt of Court, edited by Rik Scarce, Alta Mira Press (Lanham, MD), 2005. Contributor of articles and reviews to professional journals, including American Sociologist, American Behavioral Scientist, Journal of Sports Tourism, Teaching Sociology, and Social Science Journal. Urban Life, associate editor, 1980-86, coeditor of special issue, 1986; Southwestern regional editor and associate editor, Qualitative Sociology, 1985-86; Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, editor, 1986-95, associate editor, 1995—; review editor, Symbolic Interaction, 1983—; founding coeditor, Sociological Studies of Child Development: A Research Annual, 1985-92; associate editor, Social Problems, 1984-86, Marketplace Exchange, 1985-2000, Sociology of Emotions Newsletter, 1987-90, Social Psychology Quarterly, 1989-92, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 1992-2004, Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, 1992—, Childhood, 1995-2004, Contemporary Sociology, 1999-2003, Sociological Quarterly, 2001—, and Qualitative Sociology Review, 2005—; contributing editor, Childnews, 1998—.

SIDELIGHTS:

Peter Adler told CA: "As an academic sociologist, some of my motivation for writing is driven by the ‘publish or perish’ atmosphere of higher education in which I work. Beyond that, however, I get pleasure out of writing that can be understood by the lay public that impacts issues that we encounter in everyday life. I like describing sites and settings of myriad environs that helps people get a sense of others' lives. To be able to tell a story, sociologically, that informs people's lives, while still analytically interpreting the actions and behaviors of those people I study, is something I enjoy. When the two meet, a strong story and a profound analysis, it makes for reading that will enlighten and inform.

"I like to take scenes that are close to my own interests and experiences, transforming them into sociological studies. It is important in my writing to be able to provide a new way of thinking about time-worn topics for my readers. I am influenced by other social scientists who can write clearly, without jargon, and concisely, while still maintaining the integrity of their social scientific principles.

"Since I have written with my wife for more than thirty years, we have developed a division of labor that allows us to create new works by constantly passing our writing back and forth. Sometimes I may be the original author, oftentimes it is my wife, but no matter who it is initially, our work is enhanced by the multiple drafts that we write. Thus, by the time anyone else reads our work, it is likely to have gone through a dozen drafts. Seeing this creative process unfold as we move from the contemplation of an idea to the organization and outline of a work, to a raw first draft, until we finally have something that we agree is worthy gives us both a great deal of accomplishment. In writing it is important to develop a momentum, to have the discipline to write every day, to be able to sit at the computer and compose, to get over the hurdles, and to finally produce something that makes us proud. The creative process itself brings a sense of achievement that matches few other endeavors in life.

"I have always been inspired by the observations that I have been able to make about behaviors and issues that are closest to my heart. Therefore I have been inspired by the enigmas of everyday life, how people navigate around their own social worlds, and what differences exist between people, based on factors such as their occupation, race, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other variables. In the end, it has been the ideas that are part of my life that I turn into sociological research that drives me to continue writing."