William Ryan
Born(1923-09-20)September 20, 1923
Died(2002-06-07)June 7, 2002
Boston, Massachusetts
Known forIdea of "Victim blaming"
Academic background
EducationBoston University
Academic work
DisciplinePsychologist
InstitutionsBoston College
Notable worksBlaming the Victim

William J. Ryan, Jr. (September 20, 1923 – June 7, 2002) was a psychologist, civil rights activist and author. He is best known for his criticism of "blaming the victim", which was first published in his 1971 book of the same name. Ryan's work is considered a major structuralist rebuttal to the Moynihan Report.[1] Moynihan's report placed most of the blame for African-American poverty rates on the rise of single-parent households, which Ryan vigorously rejected as blaming victims for their victimhood.

Early life

Ryan was born in Everett, Massachusetts on September 20 1923, the son of William J. Ryan and Marion C. Ryan (Evans). He was subsequently raised in Everett.[2] After joining the Army Air Corps during WWII, he received a PhD from Boston University in 1958.[3] In 1951 Ryan married Phyllis Milgroom, who as Phyllis M. Ryan was also a civil rights activist.

Career

Initially Ryan was interested in clinical psychology. Then he then became interested in social and community psychology, and social issues and social problems.[4]

Ryan worked at the Yale School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School before arriving at Boston College, where he was Professor of Psychology from 1969 to 1998.[5] In 1993 he received an award for his distinguished contribution to theory & research in community psychology from the Society for Community Research and Action: Division 27 of the American Psychological Association.[6] Ryan died in a Boston hospital on June 7, 2002.[2][3]

Publications

Articles

  • 1965. "Savage discovery: The Moynihan Report". The Nation. 201 (22 November): 380-384.[7]
  • 1965. "The new genteel racism". The Crisis. 72 (10): 623-631, 644.
  • 1969. "Community care in historical perspective: Implications for mental health services and professionals". Canada's Mental Health. Supplement (60): March-April.
  • 1971. "Blaming the victim: The folklore of cultural deprivation". This Magazine is About Schools. Summer (5 (3)): 97-117.
  • 1971. "Emotional disorder as a social problem: Implications for mental health programs". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 41 (4): 638-645.[8]
  • 1994. "Many cooks, brave men, apples, and oranges: How people think about equality". American Journal of Community Psychology. 22 (1): 25-35.

Chapters

  • 1969. "Distress in the city: A summary report of the Boston Mental Health Survey, 1960-1962". In Ryan, William (ed.). Distress in the city: Essays on the design and administration of urban mental health services. Cleveland, Ohio: The Press of Case Western Reserve University.
  • 1969. "A New Mental Health Agenda". In Ryan, William (ed.). Distress in the city: Essays on the design and administration of urban mental health services. Cleveland, Ohio: The Press of Case Western Reserve University.
  • 1971. "The social welfare client: Blaming the victim". In Kalz, Arthur J. (ed.). The social welfare forum Official Proceedings, 98th Annual Forum National Conference on Social Welfare Dallas, Texas, May 16-May 21. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • 1973. "Emotional disorder as a social problem: Implications for mental health programs". In Denner, Bruce; Price, Richard H. (eds.). Community Mental Health Social Action and Inaction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Books

  • 1971. Blaming the Victim. New York: Pantheon. ISBN 978-0-85514-010-6.
  • 1976. Blaming the victim (Revised, updated ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-394-72226-9.
  • 1982. Equality. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-394-71185-0.

References

  1. ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa (9 February 2015). "Don't Be Like That". The New Yorker. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 Long, Tom (11 June 2002). "William J. Ryan; Fought Bias Against the Poor, 78". Boston Globe.
  3. 1 2 "William J. Ryan, 78, Sociologist; Explored the Blaming of Victims". The New York Times. 13 June 2002. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Lykes, M. Brinton; Banuazizi, Ali; Liem, Ramsay; Morris, Michael (eds.). "A conversation between William Ryan and M. Brinton Lykes". Myths about the Powerless Contesting Social Inequalities. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 354.
  5. ↑ "Obituary; William Ryan, 78, of Boston, author, BC professor". Boston Herald. 9 June 2002.
  6. ↑ Page 127 in APA Policies and procedures Manual 2010, see the article by Albee (1994) under 'Further reading'.
  7. ↑ Reprinted in Rainwater and Yancey, 1967, see below.
  8. ↑ A revised version of this article was published in Denner and Price, 1973, see below.

Further reading

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