Growing up in Chicago at a time when neighborhoods were going through transitions in ethnic and racial composition, Richard T. Schaefer found himself increasingly intrigued by what was happening, how people were reacting, and how these changes were affecting neighborhoods and people’s jobs. His interest in social issues caused him to gravitate to sociology courses at Northwestern University, where he received a B.A. in Sociology. "Originally as an undergraduate I thought I would go on to law school and become a lawyer. But after taking a few sociology courses, I found myself wanting to learn more about what sociologists studied and fascinated by the kinds of questions they raised."… This fascination led him to obtain his M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago. Dr. Schaefer’s continuing interest in race relations led him to write his masters’ thesis on the membership of the Ku Klux Klan and his doctoral thesis on racial prejudice and race relations in Great Britain.Dr. Schaefer went on to become a professor of sociology. He has taught introductory sociology for 30 years to students in colleges, adult education programs, nursing programs, and even a maximum-security prison. Dr. Schaefer’s love of teaching is apparent in his interaction with his students. "I find myself constantly learning from the students who are in my classes and from reading what they write. Their insights into the material we read or current events that we discuss often become part of future course material and sometimes even find their way into my writing." Dr. Schaefer is author of the third edition of Sociology: A Brief Introduction (McGraw-Hill, 2000). Dr. Schaefer is also the author of Racial and Ethnic Groups now in its eighth edition, and Race and Ethnicity in the United States, second edition. His articles and book reviews have appeared in many journals, including American Journal of Sociology, Phylon: A Review of Race and Culture, Contemporary Sociology, Sociology and Social Research, Sociological Quarterly, and Teaching Sociology. He served as president of the Midwest Sociological Society in 1994-1995.Dr. Schaefer’s advice to students is to "look at the material and make connections to your own life and experiences. Sociology will make you a more attentive observer of how people in groups interact and function. It will also make you more aware of peoples’ different needs and interests — and perhaps more ready to work for the common good, while still recognizing the individuality of each person."Conrad Phillip Kottak (A.B. Columbia, 1963; Ph.D. Columbia, 1966) is the Julian H. Steward Collegiate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, where he has taught since 1968. He served as Anthropology Department chair from 1996 to 2006. In 1991 he was honored for his teaching by the University and the state of Michigan. In 1992 he received an excellence in teaching award from the College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts of the University of Michigan. In 1999 the America Anthropological Association awarded Professor Kottak the AAA/Mayfield Award for Excellence in the Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology.Professor Kottak has done ethnographic fieldwork in cultural anthropology in Brazil (since 1962), Madagascar (since 1966), and the United States. Conrad Kottak's articles have appeared in academic journals including American Anthropologist, Journal of Anthropological Research, American Ethnologist, Ethnology, Human Organization, and Luso-Brazilian Review. He has also written for more popular journals, including Transaction/SOCIETY, Natural History, Psychology Today, and General Anthropology.In recent research projects, Kottak and his colleagues have investigated the emergence of ecological awareness in Brazil, the social context of deforestation in Madagascar, and popular participation in economic development planning in northeastern Brazil.Recently, Kottak was inducted to The National Academy of Sciences. This is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare.
Richard Pace is Professor of Anthropology at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of The Struggle for Amazon Town: Gurup� Revisited and articles in the American Anthropologist, American Ethnologist, Ethnology, Journal of Anthropological Research, Bolet�m do Museu Goeldi, and Luso-Brazilian Review.