William Ryan (psychologist)
William J. Ryan, Jr. (c. 1924 – June 7, 2002) was a psychologist and author best known for his criticism of "blaming the victim" first published in his 1971 book of the same title. Ryan's work is considered a major structuralist rebuttal to the Moynihan Report.[1] Moynihan's report had placed most of the blame for African-American poverty rates on the rise of single-parent households rather than on racism and discrimination, while Ryan's response was that Moynihan was blaming victims for their victimhood. Ryan spent the majority of his career at Boston College.
William Ryan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | c. 1924 |
| Died | June 7, 2002 |
| Known for | Idea of "Victim blaming" |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Boston University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Psychologist |
| Institutions | Boston College |
| Notable works | Blaming the Victim |
Life and career
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] Ryan was initially interested in clinical psychology but then became interested in social and community psychology. [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]
Ryan married Phyllis Milgroom in 1951 and lived in Newton, Massachusetts. He died in a Boston hospital on June 7, 2002.[2][3]
Publications
Articles
- Ryan, William (1965). "Savage discovery: The Moynihan Report". The Nation. 201 (22 November): 380-384.[6]
- —— (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 Orthopsychiary. 41 (4): 638-645.[7]
- —— (1994). "Many cooks, brave men, apples, and oranges: How people think about equality". American Journal of Community Psychology. 22 (1): 25-35.
Chapters
- Ryan, William (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
- Ryan, William (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
- Sanneh, Kelefa (9 February 2015). "Don't Be Like That". The New Yorker. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- Long, Tom (11 June 2002). "William J. Ryan; Fought Bias Against the Poor, 78". Boston Globe.
- "William J. Ryan, 78, Sociologist; Explored the Blaming of Victims". The New York Times. 13 June 2002. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- 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.
- "Obituary; William Ryan, 78, of Boston, author, BC professor". Boston Herald. 9 June 2002.
- Reprinted in Rainwater and Yancey, 1967, see below.
- A revised version of this article was published in Denner and Price, 1973, see below.
Further reading
- Rainwater, Lee; Yancey, William L. (1967). The Moynihan Report and the Politics of Controversy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Pages 220 to 232 document in detail Ryan's response to the publication of the Moynihan Report.
- Lykes, M. Brinton; Banuazizi, Ali; Liem, Ramsay; Morris, Michael, eds. (1996). Myths about The Powerless: Contesting Social Inequalities. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-56639-422-2. A volume dedicated to Ryan by his colleagues.