About our authors
John J. Macionis (pronounced “ma-SHOW-nis”) has lived “a sociology life,” both as a textbook author and as a classroom teacher for more than 50 years. This journey began at Cornell University, where John earned a bachelor's degree, majoring in sociology, and continued as he completed a doctorate in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.
His publications are wide-ranging, focusing on community life in the United States, interpersonal intimacy in families, effective teaching, humor, new information technology, and the importance of global education. Macionis is the author of Sociology, Society: The Basics and Social Problems, the most popular text in the field. He collaborates on numerous international editions of these titles, including Sociology: Canadian Edition; Society: The Basics, Canadian Edition; and Sociology: A Global Introduction. These titles are also available in more than a dozen foreign-language editions.For the latest on all the Macionis textbooks, as well as information about how sociology can encourage social change, visit the author's personal website.
In 2002, the American Sociological Association presented Macionis with the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching, citing his innovative use of global material and teaching technology in his textbooks. John served as Professor and Prentice Hall Distinguished Scholar at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he taught for 35 years before his retirement.
Throughout his career, Macionis expanded his understanding by engaging in academic programs in other countries, traveling to more than 50 nations. He writes, “I have always been an ambitious traveler, eager to learn and, through the texts, to share what I discover with students, many of whom know little about the rest of the world. For me, traveling and writing are all dimensions of teaching. First, and foremost, I am a teacher. A passion for teaching animates everything I do.”
In his free time, Macionis enjoys tennis, swimming, hiking, and playing oldies rock- and-roll, which are available on his website. He is an environmental activist in the Lake George region of New York's Adirondack Mountains, working with a number of organizations, including the Lake George Land Conservancy, where he served for more than a decade as president of the board of directors. Currently, his non-profit focus has been expanding public understanding of US history, and he now chairs the board of trustees at Fort Ticonderoga, a national center of teaching and learning that offers a broad range of digital historical material.
Professor Macionis welcomes (and responds to) comments and suggestions about his texts. Send him an e-mail to macionis@kenyon.edu.
Vincent N. Parrillo hails from Paterson, New Jersey, the locale of 5 award-winning PBS documentaries that he wrote, narrated and produced. His bachelor's degree in business administration (Seton Hall University), master's degree in English (Montclair State University), and doctorate in sociology (Rutgers University) offer insight into his diversified fields of interest.
His textbooks include multiple editions of Strangers to These Shores, Understanding Race and Ethnic Relations, Diversity in America, and Contemporary Social Problems. Other books are Rethinking Today's Minorities and Millennium Haze. He is general editor of the 2-volume Encyclopedia of Social Problems. In addition, he published 2 historical novels, Guardians of the Gate and Defenders of Freedom. His latest book, Hearts and Minds: Hizmet Schools and Interethnic Relations, is the product of 4 years of field research in Albania, Bosnia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania and the United States. His books and journal articles have been published in 10 languages.
Professor emeritus of sociology at William Paterson University, he also served there as Director of the Paterson Metropolitan Region Research Center. Twice his university honored him with its Award for Excellence in Creative Expression and Scholarship, as well as bestowing its prestigious Legacy Award.
Parrillo is also a Fulbright Scholar and Senior Fulbright Specialist. For the US Embassy (Czechia), he conducted numerous teacher workshops on multicultural education throughout the country and worked with regional Roma leaders on improving intergroup relations. The US Embassy (Germany) twice asked him to conduct multiple-session workshops for teachers. At the US Embassy (Brussels), he presented a talk on the role of race in presidential elections to diplomats and non-governmental organizational leaders.
A visiting professor at Palacký University, University of Liege, and University of Pisa, he gave many other presentations in Asia and Europe, under US Department of State sponsorship. His nationwide speaking tour in Canada included universities from Vancouver to Toronto, presentations in Calgary to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and TV interviews on Canadian national television shows.
A keynote speaker at international conferences in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, and South Korea, he has conferred with national leaders in Canada, Czechia, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden on immigration issues. Parrillo also conducted numerous diversity training sessions for NCOs and senior officers at various military bases for the US Department of Defense.
He is a past vice president and Williams Distinguished Lecturer of the Eastern Sociological Society. His theater interests include directing many community theater productions and being co-lyricist of Hamlet: The Rock Opera, professionally performed in New York City, Bratislava, Prague, Seoul and Tokyo. Professor Parrillo invites and encourages readers to e-mail him (parrillov@wpunj.edu) and promises to reply.
