Sad News: Peter Conrad
Dear Colleagues,
Peter F. Conrad, Harry Coplan Professor of Social Sciences, Emeritus of the Department of Sociology, died in his home in Lincoln, Massachusetts on March 3rd, 2024. He was 78 years old and had been living with Parkinson's for several years.
Peter was born on April 12, 1945, in New York City, the son of Jewish émigrés from Germany and Austria. As an undergraduate, he attended SUNY Buffalo, and then earned a Master's degree in Sociology from Northeastern University. As a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, he was assigned to do alternative service as an occupational therapy assistant at Boston State Hospital, a historic mental health institution. Witnessing interactions between patients, clinicians and the institution inspired his sociological interest in the medical system and society. He received his PhD in Sociology from Boston University in 1976 and went on to become one of the leading medical sociologists of his time.
Peter’s research focused on the experience of illness and the relation between medicine and deviance. A pioneer in the field of medicalization, his work on the medicalization of social problems was transformative for medical sociology. In his first book, he used the case of hyperkinesis (what is now called ADHD) in children to show how something once understood as deviant or a moral failing was turned into a medical diagnosis; as Peter put it from "badness to sickness." Peter’s work also examined the experience of epilepsy and other chronic illnesses, worksite wellness programs, the social construction of genetics, and many other topics. He was the author of 16 books or monographs and approximately 120 articles and chapters.
Always active in the profession, Peter was elected Chair of the Medical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association in 1987 and President of the Society for the Study of Social Problems in 1995. Among his numerous awards were the 2004 Leo G. Reeder Award, from the American Sociological Association, for distinguished contributions to medical sociology, and the 2007 Lee Founder’s Award of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, made in recognition of significant achievements over a distinguished career.
After teaching at Drake University, Peter joined the Brandeis Sociology Department in 1979, where he stayed until his retirement in 2017. Along with teaching the introductory sociology course and his signature courses in medical sociology, he chaired the Sociology Department from 1993-2002. He was a co-founder of Brandeis’s Health: Science, Society, and Policy program, which he chaired from 2003-2013. He was also an affiliated professor at the Heller School. Peter was devoted to his students, sat on innumerable university committees, and was unfailingly generous with his time. His students, now spread far and wide, speak often of his great impact on their careers and lives. Through the relationships he built as a pioneering scholar, and a devoted instructor and university citizen, Peter had a significant impact on the Brandeis community during his more than 35 years in Pearlman Hall.
As hard working as he was, Peter made time for his family and friends, and loved traveling, seeing movies, and growing vegetables in his garden. He realized his interest in green spaces by serving on the Lincoln Conservation Commission, the board of Codman Community Farm, and the community board of Drumlin Farm.
Peter is survived by his wife Libby Bradshaw of Lincoln, his daughter Rya Conrad-Bradshaw of Concord, his son, Jared Conrad-Bradshaw of Istanbul, as well as his son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.
Peter’s family is planning a Celebration of Life in June. If you would like to receive further information, you are invited to visit this page: https://bit.ly/peterconrad [bit.ly].
I am grateful to Sarah Mayorga and Laura Miller of the Department of Sociology and to Peter’s family for their contributions to this memoriam.
With best wishes,
Carol A Fierke
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs