Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson

In Memoriam: Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson

On December 31, 2018, Professor Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson passed away. Born in Gloversville, New York in 1940, Priscilla graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke College, and earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in French from Columbia University. Dr. Ferguson taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1966 to 1989, rising to the level of Professor and Chair of the Department of French, and publishing her first two books, The Battle of the Bourgois (1973) and Literary France (1987). In 1989 she began teaching at Columbia University as Professor of Sociology and French. She published three more books; Paris as Revolution (1994); Accounting for Taste (2004); Word of Mouth (2014) and served terms as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Graduate Studies. Dr. Ferguson was married for almost 30 years to the late Robert A. Ferguson, also a distinguished member of the Columbia University faculty.

In service to her memory, we called upon long-term friends and colleagues, and recent students, to share their memories of Priscilla and her many contributions. Here, we share four of these: from Sharon Zukin, Krishnendu Ray, Diane Vaughan, and M. Pilar Opazo.

Shamus Khan (Chair and Professor of Sociology, Columbia University) and Jennifer C. Lena (Director and Associate Professor of Arts Administration, Columbia University.

In Honor of the Life and Work of Prof. Priscilla Ferguson

  • June, 2019 | Memorial and Reception in Gloversville, New York
  • August, 2019 | Reception at the annual American Sociological Association meetings in New York City
  • To acknowledge Priscilla Ferguson’s love for roses and gardens, please consider making a memorial donation to the New York Botanical Gardens or the American Rose Society.