CISS Mourns the Loss of Sociology Professor John Stone
John Stone, esteemed Professor of Sociology at Boston University, passed away on October 11, 2023 at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
John was a noted international scholar of the politics of race and ethnicity with a long and distinguished career of research, publications, and teaching. He studied at St. Catherine’s College at Cambridge University and received his doctorate in 1970 from St. Antony’s College at Oxford University. His interest in the dynamics of race and racial conflict began with his dissertation research in South Africa when he was Visiting Scholar at Universities of Witwatersrand, Natal and Cape Town.
During the 1970s and 1980s, John held a variety of faculty posts, at Columbia University in New York, Oxford University, University of London and others. In the 1990s he was at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he served as Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology for many years. In 2001 John moved to the Department of Sociology at Boston University and served as Chair until 2007.
John Stone wrote over 9 books and over 45 articles and chapters in the course of his career. His 1980 book Tocqueville on Democracy, Revolution and Society (University of Chicago Press) was reissued and translated into many languages. In 1978 he founded the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies (ERS) and served as its Chief Editor for ten years. ERS was the first social science journal devoted to the study of race and ethnicity and its influence on other scholars in the field was profound. His 2003 edited book Race and Ethnicity: Comparative and Theoretical Approaches (with Rutledge Dennis) was recognized as the definitive introduction to the field and widely assigned as required reading to students.
As a scholar and educator, John Stone was deeply committed to mentorship of junior scholars and graduate students. In 2020 he co-edited the ground-breaking five-volume Wiley Blackwell Companion to Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism with Rutledge Dennis, and two former students, Polly Rizova, and XiaoshuoHou. Students flocked to him for the wise, committed and compassionate mentorship he consistently provided. He also was widely regarded as a witty and self-deprecating colleague who always found time to offer cogent editorial remarks on others’ manuscripts.
To many in the Sociology department, John was a friend, and, to some, a mentor, who never missed an opportunity to share a joke or a laugh. That moment always seemed more important than anything else that we were doing. He combined sardonic wit with a warm and buoyant personality and went out of his way to help students and the department whether that need was large or small. He cared about people and lifted up those around him. He was kind and funny and a calm voice of reason amid challenging circumstances and an incredible source of knowledge and insight about the department’s history.
John Stone leaves behind his wife Roleen Stone, daughter Alana Stone Horn and three grandchildren. His friends, colleagues and former students remember him with deep respect and affection.
The BU sociology department will hold a memorial for John at 1 PM on Sunday, November 19 at the Boston University Initiative on Cities (75 Bay State Road).
