Mitchell, Richard G., Jr. 1942-

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MITCHELL, Richard G., Jr. 1942-

PERSONAL: Born April 17, 1942, in Berkeley, CA; son of Richard G., Sr. and Vera Ann Mitchell; married; wife's name, Eleen Ann; children: Katharine Ann. Education: Attended University of California, Los Angeles, 1972-73; California State University, Los Angeles, B.A., 1970; University of Southern California, M.A., 1974; Ph.D., 1979.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—Department of Sociology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-3703. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: California State College, Bakersfield, assistant professor, 1978-79; Western Oregon State College, assistant professor, 1979-80; Oregon State University, Corvallis, assistant professor, 1980-87, associate professor then professor of sociology, 1987—. Visiting professor at University of Oregon, Eugene; lecturer, consultant.

MEMBER: Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, American Sociological Association, Pacific Sociological Association, Society for the Study of Social Problems, American Society of Criminology, Alpha Kappa Delta.

AWARDS, HONORS: Faculty research planning grant, Western Oregon State College, 1980; L. L. Stewart Faculty Development Award, Oregon State University, 1982; College of Liberal Arts Research Grant, Oregon State University, 1983; Genge Corporation research grants, 1983; Problems of the Discipline Award, American Sociological Association, 1984; General Research Fund Award, Oregon State University, 1984-85; honorarium, Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1984-85; research grant, Urban Research Associates, Los Angeles, 1985; library research travel grant, Oregon State University, 1991.

WRITINGS:

Mountain Experience: The Psychology and Sociology of Adventure, University of Chicago Press (Chicago, IL), 1985.

(With Alan Sadovnik, Caroline Persell, and Eleen Baumann) Exploring Society: Selected Readings in Sociology, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1987.

Secrecy and Fieldwork: Revelation and Concealment in Post-Modern Ethnography, Sage Publishers (Beverly Hills, CA), 1993.

Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos InModern Times,, University of Chicago Press (Chicago, IL), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals.

WORK IN PROGRESS: An ethnographic study of innovative modes of exchange, barter, impromptu market, labor swaps, and other ways and means of negotiating worth and equity.

SIDELIGHTS: Richard G. Mitchell, a professor of sociology, has written books that cover very different topics and might interest very different audiences. Although all of his books might be enjoyed by both students and other educators, two of his books appeal to two very specific groups of readers: those who climb mountains (or wished they did) and those who are involved in survivalism or are intrigued by people who take survivalism very seriously. Mitchell has been highly praised for his careful research and his readable texts.

For the group that is interested in mountain climbing, Mitchell has written Mountain Experience: The Psychology and Sociology of Adventure, which a reviewer for the Virginia Quarterly Review noted would be of interest to all who are mountain climbers, whether they climbed the "Alps or the Rockies," or the "rolling hills of the Blue Ridge." Just as likely, the book should appeal even to "armchair climbers." David Campbell, in a review for Contemporary Psychology, wrote that Mitchell's book helped him understand other people's reactions to his own mountain-climbing accomplishments. After climbing Colorado's Long's Peak in a day with his son, Campbell happened to mention his adventure to a group of peers at a dinner party. He was taken aback by their reactions. "I didn't really understand what was going on until I read Richard Mitchell's fine book on the sociology of mountain climbing," Campbell wrote.

In his book, Mitchell states his beliefs that mountain climbing is a way for people living in industrialized societies—where, as Campbell wrote, "stress is more often created by office politics or interpersonal flare-ups than by any real physical danger,"—to face very serious physical challenges. As Mitchell states, "Mountain climbers are not looking for greater security, stability and certainty in their lives . . . they are seeking . . . a test of their limits in a gratifying no-compromise situation where their behavior is meaningful and outcomes depend upon their own self-directed behavior." Modern urban dwellers have a need to get their adrenalin flowing because they spend most of their lives in environments that have been geared to provide maximum security. These environments can provide peace of mind, on one hand, but they also can be a source of boredom. With the majority of jobs falling into the category of "safe" environments, Mitchell argues that people ultimately feel the need to seek out uncertainties in their recreation; thus many people—most of whom are mostly white, middle-class men—seek out mountains to climb and wish to relive these experiences after they have accomplished the feat. Talking about climbing is almost as much a part of the experience, Mitchell states, as the experience itself.

Mitchell's book concentrates on three explicit areas: the activity of mountain climbing; the general characteristics of those who climb; and the motivating factors that turn city dwellers into adventurous mountain climbers. Campbell concluded of Mountains of Experience that "this is not the best sociology book ever written, nor is it the best mountaineering book ever produced. It is, as far as I can determine, the first (therefore the best) sociological book on mountain climbing ever written."

Turning away from the world of mountain climbing, Mitchell next wrote about a more sophisticated and more mysterious world: that of the survivalist movement in the United States. In an interview for the on-line publication Fathom, Mitchell discussed the topic of his 2002 book, Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times. To begin with, he explained what survivalism is and who are the people who practiced it. "Survivalism centers on crafting homegrown tales of coming calamities. The heart of suvivalism lies not in practiced violence, confrontations, or woodsy retreatism but in fantasy role-playing, creative if not concrete problem-solving in imaginary worlds, where troubled times can be adequately met with a few simple principles, the tools and resources at hand, and a will to work. Survivalism may provide limited practical protection from real hazards, but it offers plentiful opportunities to demonstrate creative ingenuity."

Mitchell explained that there are many different kinds of survivalists, and they all believe in very definite types of doomsday scenarios. Some believe in "fiscal instability," and they stockpile all the assets they can put together. Others collect weaponry and believe that the country is about to be invaded. Other people are concerned about nuclear fallout or biochemical disasters. When asked if survivalists, in general, are dangerous, Mitchell responded: "Survivalists are more and less than you might think. They are more common and diverse than often depicted in the popular press. . . . And they are often less fearsome than we have been led to believe. Survivalists are role-playing," Mitchell reiterated. "Most survivalists do not bomb or shoot or disrupt the civil order."

However, Mitchell does not take all survivalist lightly. "There are dangerous individuals among us," he stated in his interview. He said that there are a small minority of survivalist who act alone—the silent ones—and they are the ones who should be feared. They are "individuals separated not only from conventional associations but also from survivalist organizations, which these individuals deem unfocused, equivocating, convocations of mere putter-planning." Mitchell singles out Timothy McVeigh as an example of someone who had grown tired of the talk and no action he was getting from the group to which he had belonged. He had become "frustrated by their unwillingness to do more than wait and whine while peddling tapes and booklets and newsletter subscriptions." Mitchell's book is filled with stories of survivalists of all types and the role that they play in contemporary culture. Not all of the stories instill fear.

Mitchell spent twenty years researching the topic of survivalism and met many different types of survivalists, from lawyers to loggers. In his book he shows that many are just common folk who want to be prepared. As a reviewer for Publishers Weekly put it, Mitchell's research has given the survivalist movement "a partial makeover." Mitchell contends that survivalism is merely "a creative response to the stresses of modernity." Those who practice it are guilty only of having a "'radical skepticism' about our culture and economic structures." This same reviewer praised Mitchell's endeavor to shine light on this topic. "His book is an important attempt to clarify and contextualize a movement that thrives on mainstream society's fringes."