Pitchford, Susan (Susan R. Pitchford)

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Pitchford, Susan (Susan R. Pitchford)

PERSONAL:

Married Bob Crutchfield. Education: Oakwood College, Huntsville, AL, A.S., 1981; University of Washington, B.A., 1987, M.A., 1990, Ph.D., 1994.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Seattle, WA. Office—Seattle, WA. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of Washington, Seattle, part-time lecturer, 1994-95, acting assistant professor, 1995-98, assistant professor, 1998-2002, senior lecturer in sociology, 2002—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Family Income Study Graduate Summer Research Fellowship, Washington State Institute for Public Policy, 1990; Western Europe Dissertation Travel Grant, University of Washington, 1993; Research travel grant, University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences, 1996; Boeing Endowment for Excellence, 1998.

WRITINGS:

Following Francis: The Franciscan Way for Everyone, Morehouse (Harrisburg, PA), 2006.

Identity Tourism: Imaging and Imagining the Nation, Elsevier (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Susan Pitchford is a sociologist whose research involves "how marginalized groups use museums and other tourist attractions to tell their stories," to ensure that the historical record about them is accurate, and to construct or reconstruct their individual and group identities, noted a biographer on the author's Web site. In Identity Tourism: Imaging and Imagining the Nation, Pitchford explores the ways in which tourism contributes to the construction of a group's national identity, how such national stories define a group as a people, and how a successfully crafted national story will counter negative information generated by a group's enemies. Pitchford looks not only at the necessary cultural and historical elements of a compelling national history, but also at the use of tourism as a means for sharing and propagating that national story.

Pitchford is also a follower of Franciscan spirituality, which is based on the life and teachings of Roman Catholic friar St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment; he lived his life in both contemplation and prayer and in active preaching and teaching, and he founded an influential religious order with participants who are still active in current times. Pitchford identifies herself as a member of the Third Order, Society of St. Francis, whose mission is to follow the Franciscan way in the larger world context in which they live, within their families, and within the occupations they pursue. Pitchford is the author of Following Francis: The Franciscan Way for Everyone. The book is a "superbly organized and presented introduction to Franciscan spirituality," commented a contributor to the Midwest Book Review. Pitchford describes the nine spiritual disciplines that make up the Third Order rule, including the Holy Eucharist, penitence, personal prayer, self-denial, retreat, study, simplicity of living, work, and obedience. She describes the work and goals of the order, and gives readers practical guidelines for leading a spiritual life in accordance with the concepts and rules of St. Francis. The book is "very highly recommended reading" for those who study and follow the teaching of St. Francis of Assisi, stated the Midwest Book Review critic.