Constance Sutton

Constance Sutton (29 January 1926 – 23 August 2018) was an American anthropologist. Her anthropology focused on transnational connections and challenged the notion of bounded homogeneous cultures. She conducted extensive comparative research into gender and power among the Yoruba people in Nigeria, and she studied the evolution of black sugar-cane plantation workers in the Caribbean from peasants to politically mobilized trade unionists.

Her research interests included The Caribbean and West Africa; Caribbean migrations [diasporas]; Transnational processes; Family, gender relations, and state hierarchies; Women's collective action; New social movements; Historical consciousness, national and individual.

Constance Sutton was born Constance Rita Sutton on January 29, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Russian Jewish immigrants. She attended the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, from where she received her Ph.B. (two‐year "Bachelor of Philosophy") in 1946 and an M.A. in Anthropology in 1954. A student of anthropologists Sol Tax, Fred Eggan, and Robert Redfield, she wrote a library‐based master's thesis, "The Role of Women in Plains Indian Gift‐Giving Ceremonies." In 1969, she obtained her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University, New York.

After getting her MA from the University of Chicago, Sutton and her husband Samuel Sutton (1921–1986) moved to New York, where she was hired by anthropologist Margaret Mead to edit her latest book. Sutton also became Meads' teaching assistant at Columbia University, New York. At Columbia University, Sutton studied with scholars who were developing an anthropological perspective on complex and differentiated power relations and political economy. In a Ph.D. seminar led by anthropologists Charles Wagley and Vera D. Rubin, Sutton was also introduced to her primary fieldwork sites: the Caribbean and Barbados. Sutton's doctoral research in 1968 was an event analysis of an island‐wide wildcat strike of sugar‐field workers in Barbados in 1958.

In 1959, she served as a Lecturer, Department of Anthropology at Hunter College, City University of New York. The following year, she taught at Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York (1960), and in 1960-61, she was Lecturer in Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the New York University. From 1961-68, she was an Instructor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, New York University. In 1968, she was promoted to Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the New York University. In 1971-73, she was a Chair, Department of Anthropology, New York University, University College. 

Sutton was one of the few women faculty at the newly coed University Heights Campus of New York University. In 1970, she was appointed director of the University Heights Anthropology Department and, soon after, tenured. In 1971, she became Associate Professor at the New York University.

Also in 1971, she organized "The Afro-Caribbean and Black American Experiences: Comparative Perspectives" conference, which was funded by NYU's University College, Institute for Afro-American Affairs, and RISM.

In 1972, together with anthropologist Eleanor Leacock and Ruby Rohrlich, Sutton organized the New York Women's Anthropology Caucus, which later grew into the International Women's Anthropology Conference (IWAC). 

Through her Afro-Caribbean research, Sutton had a circle of black literary friends with whom she held politically charged colloquies around her kitchen table on Riverside Drive, near Washington Heights. She was also friends with noted poet and civil rights advocate Maya Angelou, who lived in Sutton's apartment for several months in 1965 while organizing civil rights campaigns in New York for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and writing her autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."

In 1985, Sutton organized a conference titled "Anthropological Perspectives on Women's Collective Action: An Assessment of the decade" with Helen I. Safa.

Sutton retired as an associate professor from the New York University in 2002.

Sutton wrote or edited several books including Caribbean Life in New York City: Sociocultural Dimensions (edited with Elsa Chaney, 1987). Her other books include From Labrador to Samoa: The Theory and Practice of Eleanor B. Leacock (1993) and Feminism, Nationalism, and Militarism (1995).

Sutton was one of the contributors to Constructing Vernacular Culture in the Trans-Caribbean (November 2007) along with Anton Allahar, Carol Bailey, Curwen Best, Melvin L. Butler, Raphael Dalleo, Maarit Forde, Wendy Knepper, Patricia Mohammed, Lyndon Phillip, Elaine Savory, Bettina E. Schmidt, Mimi Sheller, Tanya Shields, and Mies van Niekerk. The book was edited by Holger Henke and Karl-Heinz Magister.

• 2007 "Family Reunuion Rituals of African Caribbean Transnational Families: instilling an historical and diasporic consciouosness," in Constructing Vernacular Culture in the Trans-Caribbean, Holger Henke, Karl-Heinz Magister, Alissa Trotz, eds. NY: Lexington Books.
• 2005 Revisiting Caribbean Labour: Essays in Honor of O. Nigel Bolland, edited and introduction by Constance R. Sutton, afterword by O. Nigel Bolland. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle.
• 2005 "Continuing the Fight for Economic Justice: The Barbados Sugar Workers’ 1958 Wildcat Strike, in ibid.
• 2004 "Celebrating Ourselves: The Family Reunion Rituals of African Caribbean Transnational Families," Global Networks, 4(3): 243-257.
• 2001 "Bridging the Personal/Professional Divide: Reflections on Margaret Mead," New York Academy of Science’ Academy Update, p.6
• 2001 "Celebrating the Margaret Mead Centenary at the New York Academy of Sciences," AnthroWatch, V. IX, No. 2, pp 12-13.
• 1998 "Motherhood is Powerful: embodied knowledge from evolving field-based experiences" Anthropology and Humanism." [Special issue on "In the Field and at Home: Family Anthropology," edited by Renate Fernandez and David Sutton.] 23(2):139-145. [republished as: "La maternidad es poderosa". O cómo se refleja la experiencia de cambio en el sistema de conocimiento," in Familias y culturas en el espacio latinoamericano. Editor Ana Vera, co-published by Universidad Iberoamericana de México and Centro Juan Marinello para esl studio de la cultura cubana, 2007.]
• 1997 "Forward" to Women and the Ancestors by Virginia Kerns, pp. IX-XV. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
• 1995 Feminism, Nationalism,and Militarism. (Editor). Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association.
• 1995 "From City-States to Postcolonial Nation-State: Yoruba Women's Changing Military Roles," in ibid.
• 1993 From Labrador to Samoa: The Theory and Practice of Eleanor B. Leacock. (Editor). Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association. Preface and Reprint of Obituary (1990) by C. Sutton
• 1992 "Transnational Identities and Cultures: the case of Caribbean immigrants to the U.S." in American Society: 'Melting Pot' or 'Salad Bowl'. M.D. D'Innocenzo & J.P. Sirefman, eds. Westport, CT.: Greenwood Press.
• 1992 "Some Thoughts on Gendering and Internationalizing Our Thinking about Transnational Migrations" in Towards a Transnational Perspective on Migration. N. Glick Schiller, L. Basch, C. Blanc-Szanton, eds. New York: New York Academy of Sciences.
• 1990 "Eleanor Burke Leacock: An Obituary" (with Richard Lee). American Anthropologist V.92(1). Reprinted in From Labrador to Samoa......., 1993).
• 1988 "The Social World of the Yoruba Child" (with Muriel Hammer). In Social Networks of Children, Adolescents & College Students. S. Salzinger, J. Antrobus, and M. Hammer, eds. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum.
• 1987 Caribbean Life In New York City: Sociocultural Dimensions. (Co-edited with Elsa Chaney). Staten Island, NY: Center for Migration Studies. (Revised edition issued in 1992 & 1994)
• 1987 "The Caribbeanization of New York City and the Emergence of Transnational Sociocultural Systems." In ibid.
• 1979 Caribbean Migration to New York (co-edited with Elsa Chaney). Special issue of International Migration Review. Vol. 13, no. 2.
• 1977 "Social Inequality and Sexual Status in Barbados" (with Susan Makiesky-Barrow). In Sexual Stratification: A Cross-Cultural View. Alice Schlegel, ed. pp. 293-325. New York: Columbia University Press. (Reprinted in The Black Woman Cross-Culturally. Filomena Steady, ed., pp. 469-498. Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman, 1981; and in Caribbean Sociology: Introductory Readings. Christine Barrow & Rhoda Reddock, eds, pp. 371-389. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, Princeton, NJ: Markus Weiner, Oxford: James Currey, 2001).
• 1976 "The Power to Define: Women, Culture and Consciousness." In Alienation in Contemporary Society: A Multidisciplinary Examination. R.S. Bryce-Laporte and C.S. Thomas, eds., pp. 86-98. New York: Praeger.
• 1975 "Migration and West Indian Racial and Ethnic Consciousness (with Susan Makiesky-Barrow). In Migration and Development: Implications for Ethnic Identity and Political Conflict. H.I. Safa and B. DuToit, eds. The Hague: Mouton. (Reprinted in Caribbean Life in New York City: Sociocultural Dimensions. C. Sutton and E. Chaney eds. 1987 and 1992).
• 1975 "Comments on Immigrants and forms of Group Identity." In ibid., pp. 175-185.
• 1975 "Women, Knowledge, and Power" (with S. Makiesky, D. Dwyer, L. Klein). In Women CrossCulturally: Change and Challenge. R. Rohrlich-Leavit, ed. pp. 581-600. The Hague: Mouton.
• 1974 "Cultural Dualism in the Caribbean: A Review." Caribbean Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 198-202.
• 1973 "Caribbean Migrants and Group Identity: Suggestions for Comparative Analysis." In Migration: Report of the Research Conference on Migration, Ethnic Minority Status and Social Adaptation. O. Klineberg and g. DeVos, eds. pp. 131-148. Rome: UN Social Defense Research Institute, Publication no. 5
• 1969 The Scene of the Action: A Wildcat Strike in Barbados. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms.
• 1961 Social and Cultural Factors Affecting Fertility in Barbados. New York: Planned Parenthood Federation of America (mimeographed)

• 2002 Introduction to "Four Works on the African Diaspora: A Collective Review Essay," Transforming Anthropology, 11(1): 54-61.
• 1995 Nations Unbound by L. Basch, N. Glick Schiller, C. Blanc Szanton. IMR V. 29.
• 1987 Sur les traces du Renard Pale, a film by Luc de Heusch and, Spite, a film by C. de Clippel, J-P. Colleyn and M. Bonmarriage. American Anthropologist, V.89, no. 1: 267-68.
• 1986 Women's Informal Associations in Developing Countries by K.S. March and R.L.Taqqu. IWAC Newsletter, no. 8, October.
• 1983 Nigerian Women Mobilized by Nina Mba. IWAC Newsletter nos. 2 & 3, pp. 16-17.
• 1982 Myths of Male Dominance by Eleanor B. Leacock. CUNY Center for the Study of Women and Society Newsletter, Vol. 2, no. 5, p. 2.
• 1959 An Anthropologist at Work, Writings of Ruth Benedict by Margaret Mead. Mainstream V. 12(7):61-63.
• 1954 The study of Culture at a Distance by Margaret Mead and Rhoda Metraux. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 10(6):231-32.

• 1998: Visiting Professor, Centre for Women and Development Studies, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados.
• 1998: "Women Who Make a Difference" Award of the National Council for Research on Women
• 1995: Golden Dozen Excellence Award for Teaching, NYU College of Arts & Science
• 1994: Fellow, Research Institute for the Study of Man
• 1993: Fellow, New York Academy of Sciences
• 1988: Great Teacher Award, NYU Alumni Federation
• 1988: NYU Curricular Challenge Award (with Annette Weiner)
• 1977-79: Associate, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
• 1977-79: Visiting Scholar, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, University of Ife, Nigeria
• 1977: Fulbright Visiting Scholar, India
• 1974-78: Danforth Foundation Associate

• 2007 Co-organizer and Chair of Panel: "Intra-Caribbean Connections with Cuba: Past and Present," Caribbean Studies Association, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, May 28-June 1.
• 2005 Co-organizer and Chair of Panel: "Connecting the Caribbean local to the national, regional, transnational, and Global," Caribbean Studies Association, Santo Domingo, D.R., May 30-June 4.
• 2004 Co-organizer of Panel: "Caribbean Labor Politics Today: At Home and Abroad," Caribbean Studies Association, St. Kitts-Nevis, May 31-June 5.
• 2003 Organizer and Chair of Panel Honoring O. Nigel Bolland: "Revisiting Caribbean Labor: Enriching Its Record of Struggles," Caribbean Studies Association, Belize, May 26-30.
• 1993 Organizer and Chair of Panel "The First Eleanor B. Leacock Award (to Steven Gregory): Building on her work on Race, Class and Gender," 13th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences Meetings, Mexico City, July 31st.
• 1990 "Practicing Feminist Anthropology: Views from Around the Globe." Fourth International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, Hunter College/CUNY, June 3-7. Funded by UN Development Fund and Wenner-Gren.
• 1988 Two panels for the IUAES (In't. Congress of Anthro. & Ethnological Sciences). Zagreb, Yugoslavia, July 24-31. Funded by IUAES' Commission on Women.
• 1987 "Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Feminism" with Helen Callaway. For the Third Int'l. Interdisc. Congress on Women, Dublin, Ireland, July 5-10. Grants from IWAC and IUAES' Commission on Women.
• 1985 "Women's Collective Action." For Forum '85 at the UN Decade for Women Meetings, Nairobi, Kenya, July 12. Grant from NYU's GSAS Fund.
• 1977 "Caribbean and Latin American Immigrants to the U.S." with Elsa Chaney. For Latin American Studies Association Meetings, Houston, TX, Nov. Funded by Ford Foundation's Caribbean Migration Program.

After a brief marriage that ended in divorce, Sutton married Samuel Sutton (1921–1986)—a fellow student at the University of Chicago who became a noted physiological psychologist—in 1952. They had a son David Sutton, who also went on to become an anthropologist and professor of anthropology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois.

After Samuel's death, she married anthropologist Antonio Lauria. The couple shared an interest in crossing imperial and linguistic borders in the Caribbean.

Sutton died from complications of a stroke and cancer on August 23, 2018, in Manhattan, New York, at the age of 92.