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Pfeffer, Max J.
Cornell Faculty Member
Positions
- Professor, Development Sociology (D SOC), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
- Associate Dean, CALS Senior Associate Deans, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
MAX J. PFEFFER is International Professor of Development Sociology and Senior Associate Dean of the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. His teaching concentrates on environmental sociology and sociological theory. His research spans several areas including rural labor markets, international migration, land use and environmental planning. The work has focused on a variety of rural and urban communities, including rural/urban fringe areas. Research sites include rural New York and Central America. He has been awarded competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Research Initiative and its Fund for Rural America, and the Social Science Research Council. Pfeffer has published a wide range of scholarly articles and has written/co-edited four books. He recently published (with John Schelhas) Saving Forests, Protecting People? Environmental Conservation in Central America. Max has served on and led National Research Council committees of the Water Science and Technology Board. Max has served as Chair of the Development Sociology Department, and the Associate Director of both the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cornell University Center for the Environment.
Research Areas
Websites
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Affiliations
other Cornell affiliations
member of
- David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future (ACSF) Faculty Fellow
Research
research overview
- I have conducted research on a variety of topical areas including community development, international migration, agricultural labor, rural labor markets, land use and environmental planning. Primary data collection and field research have been a defining features of my research which has centered on a variety of rural and urban communities with a particular emphasis on rural/urban fringe areas in rural New York, Mexico and Central America. My work has been funded by competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Research Initiative and the Fund for Rural America.
research activities
- CaRDI publication series
- Capacity building in the Southern Tier: A regional approach to community and economic development
- Cornell Farmworker Program
- Cornell Farmworker Program
- Polson Institute for Global Development
- Polson Institute for Global Development
- Polson Institute for Global Development
- Polson Institute for Global Development
- Training local community officials
principal investigator on
area(s) of concentration/expertise
keywords
- agricultural labor
- community development
- international migration
- land use and environmental planning
- rural labor markets
geographic focus
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country
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new york state geographical region
submitted impact statement
- Stakeholder involvement in water resources management
- National, state, and local policies to address the opportunities and challenges of immigration
- Integrating immigrants in rural communities
- Integrating immigrants in rural communities
- Building the capacity of community leaders in upstate New York||
Publications
individual publications
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academic article
- When Global Conservation Meets Local Livelihoods: People and Parks in Central America. Revista Geográfica de América Central. 45:77-101. 2011
- Strong Ties, Weak Ties, and Human Capital: Latino Immigrant Employment Outside the Enclave. Rural Sociology. 74:241-269. 2009
- Strong Ties, Weak Ties, and Human Capital: Latino Immigrant Employment Outside the Enclave. Rural Sociology. 74:241-269. 2009
- Upstate and Downstate Differ in Response to Needs of Immigrant Community. NYSAC News. 30:23-24. 2009
- When Global Environmentalism Meets Local Livelihoods: People and Parks in Central America. Conservation Letters. 2009:278-285. 2009
- The Underpinnings of Immigration and the Limits of Immigration Policy. Cornell International Law Journal. 41:83-100. 2008
- Influence of Slash-and-Burn Farming Practices on Fallow Succession and Land Degradation in the Rainforest Region of Madagascar. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 119:257-269. 2007
- Organizing Stakeholder Engagement for Democratic Environmental Planning. Journal of Society and Natural Resources. 20:801-813. 2007
- The Social Context of Volunteer Environmental Monitoring. . Water Resources IMPACT. American Water Resources Association. 20:801-813. 2007
- Environmental Globalization, Organizational Form, and Expected Benefits from Protected Areas in Central America. Rural Sociology. 7:429-450. 2006
- New Immigrants in Rural Communities: The Challenges of Integration. Social Text 88. 24:81-98. 2006
- Forest Values of National Park Neighbors in Costa Rica. Human Organization. 64:385-397. 2005
- Population, conservation, and land use change in Honduras. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 110:14-28. 2005
- Assessing Water Quality Using Two Taxonomic Levels of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Analysis: Implications for Volunteer Monitors. Journal of Freshwater Ecology. 19:581-586. 2004
- Language Skills Open Opportunities. Northeast Dairy Business. 6:54. 2004
- New York Protege Ses Sources Rurales Pour Fournir de Leau Potables Ses Habitants [New York City Protects Rural Sources of Potable Water for its Residents]. LaRevueDurable[The Sustainability Journal]. 7:38-41. 2003
- Social Learning for Collaborative Natural Resource Management. Society and Natural Resources. 15:309-326. 2003
- Social learning for collaborative natural resource management. Society and Natural Resources. 16:309-326. 2003
- Stakeholder Participation in Watershed Management, Park I. Water Resources IMPACT. 5:8-10. 2003
- Stakeholder Participation in Watershed Management, Park II. Water Resources IMPACT. 5:11-13. 2003
- Immigrant Environmental Behaviors in New York City. Social Science Quarterly. 83:65-81. 2002
- Forest Conservation, Value Conflict, and Interest Formation in a Honduran National Park. Rural Sociology. 66:382-402. 2001
- A Full, Clean Glass? Managing New York City’s Watersheds. Environment. 42:8-20. 2000
- Class, Ethnicity and Marginal Employment: African-American and Cambodian Day-Haul Farm Workers in Philadelphia. Research in the Sociology of Work. 9:73-93. 2000
- Desarrollo Sostenible: Un Desarrollo Alternativo?. Red Gestio'n de Recursos Naturales. 2:7-15. 2000
- Making Watershed Management Work in New York City. Environmental Science & Technology. 34:464-471. 2000
- Adult Education and Watershed Knowledge in Upstate New York. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 35:609-622. 1999
- Does Demographic Knowledge Matter? Results of a Poll in the New York City Watershed. Population Policy Review. 17:389-402. 1998
- Educating the Public about On-Site Wastewater Treatment System Maintenance and Watershed Protection. Water Courses. 4:3-4. 1997
- Welfare versus Work in the Ethnic Transformation of a Philadelphia Labor Market. Social Science Quarterly. 78:452-470. 1997
- Agriculture Resurges in Metropolitan America. Resource: Engineering and Technology for a Sustainable World. 3:8-11. 1996
- Applications of DNA amplification techniques in veterinary diagnostics. Veterinary Research Communications. 19:375-407. 1995
- Prospects for Sustainable Agriculture in the Northeast's Rural/Urban Fringe. Research in Rural Sociology and Development. 6:67-93. 1995
- Public and Farmer Support for Purchase of Development Rights in the Metropolitan Northeast. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 50:30-33. 1995
- Farmland Preservation, Development Rights and the Theory of the Growth Machine: The Views of Planners. Journal of Rural Studies. 10:233-248. 1994
- Low-Wage Employment and Ghetto Poverty: A Comparison of African American and Cambodian Day Haul Farmworkers in Philadelphia. Social Problems. 41:401-421. 1994
- Watershed Views: A Public Opinion Survey on the New York City Watershed Comparing Residents' Knowledge and Attitudes. Water Courses. 1:2-4. 1994
- Labor and Production Barriers to the Reduction of Agricultural Chemical Inputs. Rural Sociology. 57:347-362. 1992
- Sustainable Agriculture in Historical Perspective. Agriculture and Human Values. 9:4-12. 1992
- Gender and Off Farm Employment in Two Regional Farming Systems: Responses to Farm Crisis in the Cornbelt and the Mississippi Delta. The Sociological Quarterly. 34:593-610. 1991
- Federal Farm Programs and Structural Change in the 1980s: A Comparison of the Cornbelt and the Mississippi Delta. Rural Sociology. 54:551-567. 1989
- Part Time Farming and the Stability of Family Farms in the Federal Republic of Germany. European Review of Agricultural Economics. 16:425-444. 1989
- The Feminization of Production on Part Time Farms in the Federal Republic of Germany. Rural Sociology. 54:60-73. 1989
- Values and Policy Conflict in West German Agriculture. Agriculture and Human Values. 6:59-69. 1989
- La Transformacion del Capital Agricola Estadounidense y las Relaciones Laborales. Problemas del Desarrollo. 15:31-76. 1984
- Do Unto Farmers . . .. The Rural Sociologist. 3:37-49. 1983
- Industrial Farming. Democracy. 3:37-49. 1983
- Social Origins of Three Systems of Farm Production in the United States. Rural Sociology. 48:540-562. 1983
- The Labor Process and Capitalist Development of Agriculture. The Rural Sociologist. 2:72-80. 1982
- Changing Characteristics of Farm Workers and the Labor Process: Harvest Mechanization in California. Development and Change. 12:215-236. 1981
- The Labor Process and Corporate Agriculture: Mexican Workers in California. The Insurgent Sociologist. 10:25-44. 1980
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article
- Upstate and Downstate Differ in Response to Needs of Immigrant Community 2009
- Language Skills Open Opportunities 2004
- Research on Ghetto Poverty Uses RUCS Resources 1992
- Off Farm Employment and Farm Policy 1987
- Farm Policy and Structure in the European Economic Community 1986
- Wisconsin Dairy Exports, Competition from the EEC 1986
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book
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booksection
- New Immigrants in Rural Communities: The Challenges of Integration. Vol. 24. 2006
- Farmland Preservation Policies and Their Outcomes. Vol. 4. 1995
- Public and Farmer Support for Purchase of Development Rights. Vol. 5. 1995
- Agricultural Trends and Variation. Vol. 2. 1994
- Introduction. Vol. 1. 1994
- New Directions in Rural/Urban Fringe Agriculture. Vol. 3. 1994
- Regional Considerations in U.S. Farm Policy. Vol. 1. 1991
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chapter
- Conceptualizing Contemporary Immigrant Integration in the Rural United States and United Kingdom. Rural Transformations and Rural Policies in the US and UK. 79-99. 2012
- Introduction to Environment and Society. Sage Handbook on Environment and Society. 2007
- Introduction to Environment and Society. The SAGE Handbook of Environment and Society. 1-32. 2007
- Volunteer Environmental Monitoring, Knowledge Creation and Citizen-Scientist Interaction. Sage Handbook on Environment and Society. 2007
- Fifty Years of Farmland Change: Urbanization, Population Growth and the Changing Farm Economy. Population Change and Rural Society in the 21st Century. 103-130. 2006
- Reconciling Different Land Use Value Spheres: An Example at the Rural/Urban Interface. Land Use Problems and Conflicts: Causes, Consequences and Solutions. 186-201. 2005
- Fifty Years of Farmland Change: Urbanization, Population Growth and the Changing Farm Economy. Population Change and Rural Society. 2004
- The Watershed as Community. Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World. 2003
- Forging New Connections Between Agriculture and the City. Globalization and the Rural Environment. 419-446. 2001
- Modeling Water Availability: Scaling Issues. Understanding the Earth System: Compartments, Processes and Interactions. 245-253. 2001
- Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes in the New York City Watershed. New York in the 21st Century. 185-200. 1999
- Planning for environmental responsibility and equity: a critical appraisal of rural/urban relations in the New York City watershed. Contested Countryside: The Rural Urban Fringe of North America. 179-205. 1999
- City and Country: Metropolitan Agriculture -- Forging New Connections. Visions of American Agriculture. 91-104. 1997
- Educating the Public About the Relationships Between Septic System Maintenance and Watershed Protection. Watershed Restoration Management: Physical, Chemical, and Biological Considerations. 251-260. 1996
- Ethnic Change in the New Jersey Nursery Industry. Working Poor: The Formation and Transformation of Agricultural Labor in the Rural Americas. 173-189. 1995
- Community Planning and the Formation of Public Opinion: A Natural Experiment in the New York City Watershed. Communities and Watershed Planning: Shaping a Research Agenda. 85-107. 1994
- A Comment on Calvin L. Beale's 'Salient Features of the Demography of American Agriculture. The Demography of Rural Life. 140-144. 1993
- Black Migration and the Legacy of Plantation Agriculture. Inequalities in Labor Market Areas. 191-214. 1993
- Class Based Social Mobility on the Rural/Urban Fringe: Cambodian Farmworkers in Philadelphia. Labour and Locality: Uneven Development of the Rural Labour Process. 95-117. 1992
- Migrant Farm Workers. Rural Poverty in America. 135-154. 1992
- Industrial Structure and Change. Rural and Small Town America. 263-302. 1989
- Structural Dimensions of Farm Crisis in the Federal Republic of Germany. The International Farm Crisis. 183-204. 1989
- Immigration Policy and Class Relations in California Agriculture. Studies in the Transformation of U.S. Agriculture. 252-286. 1986
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conference paper
- Community Response to Immigrants in New Destinations. Research and Policy Briefs. 2008
- Immigration and Community Response. New York Opinion Index: Empire State Poll 2007. 2007
- New Yorker's Perceptions of Immigrants and Immigration. Research and Policy Brief Series 3. 2007
- Combining physical and social characteristics for stream management. Proc. Am. Water Res. Assoc. 4. 2005
- Immigrants and the Community: Community Perspectives. Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Development Sociology Department. 2005
- Immigrants and the Community: Farmworkers with Families. Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Development Sociology Department. 2005
- Immigrants and the Community: Former Farmworkers. Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Development Sociology Department. 2005
- Linking the biological, physical, and social perspectives in watershed research. Proc. 2005 Annual Conf. Soil & Water Conservation Society. 2005
- Immigrants and the Community. Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Development Sociology Department. 2004
- Social Capital, Organization and Community: New York City and Upstate Watershed Communities. Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems: Proceedings of the American Water Resources Association International Congress. 2004
- Social Capital, Organization and Community: NYC and Upstate Watershed Communities. Proceedings of American Water Resources Association International Congress: Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems. 2003
- Social Capital, Organization and Community: New York City and Upstate Watershed Communities. Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems: Proceedings of the American Water Resources Association International Congress. 2003
- The Politics and Economics of Watershed Management. EMAP Symposium 2002 Proceedings. 2003
- The Politics and Economics of Watershed Management. EMAP Symposium 2002 Proceedings. 2003
- Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems. Proceedings of the American Water Resources Association International Congress. 2003
- Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems. Proceedings of the American Water Resources Association International Congress. 2003
- Impact of an Environmental Education Program on Adults: A Study of Knowledge and Attitudes in the New York City Watersheds. Water Resources Education, Training, and Practice: Opportunities for the Next Century: Proceedings of the American Water Resources Association Symposium. 515-524. 1997
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report
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review
- Review of Development with Identity: Community, Culture, and Sustainability in the Andes, edited by Robert E. Rhoades. 956-960. 2009
- Review of "Handbook of Rural Studies", edited by Paul Cloke, Terry Marsden and Patrick H. Mooney 2007
- Review of "Tropical Forests: Regional Paths of Destruction and Regeneration in the Late Twentieth Century" by Thomas K. Rudel 2006
- Review of "The Human Cost of Food: Farmworkers’ Lives, Labor, and Advocacy", edited by Charles D. Thompson, Jr., and Melinda F. Wiggins 2005
- Review of Latino Workers in the Contemporary South. 471-472. 2003
- Review of Hungry for Profit: The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food and the Environment edited by Fred Magdoff, John Bellamy Foster, and Frederick H. Buttel. 290-291. 2002
- Review of Changing Rural Social Systems: Adaptation and Survival edited by Nan E. Johnson and Ching-li Wang. 285-286. 1998
- Review of Halting Degradation of Natural Resources: Is There a Role for Rural Communities? by Jean-Marie Baland and Jean Phillippe Platteau. 701-703. 1998
- Review of Environment and Society: The Enduring Conflict by Allan Schnaiberg and Kenneth Alan Gould. 83-84. 1995
- Review of Farm Labor Organizing: Trends and Prospects by Marilyn Edid. 558-559. 1995
- Review of Immigrant and Native Families: The Impact of Immigration on the Demographic Transformation of Western Massachusetts, 1850-1890, by Hilda H. Golden. 837-838. 1995
- Review of The Dispossessed: The Underclass from the Civil War to the Present, by Jacqueline Jones. 547-548. 1995
- Review of Living Conditions, Disasters and Development: An Approach to Cross Cultural Comparisons by Frederick Bates and Walter Peacock. 235-238. 1994
- Review of Agriculture and the State: Market Processes and Bureaucracy by E.E. Pasour, Jr. 150-152. 1991
- Review of Class and Community in Frontier Colorado by Richard Hogan. 228-229. 1991
- Review of Poverty Amidst Plenty: World Political Economy and Distributive Justice by Edward Weisband (ed.) . 155-156. 1991
- Review of Farmwork and Fieldwork by Michael Chibnik (ed.) . 121-124. 1989
- Review of Semiperipheral Development by Giovanni Arrighi (ed.). 365-367. 1986
- Farmworkers, Agribusiness and the State by Linda C. Majka and Theo J. Majka. 154-157. 1984
- Review of Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers 1870 1941 by Cletus Daniel . 154-157. 1984
- Review of Race and State in Capitalist Development by Stanley S. Greenberg. 532-534. 1980
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translation
- Large Woody Debris 2006
- Living Along Six Mile Creek. A series of five fact sheets describing watershed issues in the Six Mile Creek (NY) watershed 2006
- Protecting Banks with Vegetation 2006
- Stormwater Runoff 2006
- Stream Management and Restoration 2006
- Watershed Management Terminology 2006
- Analytical Methods and Approaches for Water Resources Project Planning 2004
- The Watershed as Community 2004
- Watershed Management for Potable Water Supply: Assessing New York City’s Approach 2000
- New Strategies for America’s Watersheds 1999
- Criteria for Watershed Sustainability: Proceedings of a Workshop 1995
featured in archived article
Teaching
teaching overview
- Students review definitions of society that contributed to the formation of the sociological discipline, and evaluate explanations of the rise and functioning of modern society. The central objective of this course is to provide students with an overview of the classical theoretical foundations of sociology. Students will review key works of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Max Weber and other classical theorists and contemporary treatments of them. The course concludes with a critical examination of classical theory and challenges to it.
teaching activities
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Spring 2013
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Fall 2012
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Spring 2012
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Fall 2011
- DSOC-8900: Master's-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
Service
outreach overview
- Community Development
service to the profession
Background
education and training
- Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1986
- M.S. in Rural Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1979
- B.A. in Sociology, University of Colorado 1976
awards and honors
- Best Poster Presentation, 2005
Other
college
- CALS
research keyword
- agricultural labor
- community development
- international migration
- land use and environmental planning
- rural labor markets
name prefix
- Professor