Faculty Bio

Thomas Lyson

Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Development Sociology

236 Warren Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-7801
Email: tal2@cornell.edu
Phone: (607) 255-1684

Training

Ph.D. 1976 Michigan State University (Sociology)
M.S 1969 University of Wisconsin-Madison (Sociology)
B.A. 1967 Miami University, Ohio (Sociology)

Areas of Interest

» food and agriculture systems
» labor markets
» civic agriculture
» health
» research methods

Research

My research program is focused on four interrelated areas: 1) local food and agricultural systems in a global economy; 2) community agricultural development; 3) civic community and well-being, and 4) food security and health. In each area, my research has both a domestic as well as an international focus. Using the concept of 'civic agriculture,' I am examining how global and local factors shape the production and distribution of food in communities as well as how the agriculture and food sector of the economy can serve as an engine of community development. Models of civil society and agricultural sustainability are used to inform my work.

Selected Publications

Hinrichs, C. Clare and Thomas A. Lyson (eds.) (Forthcoming). Remaking the North American Food System. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.

Lyson, Thomas A. (forthcoming). “Civic agriculture and community problem solving.” Culture and Agriculture.

Lyson, Thomas A. and Rick Welsh. 2005. “Agricultural industrialization, anti-corporate farming laws and rural community welfare.” Environment and Planning-A, 37:1479-1491.

Lyson, Thomas A. 2004. Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food and Community. Medford, MA: Tufts University Press.

Lyson, Thomas A. and Amy Guptill. 2004. “Commodity agriculture, civic agriculture and the future of U.S. farming.” Rural Sociology, 69:370-385.

Lyson, Thomas A. 2003. “The civic community and balanced economic development.” Research in Rural Sociology and Development, 9:103-120.

Lyson, Thomas A. 2002. “What does a school mean to a community? Assessing the social and economic benefits of schools to rural villages in New York." Journal of Research in Rural Education, 17:131-137.

Lyson, Thomas A. 2002. "Advanced agricultural biotechnologies and sustainable agriculture". Trends in Biotechnology, 20: 193-196.

Lyson, Thomas A., Robert Torres, and Rick Welsh. 2001. "Scale of agricultural production, civic engagement and community welfare." Social Forces, 80: 311-327.

Lyson, Thomas A. 2001. "How do agricultural scientists view advanced biotechnologies?" Chemical Innovation, 31: 50-53.

Lyson, Thomas A. and Annalisa Lewis Raymer. 2000. "Stalking the wily multinational: Power and control in the U.S. food system." Agriculture and Human Values, 17: 199-208.

Olson, Richard K. and Thomas A. Lyson (eds.). 1998. Under the Blade: The Conversion of Agricultural Landscapes. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Tolbert, Charles, Thomas A. Lyson, and Michael Irwin. 1998. "Local capitalism, civic engagement and socioeconomic well-being." Social Forces, 77: 401-428.

Lyson, Thomas A. and Elizabeth Barham. 1998. "Civil society and agricultural sustainability." Social Science Quarterly, 79: 554-567.

Lyson, Thomas A. and William W. Falk (eds.) 1993. Forgotten Places: Uneven Development and the Loss of Opportunity in Rural America. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

Lyson, Thomas A. and Charles C. Geisler. 1992. "Toward a second agricultural divide: The restructuring of American agriculture." Sociologia Ruralis, 32: 248-263.

Geisler, Charles C. and Thomas A. Lyson. 1991. "The cumulative impacts of restructuring the U.S. dairy industry." BioScience, 41: 560-567.