About Ira L. Reiss

Ira L. Reiss served in WW2 and then earned his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in 1953. He taught at Bowdoin College, William and Mary College, Bard College, and the University of Iowa and then in 1969 he came to the University of Minnesota, Sociology Department and stayed there until his retirement in 1996. At the University of Minnesota Reiss also served as the director of the university’s Family Study Center. 

The Reiss Collection

The collection includes seven loose-leaf binders containing reviews of all his books, his major talks, key letters, codebooks for his national sample, his vita, and discussions he had on Sexnet. It also contains five hardbound volumes prepared for Reiss' published papers, favorite publications, unpublished work, and a 1955 rough draft of his 1960 book. Additional materials include Reiss':

• Dissertation
• Data for the 1963 national sample that researched premarital sexual permissiveness attitudes
• Collection of CDs (50) and DVDs (38) of professional talks and media presentations on myriad sexual science research topics (1960-2014)

See also:

• Ira L. Reiss Collection Finding Aid
• Ira L. Reiss CV
• Dr. Reiss' website

Collection details:

Recent Publications

• “Exploring the Relation of Values, Power, and Advocacy in American Sexual Science.” 2014.International Journal of Sexual Health. 26:1-12. (pdf)
• “Macro Theory in Sexual Science”, Chapter Four in: John DeLamater and Rebecca Plante (Eds.)Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities, Springer, 2015. Accepted manuscript. (pdf)

Books

• An Insider’s View of Sexual Science since Kinsey. Roman & Littlefield, 2006.
• At the Dawn of the Sexual Revolution: Reflections on a Dialogue. AltaMira Press, 2002. Co-authored with Albert Ellis.
• Solving America’s Sexual Crises. Prometheus Books, 1997. Done with Harriet M. Reiss. This book is a revised paperback edition of the 1990 edition.
• An End To Shame: Shaping Our Next Sexual Revolution. Prometheus Books, 1990. Done with Harriet M. Reiss.
• Family Systems In America. Fourth Edition, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, l988. This edition was co-authored with Gary R. Lee.
• Journey Into Sexuality: An Exploratory Voyage. Prentice-Hall Inc., l986.
• Family Systems In America. Third Edition, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1980.
• Contemporary Theories About the Family: Research-Based Theories. Volume One, Co-Edited with Wesley Burr, Reuben Hill, and Ivan Nye. The Free Press, MacMillan Co., 1979.
• Contemporary Theories About the Family: General Theories/Theoretical Orientations. Volume Two, Co-Edited with Wesley Burr, Reuben Hill, and Ivan Nye. The Free Press, Macmillan Co., 1979.
• Family Systems in America. Second Edition, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1976.
• Readings on the Family System. (Editor) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972.
• Family Systems in America. First Edition, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971.
• The Social Context of Premarital Sexual Permissiveness. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967.
• Premarital Sexual Standards in America. The Free Press, 1960.

Monographs

• A Guide For Researching Heterosexual Relationships. Co-authored with Robert Walsh, Mary Zey-Ferrell, William Tolone, and Ollie Pocs. Technical Report #4. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Family Study Center, 1980.
• A Theoretical Analysis of Heterosexual Permissiveness. Co-authored with Brent Miller. Technical Report #2, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Family Study Center. 1974.
• Editor of the special issue: "The Sexual Renaissance in America," Journal of Social Issues, 22 (April, 1966).
• Sociology of the Family. Extension Division of the University of Iowa, 1963. and Extension Division of the University of Wisconsin, 1965. Correspondence Course Manual.

Bound Volumes Of Reiss’s Writings

• Published Papers of Ira L. Reiss, Volume One, 1953-1978
• Published Papers of Ira L. Reiss, Volume Two, 1979-2001
• My Favorite Published Papers
• My Favorite Unpublished Work
• The Basis for Choice in the Problem of Premarital Sexual Intercourse

Loose Leaf Binders Of Reiss’s Work

• Codebook of Dr. Reiss’s 1963 NORC National Survey on Premarital Sexual Permissiveness
• Vita and other Information on Dr. Reiss’s career
• Book Reviews of all of Dr. Reiss’s books
• Notes from Talks by Ira L. Reiss (Two Binders)
• Selected Professional Letters

Other Items In The Collection

• The Point of View of the Actor: A Problem in Recent American Sociology, 1953 Dissertation of Ira L. Reiss
• A collection of 80 CDs and 38 DVDs of Dr. Reiss’s talks and presentations from 1960 to 2006 is part of the archives at the Kinsey Institute.
• Data for the 1963 national survey of premarital sexual permissiveness that NORC did for Dr. Reiss can be obtained from the Kinsey Institute.

The Collection also includes data from the National Opinion Research Center, Amalgam Survey, SRS 160 (1963).