Mavis Biesanz

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Helmi Mavis Biesanz
Born(1919-07-27)July 27, 1919
Vermilion Lake Township, Minnesota, United States
DiedFebruary 21, 2008(2008-02-21) (aged 88)
Escazú, San José, Costa Rica
CitizenshipU.S.A. and Costa Rica (dual citizen)
Scientific career
FieldsSociologist and non-fiction writer

Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz (July 27, 1919 Vermilion Lake Township, Minnesota[1][2] – February 21, 2008 Escazú, Costa Rica)[1] was a Finnish-American writer and sociologist. Many of her books were about Central American countries, particularly Costa Rica. She lived in Costa Rica from 1971 until her death in 2008.

Life[edit]

Mavis Biesanz grew up in northern Minnesota.[3] She graduated from Iowa State University in the summer of 1940,[4] summa cum laude grade and Phi Beta Kappa honors.[1] She financed her studies by waiting tables, scrubbing floors, babysitting, and washing dishes.[5] On graduation, she married John Biesanz (1913–1995),[6] with whom she lived until John's death.[5] John was a sociology and anthropology professor, who taught sociology during his career, including at Tulane, Pittsburgh, and Wayne State University.[7] Biesanz made a career as a writer. In addition, she has worked as an English teacher.[8] She wrote two widely used sociology textbooks with her husband, Modern Society: An Introduction to Social Sciences[9] and Introduction to Social Sciences[10] Five others were written about Costa Rican and Panamanian sociology. They had two sons, Richard and Barry, and a daughter, Katja.

Publications[edit]

Books[edit]

  • John & Mavis Biesanz: Costa Rican Life (La Vida en Costa Rica). Libreria Lehmann, San José, Costa Rica, 1944.
  • John & Mavis Biesanz: Modern Society. Prentice-Hall, 1954, 1959, 1964.
  • John & Mavis Biesanz: People of Panama. Columbia University Press, 1955.
  • Las Amigas Norteamericanas del Paraguay (The North American Friends of Paraguay): Land of Lace and Legend: An Informal Guide to Paraguay. (Mrs. John Biesanz, editor in chief, Mrs. Povenmire Dale, President.) La Colmena, SA, Asunción, 1965.
  • John & Mavis Biesanz: Introduction to Sociology. Prentice-Hall, 1969, 1973.
  • Richard Biesanz, Karen Zubris Biesanz & Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz: The Costa Ricans. Waveland Press, 1988.
  • Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz: Helmi Mavis, a Finnish American Girlhood. North Star Press of St. Cloud, 1989.
  • Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz, Richard & Karen Biesanz Zubris Biesanz: The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998.
  • Mavis Biesanz: Un año con Carmen: Cuentos y poemas. A Year with Carmen: Stories and poems. EUNED, Costa Rica, 2007.

Scholarly articles[edit]

  • John & Mavis Biesanz (1941): Social Distance in the Youth Hostel Movement. Sociology and Social Research, XXV, January–February, pp. 237–245.
  • John & Mavis Biesanz (1941): The School and the Youth Hostel. Journal of Educational Sociology, Vol 15, No. 1, pp. 55–60.
  • John & Mavis Biesanz (1943): Mate Selection Standards of the Costa Rican Students. Social Forces, Vol 22, No. 2, pp. 194–199.

Newspaper reprints[edit]

  • The Tico Times, (1981) "Why are Ticos So Different?" Author Mavis Biesanz describes the character and history of a unique people. A Tico Times Publication. 20 pp. Reprint of 10 articles in The Tico Times, 1981. Tico Times, Apartado 4632, San José, Costa Rica

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c The Tico Times, March 7, 2008, page W3
  2. ^ "Certificate of Baptism". 1919. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  3. ^ Metzler, Mark (October 1, 1989). "Ex-Winonans Enjoy Life in Costa Rica". The Winona Daily News. Winona, MN. p. 3. Retrieved September 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz: Helmi Mavis, a Finnish American Girlhood. book. North Star Press of St. Cloud, 1989.
  5. ^ a b Amazon.com: Profile for Mavis Biesanz
  6. ^ Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: User Home Page Outline Descendant Tree: Descendants of Joseph Bisantz
  7. ^ John & Mavis Biesanz Biesanz: Costa Rican Life. book. San Jose, Costa Rica: Libreria Lehmann, 1944 (fourth edition 1976)
  8. ^ Costa Rica Living Profile – Susan Interviews Accomplished Author of The Ticos Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Modern Society: An Introduction to Social Sciences. Prentice Hall 3Rev Ed. 1965. p. 719. ISBN 978-0-13-597708-8.
  10. ^ Introduction to Social Sciences. Prentice Hall. 1969. p. 651. ISBN 978-0-13-497412-5.
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