What were Orlando Patterson's major contributions?

Born in Jamaica in 1940, Orlando Patterson has become a highly regarded and awarded sociologist and writer.
From 1972–1979, he served as a special advisor for social policy and development to the Prime Minister of Jamaica, contributing to country's economic and political development. He has also worked as a professor, previously at the University of the West Indies and the London School of Economics, and currently at Harvard University.
Many would say his major contributions are through his writing. He writes about the sociology of slavery, both in fiction and nonfiction. His first novel, The Children of Sisyphus (1965), established his reputation as an author. In it, he examined social issues through a fictional lens. It received first prize for fiction at the Dakar, Senegal, World Festival of Negro Art.
Aside from novels, Patterson has written academic papers and academic books, such as Slavery and Social Death (1982), which examines the patterns and process of slavery throughout history in a worldwide perspective. Freedom, Vol. 1: Freedom in the Making of Western Culture (1991) received the National Book Award.
His major contributions in life have been his writing (both fiction and academic), his political work in Jamaica, and his dedication to passing on knowledge and research as a professor.
https://scholar.harvard.edu/patterson/home