The Center for Engaged Scholarship mourns the unexpected death of Michael Burawoy, Berkeley sociologist who mentored many generations of activist scholars. He was killed on February 3rd by a hit and run driver in Oakland. Michael had retired from teaching the previous Spring, and there was much expectation about the new works he would produce when freed of departmental responsibilities.
Michael was a friend of the Center from the start; he provided valuable advice as we were first exploring the idea. He also reviewed applications for our first nine cohorts, providing applicants with valuable feedback. Michael had developed a powerful argument for “public sociology” that was showcased in the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in 2004 under his presidency. The case for public sociology helped inspire the creation of the Center. We simply took the further step of arguing that scholars in other disciplines could also prioritize research that identified pressing social problems and proposed possible solutions that would push society in better directions.
A series of tributes to Michael are available here.