Author Description

About the Author William J. Chambliss, professor of sociology at The George Washington University, was a critical sociological theorist whose research has ranged broadly from studies of law creation and the legal system to participant observation studies of juvenile gangs, organized crime, policing, and the impact of social movements on political and economic change. He served as president of the American Society of Criminology and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. He has received numerous awards for his research and teaching, including the prestigious Edwin H. Sutherland Award from the American Society of Criminology, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Sociological Association, the Bruce Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the PASS Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sociology of Law Section of the American Sociological Association. He has authored and edited over 35 books in sociology, criminology and criminal justice and numerous articles in social science journals. Daina S. Eglitis is an associate professor of sociology and international affairs and director of the undergraduate program in the Department of Sociology at The George Washington University. Her research highlights sociological dimensions of change in the post-communist world, with a particular focus on stratification, poverty, and gender. She has been the recipient of Fulbright, IREX, and Open Society awards and is the author of several articles and a book on post-communist social change. She also writes for and about teaching in the undergraduate classroom and is the author of the article, “The Uses of Global Poverty: How Inequality Benefits the West,” and the Teaching Sociology article, “Performing Theory: Dramatic Learning in the Theory Classroom.”