Nationality American | ||
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Thesis The selection of friends (1962) Notable awards Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Criminology section and the Sociology of Law section of the American Sociological Association Spouse Louisa Mackie (divorced), Pernille Baadsager Chambliss (married until his death) Died 22 February 2014, Washington, D.C., United States Institution George Washington University Books Discover Sociology, Power - politics - and crime, On the Take: From Petty Cro, Box Man: A Professional Thief's Jo, Discover Sociology Interactiv | ||
William chambliss interviewed by mark hamm november 21 1996
William Joseph Chambliss (1933 – February 22, 2014) was an American criminologist and sociologist who taught sociology at George Washington University for over 20 years. He is known for his pioneering work regarding conflict theory, which concluded, among other things, that conflict between different social classes is the fundamental force in capitalist societies.
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Early life and education
Chambliss was born in 1933 in Buffalo, New York. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1955 and his Ph.D. from the Indiana University in 1962, both in sociology. As a young man, he also served in the Counterintelligence Corps during the Korean War.
Career
Chambliss' first academic position was at the University of Washington, where he joined the faculty just after receiving his Ph.D. In 1967, he followed Donald Cressey, one of his early mentors, to the University of California at Santa Barbara. He later taught at the University of Delaware for a decade before joining George Washington University in 1986.
Death
He died of cancer in 2014.
Honors and awards
Chambliss received two Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Sociological Association: one from its Criminology section and the other from its Sociology of Law section. He also served as the president of the American Criminological Society and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. In 2012, the Society for the Study of Social Problems created the William J. Chambliss Lifetime Achievement Award to "recognize career-spanning excellence and achievement in the area of law and society."