At its core, Michael Burawoy believed the science of sociology was, even when encased in the stodgy halls of academia, a study of possible solutions to improve the world. As such, it was natural for theories from the profession to be used to advocate for social change.
Not all of his colleagues believed sociologists should be personally on the picket lines or protesting.
But Burawoy was different because that’s exactly what he was doing toward the end of his life.
In February, the legendary Berkeley sociologist was killed while walking on a Grand Avenue crosswalk near Lake Merritt. In the aftermath, sociologists worldwide mourned the loss of a giant of the field and a man who, they said, lit up every room he walked into with his charisma.
Burawoy made it his life’s work to engage with the world. Eventually, that led to a sociological theory called Public Sociology, which validated his increasingly vocal support of protest movements.
A public memorial is planned for Burawoy on Sunday at 1 p.m. Ahead of that, we decided to interview people who knew him.
They told us that while he only became directly involved in political movements in the last part of his career, his theories directly spoke to the major questions confronting these movements from the beginning.
Described as a “Marxist for Realists” for personally testing his social theories in industrial factories and other working-class sites, Burawoy believed capitalists exploited workers, that this was immoral, and that there were logical ways to prevent it.
“For him, his political commitments and academic work were all part of the same project,” CUNY professor Ruth Milkman told The Oaklandside in an interview. “Public Sociology came in, and it meant doing sociology in dialogue with progressive movements.”