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Craig Calhoun
Craig Jackson Calhoun FBA FAcSS (born 1952) is an American sociologist and social theorist known for his work in critical social theory, public sociology, and the study of social change. His scholarship has focused on how social movements, democracy, nationalism, and the public sphere emerge from the interaction of local communities with larger social structures.
Calhoun's research is notably interdisciplinary and bridges anthropology, history, politics, religion, and economics in exploring questions of collective action and social development across diverse contexts (from historical case studies in 18th century Lisbon to contemporary projects in China and the Horn of Africa). He has been described as an intellectual who strives to embed academic knowledge in public life, reflecting a commitment to "ensure academia is not aloof from society, but embedded in it."
Calhoun is currently University Professor of social sciences at Arizona State University. He served as Director and President of the LSE from 2012 to 2016. In 2016, he became the first President of the Berggruen Institute. A role he served until 2018. A period in which he helped shape the institute's focus on global governance and philosophical policy questions. Earlier in his career he taught at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Columbia University, and New York University, where he founded the Institute for Public Knowledge. Calhoun's contributions to social sciences have earned him wide recognition. For example, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2015 and is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences His work continues to influence discussions on how sociology can address pressing global issues and connect scholarly research with public debate.
Calhoun was born on June 16, 1952, in Watseka, Illinois. He spent parts of his early life in rural Kentucky and Illinois, influenced by his father's role as a Protestant minister. This upbringing introduced him to diverse communities and fostered early interest in religion, ethics and social structures.
Calhoun pursued undergraduate studies in anthropology and cinema at the University of Southern California, earning a B.A. in 1972. He then obtained an M.A. in anthropology and sociology from Columbia University in 1974, followed by a second M.A. in social anthropology from the University of Manchester in 1975.
He received his D.Phil. in sociology and modern social and economic history from St Antony's College, University of Oxford in 1980. His doctoral thesis, titled "Community, Class and Collective Action," examined working-class radicalism in the 19th-century England. This laid the groundwork for his enduring interest in social movements and class politics. At Oxford, he studied under J.Clyde Mitchell, Angus MacIntyre, and Ronald Max Hartwell.
Calhoun began his academic career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he taught from 1977 to 1996. There he also served as dean of the Graduate School and was the founding director of the University Center for International Studies. His tenure at UNC marked a start of his institutional leadership, where he prioritized interdisciplinary collaborations and the internationalization of social science research.
In 1996, he joined New York University (NYU) as Chair of the Department of Sociology. Calhoun played a leading role in rebuilding NYU's sociology program into a hub for urban and global social theory. After a brief period at Columbia University, he returned to NYU to become the founding director of the Institute for Public Knowledge (IPK), The IPK was established to promote dialogue between academics and practitioners and to foster public engagement with scholarly knowledge across disciplines.
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Craig Calhoun
Craig Jackson Calhoun FBA FAcSS (born 1952) is an American sociologist and social theorist known for his work in critical social theory, public sociology, and the study of social change. His scholarship has focused on how social movements, democracy, nationalism, and the public sphere emerge from the interaction of local communities with larger social structures.
Calhoun's research is notably interdisciplinary and bridges anthropology, history, politics, religion, and economics in exploring questions of collective action and social development across diverse contexts (from historical case studies in 18th century Lisbon to contemporary projects in China and the Horn of Africa). He has been described as an intellectual who strives to embed academic knowledge in public life, reflecting a commitment to "ensure academia is not aloof from society, but embedded in it."
Calhoun is currently University Professor of social sciences at Arizona State University. He served as Director and President of the LSE from 2012 to 2016. In 2016, he became the first President of the Berggruen Institute. A role he served until 2018. A period in which he helped shape the institute's focus on global governance and philosophical policy questions. Earlier in his career he taught at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Columbia University, and New York University, where he founded the Institute for Public Knowledge. Calhoun's contributions to social sciences have earned him wide recognition. For example, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2015 and is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences His work continues to influence discussions on how sociology can address pressing global issues and connect scholarly research with public debate.
Calhoun was born on June 16, 1952, in Watseka, Illinois. He spent parts of his early life in rural Kentucky and Illinois, influenced by his father's role as a Protestant minister. This upbringing introduced him to diverse communities and fostered early interest in religion, ethics and social structures.
Calhoun pursued undergraduate studies in anthropology and cinema at the University of Southern California, earning a B.A. in 1972. He then obtained an M.A. in anthropology and sociology from Columbia University in 1974, followed by a second M.A. in social anthropology from the University of Manchester in 1975.
He received his D.Phil. in sociology and modern social and economic history from St Antony's College, University of Oxford in 1980. His doctoral thesis, titled "Community, Class and Collective Action," examined working-class radicalism in the 19th-century England. This laid the groundwork for his enduring interest in social movements and class politics. At Oxford, he studied under J.Clyde Mitchell, Angus MacIntyre, and Ronald Max Hartwell.
Calhoun began his academic career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he taught from 1977 to 1996. There he also served as dean of the Graduate School and was the founding director of the University Center for International Studies. His tenure at UNC marked a start of his institutional leadership, where he prioritized interdisciplinary collaborations and the internationalization of social science research.
In 1996, he joined New York University (NYU) as Chair of the Department of Sociology. Calhoun played a leading role in rebuilding NYU's sociology program into a hub for urban and global social theory. After a brief period at Columbia University, he returned to NYU to become the founding director of the Institute for Public Knowledge (IPK), The IPK was established to promote dialogue between academics and practitioners and to foster public engagement with scholarly knowledge across disciplines.
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