Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
John H. Laub is an American criminologist best known for his work in life-course criminology and his long-standing collaboration with Robert J. Sampson. He served as Director of the U.S. National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and is a Distinguished Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland. Laub’s research has significantly shaped
Robert J. Sampson is an American sociologist and criminologist known for his influential work on urban inequality, neighborhood effects, life-course criminology, and collective efficacy. He is the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University and a former president of the American Society of Criminology. Sampson has conducted groundbreaking empirical studies that
Elijah Anderson (born 1943) is an American sociologist and ethnographer, currently serving as the Sterling Professor of Sociology at Yale University. Known for his detailed urban ethnographies, Anderson has extensively studied the cultural norms, social interactions, and survival strategies of residents in inner-city neighborhoods, focusing on race, class, and inequality in urban America. Anderson’s work
Richard Rosenfeld (1948–2024) was an American criminologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He was best known for his collaboration with Steven F. Messner on the Institutional Anomie Theory, which explains variations in crime rates through the interplay of cultural values and social institutions. Rosenfeld’s research also addressed issues such as crime
Steven F. Messner was an American criminologist and sociologist best known for co-developing Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT) with Richard Rosenfeld. A long-time professor at the University at Albany, SUNY, Messner’s research explored the relationship between social institutions, cultural values, and crime rates, particularly in the context of the United States. His work bridged criminology and
Setha M. Low is an American anthropologist and professor known for her influential work on the social production and social construction of space, urban public culture, and the privatization of public life. A leading figure in urban anthropology, she has combined ethnographic research with critical theory to analyze how built environments shape, and are shaped