Michael Burawoy Obituary, Death; – A retired professor from the University of California, Berkeley was tragically killed in a hit-and-run incident in Oakland on Monday, as confirmed by authorities on Tuesday.
The victim, identified as Michael Burawoy by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Coroner Bureau, was 77 years old. He had a distinguished career as a sociology professor at UC Berkeley for nearly fifty years and held the presidency of both the American Sociological Association and the International Sociological Association.
Burawoy was a pioneer in the field of public sociology, which aims to connect with non-academic audiences on critical issues such as public policy, political activism, and social movements.
On Monday evening, Oakland police reported that officers were dispatched shortly before 7:15 p.m. to the vicinity of Grand Avenue and Park View Terrace, near Lake Merritt, following reports of a vehicle striking a pedestrian. Upon arrival, officers discovered the victim suffering from injuries sustained in the collision. Emergency medical personnel transported him to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The investigation revealed that the pedestrian was in a marked crosswalk when a vehicle traveling west on Grand Avenue struck him. The vehicle fled the scene after the incident. It remains unclear whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the collision, and police have yet to identify any suspects or the vehicle involved.
Burawoy authored twelve books and over 120 publications, significantly influencing the field of sociology, particularly through his work within Marxist social theory. One of his most notable publications is “Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under Monopoly Capitalism,” which has been translated into multiple languages, as noted by WorldCat.org.
Following his retirement in 2023, UC Berkeley established an endowment in his honor, known as the Burawoy Chair’s Endowment for Sociology. Michael Burawoy’s contributions to sociology are regarded as monumental. For many around the world, the name Berkeley Sociology is synonymous with his legacy.
