Ralph Larkin

Ralph W. Larkin

Ralph Larkin in 2005
Born May 27, 1940
Los Angeles, California
Residence New York City, New York
Citizenship American
Nationality  United States
Fields Sociology
Institutions John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York
Graduate School of Education, UCLA
Alma mater UCLA, Ph.D.
Cal State Northridge, M.A.
UCSB, B.A.
Known for Comprehending Columbine (2007)
Beyond Revolution: A New Theory of Social Movements (1986)
Suburban Youth in Cultural Crisis (1979)

Ralph Wild Larkin (born May 27, 1940) is an American sociologist and research consultant. He is the author of Suburban Youth in Cultural Crisis (1979), Beyond Revolution: A New Theory of Social Movements (1986), and Comprehending Columbine (2007).[1][2][3] He obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and received a master's degree in education from California State University at Northridge.

In 1969 he received a Ph.D. in Sociology of Education from the University of California, Los Angeles, and he taught sociology at Rutgers University in 1973. He met fellow sociologist Daniel A. Foss while teaching at Rutgers, and they later partnered in researching social movements. They co-authored a book together on social movements, and have jointly published studies in academic journals including Theory and Society, Sociological Analysis, and Social Text. Larkin is a Senior Research Associate at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and owns his own consulting firm called Academic Research Consulting Service.

Early life and education

Larkin was born in Los Angeles, California on May 27, 1940, and obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1961.[2] After teaching elementary school in California, Larkin obtained a master's degree in education from California State University at Northridge in 1966, and received his Ph.D. in Sociology of Education from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1969.[2] In 1970, Larkin moved to New York and worked as a research associate at the Center for Urban Education.[2] He became an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University in 1973.[2]

Career

Research on social movements

Larkin met fellow sociologist Daniel A. Foss when they were both teaching Sociology at Rutgers University.[2] They have frequently partnered in research on the study of social movements.[2][4][5] The book Beyond Revolution: A New Theory of Social Movements was co-authored with Foss.[2] Larkin and Foss have also jointly published research in sociology journals, including a piece on the white middle class youth movement of the 1960s and its relationship to later movements such as the Children of God, the Divine Light Mission, Swami Muktananda and the Revolutionary Youth Movement in Theory and Society.[4] They later wrote a more focused article dealing with Guru Maharaj Ji and his followers, which was published in Sociological Analysis, and a piece dealing with the vocabulary utilized in these social movements, in Social Text.[5][6] Larkin and Foss' research has later been cited by books on both the 1960s subculture, and on movements of social change such as the Hippie movement and other forms of counterculture and subculture.[7][8][9][10]

Teaching

Larkin has taught coursework in the Department of Sociology at the Newark College of Arts and Science of Rutgers University, and was also a professor at the Center for the Study of Evaluation, University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education.[11][12] After the publication of his work Comprehending Columbine, Larkin was contacted by the press for comment on the Columbine High School massacre, and discussed a judge's decision to seal information and tapes containing information about the killers.[13] "The judge said the tapes were incendiary. We have plenty of things already that stimulate violence," said Larkin.[13] Prior to writing the book, Larkin had given a seminar at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice's Center on Terrorism, entitled: "From Oklahoma City to Columbine: Paramilitary Influences on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold."[14] Larkin is a Senior Research Associate at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and owns his own consulting firm called Academic Research Consulting Service.[15][16][17]

Published works

Books

Articles

See also

References

  1. ↑ Larkin, Ralph W. (October 18, 1979). Suburban Youth in Cultural Crisis. Oxford University Press. p. 272. ISBN 0-19-502523-7.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Foss, Daniel A.; Ralph Larkin (March 31, 1986). Beyond Revolution: A New Theory of Social Movements (Critical Perspectives in Social Theory). Bergin & Garvey. p. 192. ISBN 0-89789-077-9.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Ralph W. (January 28, 2007). Comprehending Columbine. Temple University Press. p. 272. ISBN 1-59213-491-2.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Larkin, Ralph W.; Daniel A. Foss (March 1976). "From "the gates of Eden" to "day of the locust"". Theory and Society (ISSN 0304-2421) 3 (1): 45–64. doi:10.1007/BF00158479.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Larkin, Ralph W.; Daniel A. Foss (Summer 1978). "Worshiping the Absurd: The Negation of Social Causality among the Followers of Guru Maharaj Ji". Sociological Analysis (Oxford University Press) 39 (2): 157–164. doi:10.2307/3710215. JSTOR 3710215.
  6. ↑ Larkin, Ralph; Daniel Foss (Spring–Summer 1984). "Lexicon of Folk-Etymology". Social Text (Duke University Press) 9/10 (9): 360–377, The 60's without Apology,. doi:10.2307/466589. JSTOR 466589.
  7. ↑ Grunenberg, Christoph; Jonathan Harris (2005). Summer of Love: Psychedelic Art, Social Crisis and Counterculture in the 1960s. Liverpool University Press. p. 35. ISBN 0-85323-929-0.
  8. ↑ Jordan, Tim; Steve Pile (2002). Social Change. Blackwell Publishing. p. 358. ISBN 0-631-23312-1.
  9. ↑ McKay, George (1996). Senseless Acts of Beauty: Cultures of Resistance Since the Sixties. Vero. pp. 4, 12–13, 82, 187, 197. ISBN 1-85984-908-3.
  10. ↑ Falk, Ursula A.; Gerhard Falk (2005). Youth Culture and the Generation Gap. Algora Publishing. p. 188. ISBN 0-87586-369-8.
  11. ↑ Larkin, Ralph W. (Autumn 1975). "Social Exchange in the Elementary School Classroom: The Problem of Teacher Legitimation of Social Power". Sociology of Education (American Sociological Association) 48 (4): 400–410. doi:10.2307/2112257. JSTOR 2112257.
  12. ↑ Larkin, Ralph W. (1970). "Pattern Maintenance and Change in Education". The Teachers College Record (Teachers College, Columbia University) 72 (1): 111–120.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Weller, Robert (April 21, 2007). "Eight years after Columbine, relatives still seek answers". The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. p. A19.
  14. ↑ Staff (December 5, 2003). "Friday Seminar Series". Center on Terrorism (John Jay College of Criminal Justice). Archived from the original on April 25, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  15. ↑ Staff (July 2, 2007). "Open Letter on Immigrants and Crime". American Immigration Law Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2009-05-12. (archived at Internet Archive)
  16. ↑ Staff (May–June 2007). "Departments: Members' New Books". Footnotes (American Sociological Association). pp. Volume 35, Number 5. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  17. ↑ Staff (2007). "Ralph W. Larkin: Comprehending Columbine". Temple University Press (Temple University). Retrieved 2007-11-11.

External links