William Chambliss

Abstract

William “Bill” Chambliss is best known for his pioneering work in critical criminology, conflict theory, and state crime. Many of his seminal works focus on lawmaking, corruption, power discrepancies, and inequality. Chambliss was a professor of sociology at George Washington University for more than twenty years and in his impressive career, published more than twenty books and well over a dozen articles relating to conflict criminology and social problems. He received numerous awards, including two Lifetime Achievement Awards and the prestigious Edwin H. Sutherland Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to theory or research in criminology, law, or justice, both from the American Society of Criminology. He also received the Bruce Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the PASS Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, and in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments as an educator, he was inducted into the George Washington University Chapter of Golden Key International Honor Society and the National Honor Society for Outstanding Teachers. Chambliss’s primary contribution to criminology was to advance knowledge about who makes laws, how and why they are enforced, and who benefits from them. This is explored in relation to power structures, political economy, and social class and is exemplified in his fifty years of research on organized crime, corrupt politicians, drug dealers, and gang members.