Michael Burawoy has been a participant observer of industrial workplaces in four countries: Zambia, United States, Hungary, and Russia. Over the course of four decades of research and teaching, he developed the extended case method that allows broad conclusions to be drawn from ethnographic research. No longer able to work in factories, recently he turned to the study of his own workplace—the university.

Professor Burawoy is the author or editor of 12 books and more than 120 articles in international journals. He has presented his research in more than 40 nations. In 2003-04, he was the president of the American Sociological Association and is the current president of the International Sociological Association. His recent work has been on the crisis of the public university and the role of sociology in public debate. (#25974)