Allan Schnaiberg (August 20, 1939 – June 6, 2009) was an American sociologist known especially for his contributions to
environmental sociology
Environmental sociology is the study of interactions between societies and their natural environment. The field emphasizes the social factors that influence environmental resource management and cause environmental issues, the processes by whic ...
. At the time of his death, Schnaiberg was Professor Emeritus of Sociology at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
.
Early life and education
Born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
on August 20, 1939, Schnaiberg was the son of Belle and Harry Schnaiberg.
["Allan Schnaiberg" (obituary)](_blank)
According to his ''curriculum vitae'', he "Attended
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
for four years, majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Mathematics. After graduating with distinction in general science, worked for one year as an
analytic chemist, and two years as a
metallurgical engineer
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
." He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1968; his dissertation was entitled "Some determinants and consequences of modernism in Turkey". He became a
naturalized citizen
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
of the United States.
Career and contributions
Schnaiberg joined the sociology faculty at Northwestern University in 1969, serving as departmental chair from 1976 to 1979. He was the author of over 70 scholarly articles and books on topics ranging from globalization and the environment to labor and social inequality. Schnaiberg's "
treadmill of production
Environmental sociology is the study of interactions between societies and their natural environment. The field emphasizes the social factors that influence environmental resource management and cause environmental issues, the processes by whic ...
" framework for understanding the social causes and consequences of environmental problems formed one of the first contemporary sociological approaches to understanding environmental problems.
In addition to his 1980 book ''The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity'', Schnaiberg co-authored four books with his former students: ''Environment and Society: The Enduring Conflict'' (St. Martin's Press 1994; Blackburn Press 2000), ''Local Environmental Struggles: Citizen Activism in the Treadmill of Production'' (Cambridge University Press 1996), ''Urban Recycling and the Search for Sustainable Community Development'' (Princeton University Press 2000), and ''The Treadmill of Production: Injustice and Unsustainability in the Global Economy'' (Paradigm Publishers 2008).
He retired from Northwestern in 2008.
Honors and awards
Schnaiberg received the Distinguished Contribution Award of the Section on Environment and Technology,
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...
, in 1984. A few years later, he was elected Chair-elect (1990–91), and then served as Chair (1992–93) of that section.
"Cumulative Listing of Section Officers,"
ASA Section on Environment and Technology. July 2009. Accessed: May 14, 2016.
Books
* Gould, Kenneth A., David N. Pellow, and Allan Schnaiberg. (2008) ''The Treadmill of Production: Injustice and Unsustainability in the Global Economy''. Boulder, Colo.: Paradigm Publishers.
* Gould, Kenneth A., Allan Schnaiberg, and Adam S. Weinberg. (1996) ''Local Environmental Struggles: Citizen Activism in the Treadmill of Production''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
* Schnaiberg, Allan. (1980)
The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity
'. New York: Oxford University Press.
* Schnaiberg, Allan, Nicholas Watts, and Klaus Zimmerman, eds. (1986) ''Distributional Conflicts in Environmental-Resource Policy''. New York: St. Martin's Press. 0312213409
* Schnaiberg, Allan, and Kenneth A. Gould. (1994) ''Environment and Society: The Enduring Conflict''. New York: St. Martin's Press.
* Weinberg, Adam S., David N. Pellow, and Allan Schnaiberg. (2000) ''Urban Recycling and the Search for Sustainable Community Development''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
References
External links
* ttp://envirosoc.org Section on Environment and Technology, American Sociological Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schnaiberg
1939 births
2009 deaths
American sociologists
Environmental sociologists
McGill University Faculty of Science alumni
Northwestern University faculty
People from Montreal
University of Michigan alumni