Jack Levin (born June 28, 1941) specializes in research on murder, prejudice and hate, sociology of aging and sociology of conflict at
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
in Boston, Massachusetts.
He has interviewed and corresponded with brutal killers, such as the
Hillside Strangler
The Hillside Strangler, later the Hillside Stranglers, is the media epithet for one, later discovered to be two, American serial killers who terrorized Los Angeles, California, between October 1977 and February 1978, with the nicknames originating ...
and
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...
, and other violent criminals:
serial killers
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
and rapists,
mass murderers
Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...
, and vicious
hatemongers. He is also asked by news and television reports to comment on important occurrences of homicide or hate. Along with interviews, writing material, teaching classes, and research Levin has also given talks about violence or hate to groups including the White House Conference on Hate Crimes,
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
, the
Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
,
OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
’s
Officer for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the
International Association of Chiefs of Police
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia (United States). It is the world's largest professional association for police
The police are a constituted body of persons em ...
.
Jack Levin has authored and co-authored over 30 books and has written and published over 200 articles.
Biography
Current
Jack Levin, Ph.D. is currently the Irving and Betty Brudnick Professor of Sociology and Criminology Emeritus at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts where he teaches one course per year, “Sociology of Violence and Hate.” His course is only offered in the Fall semester and is held in Shillman Hall due to its large class size. He specializes in criminology, prejudice, and aging and is considered an authority on serial killers, mass murderers, and hate crimes. He is also the co-director of the Brudnick Center on Conflict and Violence at Northeastern University.
Additionally he is known to be a direct descendant of Albert Einstein.
Levin was honored by the Massachusetts
Council for Advancement and Support of Education
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a nonprofit association of educational institutions. It serves professionals in the field of educational advancement. This field encompasses alumni relations, communications, marketing ...
as its “Professor of the Year” and has received awards from the
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 ...
,
New England Sociological Association
The New England Sociological Association, often abbreviated as NESA, is a regional organisation committed to the improvement of sociological research, teaching, and practice. With approximately 150 members throughout New England and beyond, NESA ...
,
Eastern Sociological Society Eastern Sociological Society is a non-profit organization with a mission of "promoting excellence in sociological scholarship and instruction". It publishes a peer-reviewed journal (Sociological Forum) and holds a yearly academic conference
An ac ...
,
Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology, and
Society for the Study of Social Problems
The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) is an organization founded in 1951 in counterpoint to the American Sociological Association.
History
The Society was founded in 1951 by Elizabeth Briant Lee and Alfred McClung Lee. Profess ...
.
Books/publications
Levin has authored or co-authored 33 books, including:
* The Allure of Premeditated Murder
* ''Mass Murder: America’ s Growing Menace''
* ''Killer on Campus''
* ''Overkill: Mass Murder and Serial Killing Exposed''
* ''The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless Murder''
* ''The Violence of Hate''
* ''Blurring the Boundaries: The Declining Significance of Age"
* ''Serial Killers and Sadistic Murderers: Up Close and Personal''.
* ''Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder''
* ''Why We Hate''
* ''Hate Crimes Revisited: America's War on Those who are Different''
* ''Ageism: Prejudice and Discrimination Against the Elderly''
* ''Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed''
* ''Hate Crime: A Global Perspective"
Teaching history
* 1968-1970: Assistant Professor at Boston University
* 1970-1975: Assistant Professor at Northeastern University
* 1975-1980: Associate Professor at Northeastern University
* 1980–2016: Professor at Northeastern University
Major accomplishments
* Winner of the 2009 Public Understanding of Sociology Award given annually by the American Sociological Association
* Levin recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems for his contributions to criminology
* Levin has published more than 200 articles in professional journals and newspapers, such as ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', ''
Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
'', ''
Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'', ''
Christian Science Monitor
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
'', ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', and ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''.
* He has appeared frequently on national television programs, including ''
48 Hours'', ''
20/20
Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
'', ''
Dateline NBC
''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...
'', ''
The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...
'', ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', ''
Oprah
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
'', ''
Rivera Live
Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...
'', ''
Larry King Live
''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly.
Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles s ...
'', Inside Edition, and all network newscasts.
References
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070103113901/http://www.violence.neu.edu/people/levin/
* http://www.northeastern.edu/socant/?page_id=325
* https://web.archive.org/web/20071115151239/http://www.violence.neu.edu/people/jack_levin_media_bio/
External links
Personal website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Jack
Living people
Northeastern University faculty
People from Sharon, Massachusetts
1941 births
American sociologists