Nils Christie (24 February 1928 – 27 May 2015) was a Norwegian sociologist and

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

. He was a professor of criminology at the

Faculty of Law, University of Oslo The Faculty of Law ( no, Det juridiske fakultet) of the University of Oslo is Norway's oldest law faculty, established in 1811 as one of the four original faculties of The Royal Frederick University (renamed the University of Oslo in 1939) ...

Personal life

Christie was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

on 24 February 1928, a son of Ragnvald Christie and Ruth Hellum. He married Vigdis Margit Moe in 1951, and was later married to .

Career

Having passed

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

Berg Upper Secondary School Berg Upper Secondary School (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Berg videregående skole'') was an upper secondary school located in Oslo, Norway. The school was established in 1925 and provided education leading to the International Baccalaureate ( ...

in 1946, Christie graduated in sociology from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in 1953. His dr.philos. thesis ''Unge norske lovovertredere'' from 1959 is a comparison of all male lawbreakers born in 1933 in Norway to others born the same year. He was appointed at the

from 1959, and was a professor of criminology at the faculty from 1966. Among his books is ''Pinens begrensning'' (Limits to Pain) from 1981, which has been translated into eleven languages. His work ''Fangevoktere i konsentrasjonsleire'' (Prison Guards in Concentration Camps, 1952) was selected for the

Norwegian Sociology Canon The Norwegian Sociology Canon ( no, Norsk sosiologisk kanon) is an award presented from 2009 to 2011 to 25 nonfiction texts that are considered to have had the greatest influence on sociology in Norway. The list of works was published in the journal ...

in 2009–2011. He received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

. Christie is well known for his longstanding criticism of

drug prohibition The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...

industrial society In sociology, industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world i ...

, and

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

s. He was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

. Nils Christie was awarded the 2001 Fritt Ord

Freedom of Expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

Prize "for his original and independent contributions to the Norwegian and international social debate."The Fritt Ord Freedom of Expression Prize Laureates
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Select bibliography

*''Fangevoktere i konsentrasjonsleire'' (Prison Guards in Concentration Camps, 1952) *''Hvis skolen ikke fantes'' (1971) *''Pinens begrensning'' (1981) **''Limits to Pain'' (1981) *''Den gode fiende: Narkotikapolitikk i Norden'' (with Kettil Bruun, 1985) *''Kriminalitetskontrol som industri: På vej mod GULAG, vestlig stil?'' (1996) **''Crime Control as Industry: Towards GULAGs, Western Style?'' (2000) *''En passende mengde kriminalitet'' (2004) **''A Suitable Amount of Crime'' (2004)

References

1928 births 2015 deaths Norwegian criminologists University of Oslo alumni Academics of the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Prison abolitionists {{criminologist-stub

Personal life

Career

Select bibliography

See also

References