It is with great regret that Michael Burawoy, former President of the International Sociological Association (ISA), passed away in an unexpected traffic accident on February 3, 2025. As an executive board member of the ISA from 2006 to 2014, I had a close relationship with Burawoy, so I was shocked by his sudden death. As President of the Japan Sociological Society, I cannot express enough gratitude for his efforts to successfully lead the 2014 World Congress of Sociology in Yokohama.
To express our heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Japan Sociological Society, we have asked a member, Koichi Hasegawa, the chair of the local organizing committee of the Yokohama congress, who was a close friend of Burawoy and a comrade in promoting public sociology, to write a memorial message. By reading this memorial message, you will be able to appreciate Burawoy’s outstanding achievements as a sociologist and his warm personality.
(Yoshimichi Sato, President of the Japan Sociological Society)
On Wednesday, February 5, at 10:23 pm Japan time, an email was sent from the President of the American Sociological Association (ASA) with the title “Message regarding former President Michael Burawoy.” It said that Burawoy died in a hit-and-run accident on February 3. Highly shocked. We missed Michael.
Burawoy’s sudden passing has sent shockwaves through the global sociological community. Although he retired from the University of California, Berkeley, where he had been working for 47 years, in 2022, the 77-year-old Burawoy remained active. At an online tribute hosted by the International Sociological Association (ISA) and the ASA on February 8, some scholars shared that they had spoken to Burawoy on the phone a few days earlier or had just met him recently. The loss of such a prominent figure has left an emptiness in our community that will be deeply felt.
Professor Michael Burawoy served as President of both the ASA and the ISA. Only three sociologists took both positions: the first President of the ISA, an urban sociologist, Lewis Wirth, Robert Angell, and Burawoy. Burawoy is known for advocating public sociology and his research into inequality, labor sociology, and Marxist sociology. Born in 1947, he is also a sociologist representing the generation of ‘student rebellion’ in the United States.
When the decision was made to hold the World Congress of Sociology in Yokohama in March 2008, Burawoy was the ISA’s Vice-President in charge of national associations (2006-10) and was the President at the time of the 2014 Yokohama congress (2010-14). The congress theme, Facing an Unequal World: Challenges for Global Sociology, which focused on the current state of widening inequality, was Burawoy’s idea. Despite the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the Yokohama congress was fortunate to be well-received, with 6,087 people from 100 countries participating, the most significant number ever. The person who played the most prominent role in making the Yokohama congress a great success was President Burawoy. He visited Japan three times: for the Japan Sociological Society’s Annual Meeting in November 2008, held at Tohoku University, to inspect the Yokohama venue in December 2010, and for the actual congress in 2014, and put in all his effort to make the congress successful. His opening speech, in which he emphasized the close relationship between global sociology and civil society against the age of neoliberalism, was also a brilliant and powerful message. He understood the Japanese intention to stress the Yokohama congress for East Asian sociologists. He attended and gave speeches at all side events in collaboration with the sociological associations of Korea, China, and Taiwan. As the chair of the host country’s organizing committee, I sometimes had heated discussions with him over emails regarding the management of the conference. However, throughout, he demonstrated outstanding and decisive leadership. He was always a reliable partner.
Since proposing the concept in his presidential address at the 2014 ASA Annual Meeting, Burawoy has been a relentless advocate for public sociology. He fearlessly critiqued the current state of American sociology, which is thinning and tapering due to over-specialization, and questioned its purpose. He reiterated the mission of sociology to ‘defend civil society’ through ‘dialogue with civil society,’ inspiring many with his unwavering commitment to social transformation.
At the sites of disasters such as the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the Fukushima nuclear accident, as well as on the front lines of various social issues such as the environment, gender, discrimination, poverty, welfare, and healthcare, Japanese sociologists have listened to the small voices of nameless people involved and steadily uncovered hidden problems. Many sociologists have also volunteered to lead NGOs, NPOs, and local and civic groups. This framing of “public sociology” shines a light on such activities. With the new name of public sociology, sociologists who take action and field workers have been able to reaffirm their academic legitimacy and professional identity.
A new project he started after assuming the presidency of the ISA is the publication of Global Dialogue (https://globaldialogue.isa-sociology.org/articles). It is an open-access online magazine that the ISA has published three times a year since 2010. Under his leadership, the magazine has become a platform for discussing current topics in sociology, social issues, social movements, and other fields worldwide. Japanese sociologists have appeared many times in the magazine, from the article in which Burawoy himself interviewed Shujiro Yazawa, then President of the Japan Sociological Society (February 2011 issue), to the latest issue in December 2024, which features a special feature on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Japan Sociological Society.
Burawoy always gave highly passionate speeches during his presentations at academic conferences and other events. He ignited the hearts of his audience with his large gestures. I remember one instance when he shared a humorous anecdote about sociologists, which left the entire room in stitches. He was also a habitual speaker who went over his time. When the event ended, there was always a crowd around him. He was never arrogant and was friendly. He was good at jokes and humor and always gave quick and witty replies. Despite the 17-hour time difference between California and Japan, Burawoy always responded very quickly. Even when I asked him to write a greeting message, he immediately sent me a witty reply. He had a presence like a giant tree. He was a great sociologist with a human touch. Upon hearing the sudden news of his death, many sociologists around the world are suffering from an incurable sense of loss.
In today’s world, disparities are widening in various dimensions within and outside every country, and divisions and rifts are becoming more serious. Especially in February 2025, a backlash against the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion is burning, led by the White House. Burawoy’s sudden passing at a time when global society needs his wisdom, skills, and courage is most deeply regrettable.
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” In the preface to Public Sociology (2021), a retrospective of his intellectual life, Burawoy quoted the words of the author William Faulkner. Like this quotation, Burawoy’s spirit, which fundamentally questioned the significance of sociological knowledge and continued to seek dialogue with civil society and global dialogue, as well as the ideals of public sociology, will live on forever and continue to be passed down and discussed. We sincerely pray for his soul to rest in peace.
(Koichi Hasegawa, Shokei Gakuin University)
