1974

I discovered sociology at San Diego State University, inspired by Nicos Mouratides' stories of the Greek resistance and how a sociological perspective might offer a way of engaging in the world with purpose and clarity. After graduation, and a two-year stint in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve with an honorable discharge and conscientious objector status, I arrived in Berkeley. To be honest my interest was as much about having an adventure and finding myself, as it was about pursuing a particular intellectual focus or academic direction.

I came to Berkeley in 1974 to study how multinational corporate investment had transformed cultures and identities in French West Africa. I left in 1981 with a dissertation on revolutions in 17th century France and England. Since finishing, I've developed an expertise in the Sociology of Gender, and have been instrumental in developing the subfield of Men and Masculinities.

I came to Berkeley's department of Sociology to learn a sociologically sophisticated way of theorizing the role of the spatial environment in human social life.