During the 1960s and the 1970s, the Berkeley School of Criminology at the University of California produced a number of innovative and influential ideas that opened up a new realm of possibility for criminological research and teaching. Although it was subject to a political attack which brought about its closure, its formidable intellectual legacy should be known. This chapter sketches the history and philosophy of what preceded and followed the Berkeley School of Criminology, while also showing how the school’s intellectual insights and model for politically-engaged scholarship might serve as a lesson for scholars working on crime and justice issues today.
