Professor Howard Becker

Born in 1928, Howard Becker worked during World War II as an underage jazz musician in Chicago’s bars. He became a leading figure in sociology, spending most of his career teaching at Northwestern University (1965–91). Professor Becker has made major contributions to the sociologies of art, deviance and music, written extensively on sociological writing styles and methodologies, and helped shape a generation of scholars. Now in his late eighties, he continues to write, make music, and lecture to packed audiences. Becker’s 1963 book, The Outsiders, remains a critical text for A-level Sociology students.