Craig Calhoun

Craig Jackson Calhoun FBA FAcSS (born 1952) is an American sociologist and social theorist known for his work in critical social theory, public sociology, and the study of social change. His scholarship has focused on how social movements, democracy, nationalism, and the public sphere emerge from the interaction of local communities with larger social structures.

Calhoun's research is notably interdisciplinary and bridges anthropology, history, politics, religion, and economics in exploring questions of collective action and social development across diverse contexts (from historical case studies in 18th century Lisbon to contemporary projects in China and the Horn of Africa). He has been described as an intellectual who strives to embed academic knowledge in public life, reflecting a commitment to "ensure academia is not aloof from society, but embedded in it."

Calhoun is currently University Professor of social sciences at Arizona State University. He served as Director and President of the LSE from 2012 to 2016. In 2016, he became the first President of the Berggruen Institute. A role he served until 2018. A period in which he helped shape the institute's focus on global governance and philosophical policy questions. Earlier in his career he taught at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Columbia University, and New York University, where he founded the Institute for Public Knowledge. Calhoun's contributions to social sciences have earned him wide recognition. For example, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2015 and is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences His work continues to influence discussions on how sociology can address pressing global issues and connect scholarly research with public debate.