Pierre L. van den Berghe (born 1933) is professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology at the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

, where he has worked since 1965. Born in the Congo to Belgian parents, and spending World War II in occupied Belgium, he was an early witness to ethnic conflict and racism, which eventually led him to become a leading authority on ethnic relations. He has conducted field work in South Africa, Mexico, Guatemala, Iran, Lebanon, Nigeria, Peru, and Israel. A student of Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....

 at Harvard (receiving the Ph.D. in 1960), he nevertheless had little interest in structural functionalism

Structural functionalism

Structural functionalism is a broad perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions...

 and was one of the first proponents of sociobiological

Sociobiology

Sociobiology is a field of scientific study which is based on the assumption that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to explain and examine social behavior within that context. Often considered a branch of biology and sociology, it also draws from ethology, anthropology,...

 approaches to social phenomena.

In 1978, van den Berge was awarded a Golden Fleece prize by Senator William Proxmire

William Proxmire

Edward William Proxmire was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989.-Personal life:...

for "the biggest, most ridiculous or most ironic waste of taxpayers' money" relating to a study that used part of a $97,000 grant to conclude that Peruvian brothels serve as, among other things, a gathering place for drinking and storytelling.

Selected work

• Van den Berghe, Pierre L. 1981. The Ethnic Phenomenon. New York: Elsevier.
• ---. 1979. Human Family Systems: An Evolutionary View. New York: Elsevier.
• ---. 1977. Inequality in the Peruvian Andes: Class and Ethnicity in Cuzco. Columbia: University of Missouri Press.
• ---. 1975. Man in Society: A Biosocial View. New York: Elsevier.
• ---. 1973. Age and Sex in Human Societies: A Biosocial Perspective. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Pub. Co.
• ---. 1972. Intergroup Relations: Sociological Perspectives. New York: Basic Books.
• ---. 1970. Academic Gamesmanship; How to Make a Ph.D. Pay. London: Abelard-Schuman.
• ---. 1967. Race and Racism: A Comparative Perspective. NY; Sydney: Wiley.
• ---. 1965. Africa: Social Problems of Change and Conflict. San Francisco: Chandler Pub. Co.
• ---. 1964. Caneville; the Social Structure of a South African Town. Middletown, Conn: Wesleyan University Press.