Lloyd Edgar Ohlin, who lived from 1918 to 2008, was an American sociologist and criminologist who held faculty positions at Harvard Law School, Columbia University and the University of Chicago. With Richard Cloward, he co-authored Delinquency and Opportunity, developing differential opportunity theory to argue that delinquent gang behavior grows out of blocked access to both legitimate and illegitimate paths to success rather than simple irresponsibility, a view that helped shape the federal Mobilization for Youth antipoverty initiative.
Facts
Defining ContributionTheorized that poverty and blocked upward mobility, not youthful irresponsibility, were the primary causes of juvenile delinquency and gang crime 2 Notable WorkDelinquency and Opportunity (with Richard A. Cloward, 1960) 2 Connections
Theories Developed
Source Wikipedia: Lloyd Ohlin
Sources
1. Lloyd Edgar Ohlin (1918-2008) - Harvard Law School Historical Faculty
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Lloyd Edgar Ohlin (1918-2008)
2. A Compassionate Scholar of Crime and Punishment - Harvard Law School
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Born in Belmont, Mass., Ohlin earned his A.B. from Brown University in 1940 before going on to earn an M.A. from Indiana University in 1942 and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1954-both in sociology.
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Professor Emeritus Lloyd E. Ohlin, an expert in criminal justice who was well-known for his work related to juvenile delinquency, died at his home in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Dec. 6, 2008, at the age of 90.
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Combating the widely held 1950s view that youthful irresponsibility led to the rise of street gangs and delinquency, Ohlin theorized that poverty and obstacles to upward mobility were the primary causes.
list of published works
"Delinquency and Opportunity" (with Richard A. Cloward, 1960)
View the Source3. Wikidata: Lloyd Ohlin
Wikidata Q6662676, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Wikipedia: Lloyd Ohlin
Theories Developed: Subcultural Theory, Life and career sectionQuote, Theories Developed: Subcultural Theory, Life and career section
Together with fellow sociologist Richard A. Cloward, Ohlin wrote Delinquency and Opportunity: A Theory of Delinquent Gangs
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