Pierre L. van den Berghe

Who is Pierre L. van den Berghe?

Pierre L. van den Berghe is professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology at the University of Washington, where he has worked since 1965. Born in the Belgian 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 at Harvard, he nevertheless had little interest in structural functionalism and was one of the first proponents of sociobiological approaches to social phenomena.

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