Dr. Jack Levin

Jack Levin is an internationally renowned criminologist famous for revolutionizing what we know about why people hate and why they hurt each other. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 28th, 1941. He achieved his Bachelor of Arts at American International College in 1963 then he went to Boston University and got his Master of Science in 1964 and his Ph.D. in 1968. Dr. Levin is currently the Brudnick Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Northeastern University. He also codirects the center on violence and conflict and teaches courses in the sociology of violence and hate. He has written or co-written 30 books and he has published more than 150 articles in professional journals and newspapers. He has won many awards for teaching, honor, lecturing, and his work in studying sociology. Jack Levin is an extremely passionate, influential and selfless person which is why he is a hero.

Dr. Levin's job is extremely dangerous; he continues to do it because he is a very selfless person. He risks his life by spending a lot of time with people who would enjoy seeing him in pain. He even wrote in his book about his encounters: "I have received death threats from the fans of killers about whom I have written. Mobsters have visited my office. Psychotics have stalked me" (Levin). This shows that Levin is very altruistic because he puts himself in harm's way just by doing his job. His profession makes him associate with many nefarious people who would hurt him if they had the opportunity. Nevertheless Levin continues doing his job even though he dislikes dealing with so much hate every day. But he does it all for the benefit of society; he even says "To the extent that we are successful, my experiences with murder will have been totally worthwhile" (Levin). This proves that Dr. Levin is a very selfless person because he doesn't care how much his occupation personally and mentally affects him. All Dr. Levin cares about is helping people.

Along with being selfless Dr. Levin is also very passionate about what he does. Dr. Levin has spent many years dedicated to changing the way the public thinks about serial killers (American Sociological Association).This shows that Mr. Levin is very passionate because he has dedicated more than a third of his life to studying hate crimes, serial killers and prejudice so the public can be correctly informed about those topics. One of the ways Levin channels his by passion is by writing. He has written or co-written 30 books and he has published more than 150 articles in professional journals and newspapers. This proves that Levin is very dedicated to making his knowledge available to the public, a very heroic characteristic.

Dr. Levin is also a very intelligent man. He has won many teaching awards and has written books for colleges and has many college students attend his classes (American Sociological Association). Many other colleges use his textbooks for their curriculum. He also has a huge amount of college students who travel from far away just to hear him talk. Levin has also spoken to many important organizations. "He has spoken to a wide variety of community, academic, and professional groups, including the White House Conference on Hate Crimes, the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (a membership of 59 countries) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police" (Levin). Levin has spoken to many important organizations about hate and violence because he is very knowledgeable.

Dr. Levin is a very intelligent, passionate and selfless for many reasons. He is very dedicated to making sure the public knows as much as they can about hate. He believes this is very important because hate leads to violence and death. Therefore Jack Levin is a hero because he helps people and puts them before himself.

Works Cited Contemporary Authors Online. "Jack Levin." Contemporary Authors Online. Farmington Hills,: Gale Cengage, 2010. N. pag. Gale Biography in Context. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. "Dr Jack Levin." Wolfman Productions. Wolfman Productions, Inc, 2012. Web. 7 Mar. 2013. . Wolfman Productions reviews speakers and give a brief biography about them from a non biased point of view "Jack Levin Award Statement." American Sociological Association. American Sociological Association, 2009. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. Levin, Jack. "My Bio." Jack Levin on Violence. Ed. Jack Levin. N.p., 2010. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. . - - -. Serial Killers and Sadistic Murderers:Up Close and Personal. Amherst: Prometheus, 2008. N. pag. Digital file.