Ralph W. Larkin

Ralph W. Larkin received his bachelor's degree at UC, Santa Barbara in Elementary Education and taught elementary school for five years. He received a master's degree in educational psychology at California State University, Northridge in 1966. In 1970, he was awarded his Ph.D. in Sociology of Education from UCLA. He worked as a researcher in the Center for the Study of Evaluation at UCLA and the Center for Urban Education in New York City. He taught in the sociology department at the Newark campus of Rutgers University for eight years. He is presently employed as an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is the author of three books: Suburban Youth and Cultural Crisis (Oxford University Press, 1979), Beyond Revolution: a New Theory of Social Movements (with Daniel Foss, Bergin & Garvey, 1986), and Comprehending Columbine (Temple University Press, 2007). Beyond Revolution and Comprehending Columbine were both awarded honors as outstanding academic books by Choice Magazine, published by the American Library Association. Dr. Larkin has also written on education, youth, sociology of religion, social movements, and rampage shootings.