Michael Burawoy has studied industrial workplaces in different parts of the world through participant observation. He is well known for his insightful ability of casting light -from the standpoint of the workers- on various phenomena relating to globalization. In his current endeavors, he has been studying the peculiar form of capitalism that has arisen in Russia. He has developed theoretically driven methodologies that allow him to draw broad conclusions from his ethnographic research and case studies. Burawoy has authored numerous important and groundbreaking literatures. He is the author of the important classic, Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under Monopoly Capitalism. Most recently he coauthored Global Ethnography. The book shows how globalization can be studied "from below" through participation in the lives of those who experience it. Throughout his sociological career he has engaged with Marxism, seeking to reconstruct it in the light of his research and more broadly in the light of historical challenges of the late 20th century. He is currently serving as professor and Chair of the Sociology Department at the University of California at Berkeley.
