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Dr. Gamson was a prominent figure in the field of sociology, serving as president of the American Sociological Association, with a particular interest in political discourse, mass media鈥檚 role in social change, and social movements. Colleagues pointed to the long list of professional and academic accolades he received over the years, including the ASA鈥檚 Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award; the ASA W.E.B. DuBois Career of Distinguished Scholarship; the ASA Lifetime Career Achievement Award; the McCarthy Lifetime Achievement Award from the Center for the Study of Social Movements; the Eastern Sociological Society Merit Award; and election as a fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

鈥淏ill Gamson was one of the world's most influential social scientists,鈥� said Sociology Professor and Chair Andrew Jorgenson. 鈥淗e was an incredible mentor for both graduate and undergraduate students as well as for junior faculty, and his lifetime commitment to social justice was inspiring.鈥�

When he arrived at BC in 1982 after 20 years on the 艾可直播at the University of Michigan鈥攚here he earned a doctorate鈥擠r. Gamson already had a distinguished record of achievement, having earned a Guggenheim Fellowship and an Academy of Arts and Sciences Prize for Behavioral Science Research, and published the influential books Power and Discontent and The Strategy of Social Protest.

In particular, Dr. Gamson drew praise for his development and use of, and his writing about, simulation games to teach aspects of sociology, political science, and communication skills. In 1966, he conceived 鈥淪imulated Society (SIMSOC),鈥� which placed participants in troubling social situations and challenged students to grapple with matters of structured social inequality and devise ethically-informed paths of collective action. 鈥淪IMSOC鈥� is now in its fifth edition; his later creations included 鈥淲hat鈥檚 News鈥� (1984), a game simulation of TV news, and 鈥淕lobal Justice Game鈥� (2007).

鈥淚鈥檝e really been using games my whole life,鈥� said Dr. Gamson in a 2010 interview with The Heights. 鈥淚 sort of saw that as a way of holding onto childhood or extending it.鈥�

By incorporating games into his teaching, he explained, he incorporated play into his work, thereby retaining a youthful perspective and vitality as part of his adult life. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a kid, play is part of your business. That鈥檚 what you do. You can easily lose that playfulness aspect.鈥�

Dr. Gamson also was the namesake of Gamson鈥檚 Law of Proportionality, coined in 1971 by political scientists Eric Browne and Mark Franklin in an analysis of coalitions among European parliamentary democracies; the law was based on Dr. Gamson鈥檚 1961 paper proposing that each actor in government expects a payoff proportional to the weight that it contributes to forming a coalition.

鈥淏ill Gamson was for decades an animating force in the 艾可直播 College Sociology Department and the discipline of sociology as a whole,鈥� said Professor of Sociology Stephen Pfohl, who played 鈥淪IMSOC鈥� as an undergraduate. 鈥淗is passionate commitment to making sociology a justice-oriented field of inquiry, along with his activism, good humor, and discerning mentorship of multiple generations of students will forever be a part of our department鈥檚 collective history.鈥�

Dr.聽 Gamson continued to build on his accomplishments at BC. In 1986, he co-founded and co-directed the Media Research and Action Project, which works with community and grassroots organizations to strengthen progressive social movements working toward social justice and inclusive, participatory democracy. Part of MRAP鈥檚 task has been to address the lack of resources community organizations and groups experience when they attempt to change negative stereotypical images of their communities in the mass media.

In 1997, Dr. Gamson established the Media Fellows Program at BC, co-sponsored by MRAP, to assist community action groups in utilizing the media and communicating their messages more effectively.

鈥淭he program鈥檚 goal is not to do an organization鈥檚 media work for them, nor is the emphasis on skill training,鈥� he told 艾可直播 College Chronicle. 鈥淲e want participants to learn how to integrate a media strategy into their general organizational plan and, in so doing, increase their sophistication, their ability to speak for themselves.鈥�

Dr. Gamson鈥檚 career also was informed by his opposition to war and concerns over nuclear weapons. He led a teach-in at Michigan against the Vietnam War and took part in anti-war events during the 1960s and early 1970s, including a fast with other Michigan 艾可直播protesting the university鈥檚 involvement in military research. In the 1980s, Dr. Gamson was among a group that included his colleague, Professor of Sociology Charles Derber, collaborating on research and writing about the dangers posed by the United States鈥� reliance on nuclear weapons.

Interviewed by The Heights in 1984, Dr. Gamson said the U.S. had integrated nuclear weapons so completely into its defense system that any military response risked nuclear escalation. 鈥淭here is a sort of set of links and you can, should鈥攏o, really have to鈥攊ntervene at different points on the chain,鈥� he said, explaining the scenario which inspired The War Chain, a working title for a publication on which the group had been working.

Dr. Gamson cited a recently authored book by the Harvard Nuclear Study Group that, in his view and that of his collaborators, espoused a tacit acceptance of nuclear weapons and had motivated the group to formulate a comprehensive view of the nuclear threat and propose steps to avoid catastrophe.

鈥淲e consider some of the views they鈥檇 say reasonable people would advocate [to be] recklessly dangerous. We鈥檙e basically trying to set the boundaries differently for this generation.鈥�

鈥淏ill affirmed and supported my own work, and that of others in the department, in the most generous ways,鈥� said Derber. 鈥淗e helped define the legacy of the Sociology Department, particularly his long focus on peace and social justice. He helped develop the sociological scholarship that defines the discipline's approach to social change, peace, and social justice. He will be part of an enduring legacy of great scholars and humanitarian leaders at 艾可直播 College.鈥�

Alongside his recognition in academia, Dr. Gamson achieved renown in an improbable domain, as a pioneer of fantasy sports鈥攁 family of games in which players manage imaginary sports teams based on the real-life performance of professional athletes鈥攁nd fantasy baseball in particular. Although the creation of Rotisserie League Baseball in 1980 by a group of fans, including writer and editor Dan Okrent, had often been regarded as the birth of fantasy sports, Wall Street Journal writer Sam Walker argued in his 2006 book Fantasyland that Gamson鈥檚 National Baseball Seminar he and his friends invented 20 years earlier was the 鈥渃onception鈥� of fantasy sports; Rotisserie Baseball, said Walker, was 鈥渢he live birth.鈥�

Dr. Gamson downplayed his 鈥�15 minutes of fame鈥� in a 2006 艾可直播 College Chronicle story, and insisted that Okrent was more deserving of credit for the idea of fantasy sports. Dr. Gamson mused on the irony of having devoted much of his professional work to devising game simulations to address weighty social issues, only to be remembered more for a game that was, in fact, just a game.

鈥淚 feel like I鈥檝e done other things in my life,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd this is just a lark.鈥�

鈥淏ill was one of the most influential sociologists of his era, as his list of prizes and accomplishments suggests,鈥� said Professor of Sociology Juliet Schor, who noted that his National Baseball Seminar is still operating. 鈥淚鈥檝e been privileged to be part of it.鈥�

Dr. Gamson retired from full-time teaching in 2000.

He is survived by his wife, Zelda; his children Jenny and Josh; and five grandchildren.

Condolences may be sent to: Zelda Gamson, 1501 Beacon Street, Apt. 601, Brookline, Mass. 02446. Donations in Dr. Gamson鈥檚 memory can be made to the Social Action Fund of the Martha鈥檚 Vineyard Hebrew Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, or the Southern Poverty Law Center.

University Communications | March 2021