Dedication

This Volume is dedicated to the Memory of Ben Agger (1952–2015), Editor of Current Perspectives in Social Theory, 1991–1995

For Ben

Ben Agger died on July 14 of this year. No one expected it. Ben was needed not only by his family but by an extended network of friends that Ben built up over the course of his career and who counted on him for his unbelievable energy. He was always there for his students and always there for colleagues who asked him for his time and ideas. He gave generously.

Ben was a big thinker, not constrained by a narrow theoretical framework and not constrained in the topics on which he turned his eye. He wrote about everything: the sixties, texting, gender, critical theory, social theory, the self, and fast food. He authored and co-authored 20 books, and had three more that he planned to write, soon. He was a modern-day Adorno who used critical theory to help understand all dimensions of our contemporary, and confusing, world. He understood that social theory is a powerful tool for understanding, as well as transformation. I believe that uppermost in his mind was always the question, “How can we make a world dominated by capitalism a better place?”

I don’t think Ben ever said, when asked to step up and keep alive a broad vision of sociology and social theory, “No.” I founded Current Perspectives in Social Theory in 1979 and managed to edit it for 5 years. Ben took over as editor from 1991 to 1995. He encouraged all perspectives; his willingness to listen to and learn from others was one of his very best features. He founded his own journal, Fast Capitalism, which was edgier and more bold in the topics it took on.

Reading Ben’s most recent work reminds me of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters of the 1960s. The writing is punchy, funny, and at times, sarcastic. It is a wonderful prose. Ben understood that social theory is all about telling our stories, and he told them with feeling.

Ben you will be missed.