Pepinsky, Harold E.

Born January 18, 1945 in Lawrence, Kansas, Harold Pepinsky attended the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1965 with a B.A. with Distinction in Chinese Language and Literature. From there, he attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1968 with a J.D. He continued his studies and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Sociology in 1972 from the University of Pennsylvania and began teaching at the School of Criminal Justice at the State University of New York at Albany.

Joining the Indiana University faculty in 1976, Pepinsky was a professor in the departments of Criminal Justice (1976-2008) and East Asian Languages and Cultures (1977-1996). He taught a wide range of courses, including regular courses on alternative social control systems and feminist justice. Within the University, Pepinsky was actively involved in a number of committees and faculty governance groups such as the Bloomington and University Faculty Council.

Outside of IU, Pepinsky’s involvement in professional organizations was wide ranging and included a position as Chair of the Critical Criminology Division of the American Society of Criminology (1992-1994), and long-standing appointments on the editorial boards of the Legal Studies Forum (1985-present) and Quarterly Journal of Ideology (1984-1996). In 1991 he was the chief organizer of the Fifth International Conference on Penal Abolition, hosted by the Department of Criminal Justice at IU. Pepinsky was also involved in the Bloomington community in a variety of capacities, such as serving as a volunteer mediator and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Citizens for Community Justice. He also participated as a specialist in legal cases and within organizations relating to sexual violence and prisoner sentencing and treatment.

A prolific writer, Pepinsky authored or co-authored four books, numerous book chapters, and more than fifty scholarly articles. His book, Myths That Cause Crime, co-authored with Paul Jesilow, won the Outstanding Book Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in 1986. Pepinsky’s works focus on the how the criminal justice system can be the cause or cure for crime and his research interests include peacemaking criminology, restorative justice, violence against children, and ritual abuse.

Prof. Pepinsky retired from Indiana University in December 2008, after more than 30 years on the faculty.

From the guide to the Harold E. Pepinsky papers, 1956-2009, bulk 1980-1998, (Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives)