Susan Silbey

Professor Susan S. Silbey is Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, and Professor of Behavioral and Policy Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on governance, regulatory, and audit processes in complex organizations, particularly the creation of management systems for containing risks such as ethical lapses and environment, health, and safety hazards. She has authored several books, including The Common Place of Law: Stories from Everyday Life (with Patricia Ewick) and Law and Science (I) and (II). Silbey has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Harry Kalven Jr. Prize for advancing the sociology of law. She is a Past President of the Law & Society Association and a fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Susan Silbey is a Professor of Sociology at MIT, known for her research on law, regulation, organizations, legal consciousness, and compliance. Her work explores how legal narratives shape everyday life and social structures, emphasizing the interplay between legal authority and resistance. Silbey's publications examine legal consciousness as a dynamic process, focusing on how individuals and groups navigate legal systems through stories of compliance, contestation, and resistance. Her research also addresses the role of professional socialization in shaping gendered and cultural patterns within institutions. By analyzing legal culture and its intersections with social justice, Silbey contributes to critical law and society studies.