Observer Staff Report
C. Lincoln Johnson, associate professor of sociology emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, died Thursday. He was 70 years old.
Johnson specialized in statistical methods and social psychology, pursuing a particular interest in the effects of globalization on the world food supply. In addition to teaching a popular course titled, "Global Food Systems: the Sociology of Food," he applied this interest to local needs by serving on the board of the Northeast Neighborhood Center Food Pantry in South Bend and actively served the community.
A native of Valparaiso, Chile, Johnson joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1971 after earning master's degrees from the New School of Social Research and the University of Kansas in 1966 and 1968, respectively, according to a University press release.
He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Kansas in 1974, graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1963 and earned a bachelor's degree in divinity from Southern Methodist University in 1966.
Johnson, who directed Notre Dame's Laboratory for Social Research for 14 years, once said his many interests helped him better understand himself and his place in society.
"I have a wide range of interests, but each area of study usually comes down to focusing on that interesting intersection between self and society: How one understands a sense of self in a rapidly changing world, and how the social structure tends to shape and mold the ways we think and act," he said.
Contributions in Johnson's memory may be sent to the Center for Social Concerns, Relief for World Hunger, Geddes Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556.
