Testing Boundaries: Heidegger and Sartre
I have elsewhere, in all due modesty, blogged on the meaning of life (no less). I eschewed, and pitched it between, fundamentalisms and absolutisms and their antitheses, nihilisms and radical...
View ArticleMbembe and Necropolitics
I confess that I first came across the notion of ‘necropolitics’ whilst reading the work of a talented colleague, Eileen Yuk-ha Tsang, whose recent article on gay sex workers and Chinese medical care...
View Article‘Greedy Bastards’– Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak is not all he appears to be and there is certainly a chasm between his rhetoric of just and compassionate concern and his actions. This is another contribution to my ‘greedy bastards’...
View Article‘Greedy Bastards’– The Monarchy
The Queen’s position in various ‘rich lists’ may have slipped of late but she – and the monarchy more generally – remain exceptionally wealthy. In this contribution to my ‘greedy bastards’ series I...
View ArticleSocial Class and Corporate Power
The main emphasis of my own contributions on the theory and ‘measurement’ of social class have been on that fraction of the 1% that can and does deploy capital to sway state policy and practice. In the...
View ArticleBooks Read in 2020
I read 107 books in 2020. Interestingly, this total does not exceed those for the last couple of years despite the fact that much of 2020 was spent in lockdowns, bubbles or ‘tiered’ struggles....
View ArticleA Clutch of Poems from Lockdown 1
A Moment Please ‘Can you give me a minute on my own?’ And he froze like a statue, head inclined, Gazing across the downs, seeing nothing, But owning a moment of open space, Thinking nothing, but...
View ArticleLocal (Peace & Justice) Coordination Groups
As a democratic socialist who left the Labour Party after it became clear that Keir Starmer had no intention of sticking with the kinds of socialist policies that Labour stood on in the 2019 general...
View ArticleMarmot, COVID and Health Inequalities
There have been times when I wished that Michael Marmot would attend to what I – as a sociologist – regard as root or fundamental causes of health inequalities, that he would talk and write about...
View ArticleA 2nd Clutch of Poems, from Lockdown 3
The Youth Inside I used to be able to run, Not the shambolic, nattering of feet No longer responsive to commands; But the hungry eating up of ground That left others in my wake, Set my lungs on fire....
View ArticleBourdieu, Sociology and Activism
I have often pondered on what I have, or more to the point haven’t, contributed to the socialist movement. My record of activism is certainly parsimonious compared with others I know. I once blogged on...
View ArticleA 3rd Clutch of Poems, from Lockdown 3
Rhymes Poems don’t have to rhyme, If you ask me it’s a matter of time: When you’re not really stressing Because nothing is pressing Then, thesaurus to hand, You invariably land, If fatigued and slow...
View ArticleThoughts on Theory and Sociology
Any description of the natural, life or social worlds we inhabit, independently of its putative level of sophistication, presumes an element of theory. This is because none of us starts with a blank...
View ArticleA Fourth Clutch of Poems – from lockdown 3
Along by the Mole When the rains come and the waters Of the Mole rise up to flood the land There’s an eerie beauty about the place; But the downpours have gone now, And only the squelch of sodden...
View ArticleThe Development of Rugby: A Sketch
The first thing to be said about the origins of rugby is that there is no concrete evidence that they lie with William Ellis’ handling of the ball at Rugby School in 1823. Ex-pupil Matthew Bloxxam’s...
View ArticleYet Another Clutch of Poems
You Can Feel Uneasy Here we are, sitting in the pub Of a Friday evening, A friendly cluster of garnered chairs, One round in and more to follow; The chatter is split, a couple here, A trio there,...
View ArticleHalf a Dozen New Poems
When to Shut Up? Imagine an off-the-cuff conversation With an acquaintance, not a friend, So it’s tricky to gauge the rules. She tells you she prays for her family, For friends, for peace in...
View ArticleA Sociological Autobiography: 100 – Writing Poetry
I have ruminated episodically on the trivial issue of whether or not I can claim to be a writer. My provisional conclusion has been that I am an (ex)university teacher primarily, which has of course...
View ArticleYet More Lockdown-Induced Poems
Which Hat? Usually when I embark on life’s adventures I leave the house hatless and optimistic; Only when it’s shivering cold or raining Above a parsimonious drizzle do I reach For a hat sitting...
View ArticleA Sociological Autobiography: 101 – From Cafes to Zoom
I’ve just had my first zoom meeting with Paul Higgs and Joanna Moncrieff from UCL. It was a poor substitute for our weekly coffees on Wednesdays in Tottenham Court Road but very welcome nonetheless. I...
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