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Charles Masquelier

Lecturer in Sociology, University of Exeter

My research rests on a core assumption, namely that the study of power relations is central to the study of institutions, practices, norms and values making up society. I therefore locate those power relations at the core of my sociological imagination and regard the critique of those relations as central to my sociological research.

More specifically, I am interested in rethinking social critique in such a way as to realise its transformative potential, while researching and conceputalising alternative economic and political practices. I have sought to show, and intend to continue highlighting, the role Cole’s libertarian socialist alternative can be expected to play in breathing new life into socialist thought.

Inspired by my interests in Cole’s libertarian socialism, I am interested in theorising the transformative potential of the cooperative sector. I also wish to undertake empirical research on the cooperative sector in the UK and the Western world more generally.

My areas of interests are:

- critical theory (Marxism, Western Marxism, Bourdieu)

- social movements (their evolution and potential for large-scale social change)

- socialist theory (its different forms and contemporary relevance)

- worker cooperatives (how they operate and potential role in large-scale social change)

- neoliberalism (its social consequences and how to adapt critique to this stage of capitalist development)

Read more at http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/sociology/staff/masquelierx/#5R2VBZhIEhaSSwdi.99

Experience

  • –present
    Lecturer in Sociology, University of Exeter