Publics and Practices
Description
Publics and Practices is a group of researchers within the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool. They are interested in exploring the social, economic, cultural, political, and affective production of publics, and how these publics become a matter of political concern for social scientists, states, corporations, and others.
The research cluster draws on diverse theoretical and methodological approaches, and the research of the group focuses on the politics underlying the constitution and mobilisation of publics in capitalist societies. The group meets regularly for various research-related activities, such as reading and discussion groups, seminars from internal and external speakers, symposia and conferences, writing retreats, and data sessions. These events are open to all and are free to attend wherever possible.
The vision of Publics and Practices is to bring together critical academic scholars from across faculties whose research interests address the constitution and mobilisation of publics, provide a space for those working theoretically and/or empirically on a variety of related topics and studies, and create a collegiate, face-to-face context for supportive discussion and - where appropriate - collaboration.
The research of the group can be divided into three broad areas of inquiry:
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'Politics, Capital, and the State': Members of this strand are involved in a range of theorisations and studies of contemporary state form and capitalist accumulation strategies. Their research is critical in orientation and draws much from the radical and critical traditions of political-economic research in the social sciences. A key interest concerns the ways in which the local is imagined and represented in politics and in economic practices, as well as the claims made with respect to particular publics and the claims made for publics - including by academics.
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'Health, Technologies, and Bodies': The focus of this strand is on developments in health, science and technology as analytical ground for the study of politics, social structures, gender, culture, and environment. Key concerns are focused on critiques of the ‘new public health’; the political and moral economies of health, risk and harm, and critical studies of embodiment and the life course.
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'Methods and Materials': A third overarching research concern of the cluster lies in critical engagement with methods and methodologies. Much of this work is in the context of addressing dilemmas associated with making sense of materials of various kinds, ranging from syringes, military artefacts, photographs, architectural sites, motorcars and machines. This strand is supplemented by a series of epistemological inquiries concerning statistical research, feminism, ethnomethodology, political-economy, and the values of description.
Offers funding
No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.
Contact details
PO Box 147
Liverpool
L69 3BX
United Kingdom
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University affiliation(s)
University of Liverpool
NA
Liverpool
L69 3BX
Last modified:
2023-09-20 15:00:19