Professor Alan Johnson
Professor of Democratic Theory and Practice
Alan has worked at Edge Hill University in the Social Sciences since 1991, became a Reader in 2001 and a Professor in 2007. My research has mostly been about the intellectual history of the Left and social movements. In 2008-10 I have been engaged in consultancy work for the Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU), which is based in the Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT), using social movement theory and in-depth interviewing to examine the dynamics of 'radicalisation' and 'deradicalisation' and effective communications to encourage desistence and disengagement. Founder and Editor, Democratiya (2005-2009) Dissent Editorial Board (2009-) Senior Research Fellow, The Foreign Policy Centre (2008-) Progress Policy Group on Progressive Internationalism Advisory Board, Just Journalism (2010-) Contributor, Guardian Comment is Free (2006-) Volunteer, South Lakeland Society for the Blind (SLSB).
Qualifications
- BA (Hons) Politics and Modern History (1st Class, University of Manchester), 1983
- MA (Econ) Political Economy (Manchester University) 1984
Teaching
- SPY1010: Self and Society
- SPY1011 : The Sociological Imagination
- SPY 2001: Research Methods
- SPY3013: The Holocaust
- PSY3116: The Social Psychology of the Holocaust
- Personal Tutor
Research
In 2008-1010 I undertook consultancy work on the dynamics of radicalisation and deradicalisation in contemporary UK Islamist networks. From 2011 I will stop running around so much and instead sit at my desk (and in some archives) and write about the troubled, triangular relationship between Totalitarianism, Antitotalitarianism and the Left in the 20th century. To begin with I will return to a long-standing research interest in the political thought of Hal Draper and Irving Howe. I also plan to write more about the ‘new authoritarian Marxism’ of the 21st century.
Publications
2010
- Johnson, A ‘Ein bisschen Terror darf dabeisein. Zum Denken von Slavoj Žižek’ Merkur
- Johnson, A. ‘Aurum de Stercore: Antitotalitarianism in the thought of Primo Levi’, in Eve Garrard and Stephen Dewizje (eds) Writing Towards Humanity: Essays for Norman Geras (Manchester University Press)
- Johnson, A. ‘From Democratiya to Dissent’, Dissent, Winter.
2009
- Johnson A. ‘The Politics of Richard Rorty’, in James Tartaglia, (ed) Richard Rorty, Routledge Critical Assessments of Leading Philosophers (Vol.4. Themes) New York
- Johnson, A. ‘The Reckless Mind of Slavoj Žižek’, Dissent, Fall.
- Johnson A (and Sunder Katwala, Brian Brivati, Karen Pollock, Brendan Cox, Alex Bigham) Social Justice, democracy and human rights: shaping a principles-based foreign policy. A green paper from the Progress Policy Group on progressive Internationalism.
- Johnson, A and Reza Aslan (2009) 'How to Win a Cosmic War (Don’t Fight One): An Interview with Reza Aslan', Democratiya, 1 (16)
2008
- Johnson, A (ed) Global Politics After 9/11: The Democratiya Interviews. Preface by Michael Walzer, The Foreign Policy Centre.
Additional information:
Founder and Editor, Democratiya (2005-2009) Dissent Editorial Board (2009-) Senior Research Fellow, The Foreign Policy Centre (2008-) Progress Policy Group on Progressive Internationalism Advisory Board, Just Journalism (2010-) Contributor, Guardian Comment is Free (2006-) Volunteer, South Lakeland Society for the Blind (SLSB)