News
Claus Offe: an appreciation
Claus Offe, who has died aged 85, was one of the leading sociologists of his generation. A student in Berlin in the turbulent 1960s, he studied economics for five years before turning to sociology and thereafter writing a PhD on the sociology of organisations at Frankfurt under Jurgen Habermas.
Meet Professor Virinder Kalra, our new Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (South and Central Asia, Middle East)
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Virinder Kalra as Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (South and Central Asia, Middle East), effective 1st October 2025.
Dr Carol Wolkowitz
The Department of Sociology is deeply saddened by the death of Dr Carol Wolkowitz on March 4th 2025. Carol was a hugely valued member both of the Department and of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender. She will be remembered as a much-loved and inspirational teacher who was devoted to helping students grapple with ideas and hone their sociological imaginations.
You can read Carol's obituary here -> Carol Wolkowitz obituary | Sociology | The Guardian
Public Talk by Ayse Guveli on Turkish Migration to Europe
In Germany, so-called hashtag#Gastarbeiter migrants were recruited to the labour market from the 1950s. How do their experiences affect their grandchildren hashtag#ThirdGeneration today? Online talk with Prof. Ayse Guveli of University of Warwick.
Sociology Seminar Series Event - Shamim Miah (University of Huddersfield)
Monday 30th October 2023
17:00 - 18:30
S0.13, Social Sciences
In the second of the Sociology Seminar Series, we welcome Dr Shamim Miah who will explore the works of Ibn Khaldun (d.1406) who was a historian and philosopher and is considered to be one of the founding fathers of sociology. This event further aims to discuss the paradox of Ibn Khaldun's influences on the formative years of modern western sociology, alongside its marginality from mainstream western academia. Dr Miah proposes ways to bring Ibn Khaldun into the mainstream through the systematic application of his theory. This event will be ideal for those interested in developing sociology beyond the western canon.
Bio: Dr Shamim Miah is Senior Lecturer University of Huddersfield and author of Ibn Khaldun: Education, History and Society
In Memoriam: Professor Annie Phizacklea
The Warwick Sociology Department is sad to share the news of the death of our colleague Professor Annie Phizacklea, who died of pneumonia on 9 September 2022. Everyone who knew Annie respected her vibrant, inclusive, and good-humoured leadership in research, teaching and other departmental activities, including long stints as director of research and director of the graduate school. She was a uniquely generous and supportive colleague, and her research, teaching and outlook was formative for both staff and students. Her research made a path-making contribution to the sociology of gender, ethnicity, international migration and work and employment. She retired in 2008 and went on to write a novel based on her academic research on the experiences of migrant women in Britain.
Sociology receives an Athena Swan Silver Award
The Department of Sociology received a Silver Athena SWAN Award from Advance HE in recognition of its intersectional efforts to advance gender equality. The submission for this award can be viewed here.
Sociology receives an "Excellence in Gender Equality Award"
hereThe Department of Sociology Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (SAT), led by Professor Nickie Charles and Dr Maria do Mar Pereira, has received the inaugural "Excellence in Gender Equality Award", given by the University to recognise individuals and teams doing outstanding work to promote gender equality at Warwick. More information on the award can be found here.
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships 2023
The Sociology Department will be supporting applications to the next round of the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships Scheme, which aims to provide career development opportunities for those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers.
There is a single-stage internal selection process, with applicants invited to submit expressions of interest to the department by 12 noon on Thursday, 1st December 2022.
Queries about the scheme or process should be sent to Professor Nick Gane (Director of Research) at N.Gane@warwick.ac.uk
In Memoriam: Professor Jim Beckford
It is with sadness that we must share the death after a short illness of our colleague, Emeritus Professor, Jim Beckford. The Department and the University of Warwick more generally were an important part of Jim's career and life. He served the Department of Sociology in a number of capacities, including Head of Department, and was a valued member of our community. He was a key figure in the sociological study of religion and was an active participant in debates and discussions in this area. We mourn his loss and treasure his important role in the development of the Department of Sociology, and University.
Jim Beckford, a Personal Reflection by Peter Ratcliffe
Professor James (Jim) Beckford
Following posts at the Universities of Reading and Durham, Jim joined the Department in 1989 from a Chair at Loyola University, Chicago. By this point he had already developed an international profile as one of the key figures in the Sociology of Religion and Sociology of Culture. Indeed, he had only recently been elected President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, 1988-1989. Once at Warwick his reputation and international stature blossomed, culminating in his election as Fellow of the British Academy in 2004.
Although rightly seen as a prominent social theorist, Jim was above all a great communicator. He had little time for 'theory for theory's sake'. That shows is his vast body of published work: from his first book based on his PhD research, 'The Trumpet of Prophesy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses' (1975) to his 'Social Theory and Religion' (2003) and then his groundbreaking study 'Muslims in Prison: Challenge and Change in Britain and France' (2005, with Danie`le Joly and Farhad Khosrokhavar).
The latter work demonstrated even more clearly than previously a commitment to addressing contemporary issues faced by socially marginalised groups, not least those subjected to racism and Islamophobia. This led to his close association with the Department's Centre for Rights, Equality and Diversity.
This provides a glimpse into his general character and moral commitments. He was above all else a thoroughly decent, caring and warm person who exuded an overriding sense of calm reassurance. Those of us who were privileged to know him cannot but feel a deep sense of emptiness. The Department has lost a colleague who gave his all to our collective endeavours. He retired, theoretically, in 2008, but in fact he never really stopped working. As Emeritus Professor, he never ceased to amaze me how active he remained on the academic scene, even talking about being involved in new transnational research projects stretching years into the future.
If I may, by way of conclusion, be permitted a few personal thoughts, I'd like to reflect on my own sense of loss. I'll miss, deeply, evenings spent at a local hostelry in Kenilworth, where he would regale me with endless tales of all things Japan, and especially Japanese railways, a passion we shared. His characteristic tenacity, commitment and thoroughness was applied, in later life, to the study of the Japanese language. Not surprisingly, he excelled in what clearly represents no mean feat.
He will be sadly missed by all of us