Dr Charles Masquelier

I'm a critical social theorist and environmental sociologist. As a critical theorist I treat the sociological imagination as a prism through which power relations and social injustices are exposed, probed and resisted. I have done so by exploring the complex intersections of structures of power and envisioning institutions and organisations beyond those structures. My 2017 book on neoliberalism and my more recent book called Intersectional Socialism could be seen as complementary: the former formulated a critique of capitalism and the latter envisioned a world beyond it.

As an environmental sociologist, I build on my theoretical work to examine and rethink the way humanity relates to nature. I am paying specific attention to power relations framing environmental land management in the UK, with a focus on the farming community, farmers’ attitudes towards nature, and their relations with conservation organisations. The empirical work undertaken as part of the RENEW project aims to identify solutions for integrating 'knowledge cultures' in the delivery of nature conservation and restoration objectives.

My areas of interests are:

• critical theory (Marxism, Western Marxism, Bourdieu, intersectionality theory)
• environmental land management (barriers and enablers; integrating 'knowledge cultures')
• social movements (their evolution and potential for large-scale social change)
• socialist theory (its different forms – statist vs. libertarian - and contemporary relevance)
• environmental sociology (political economy of sustainability; rural sociology)
• worker cooperatives (how they operate, the way they mediate the more-than-human world and potential role in large-scale social change)
• neoliberalism (its social consequences and how to adapt critique to this stage of capitalist development)