Laurence Cox

Laurence Cox is a lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, where he is director of the Masters programme on ‘Community Education, Equality and Social Activism’ and a PhD programme which uses participatory action research involving taking part in social movements. He has published over 50 books, articles and chapters on social and religious movements, including We Make Our Own History: Marxism and Social Movements in the Twilight of Neoliberalism; Understanding European Movements: New Social Movements, Global Justice Struggles, Anti-Austerity Protest; Silence Would be Treason: Last Writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa, and A Buddhist Crossroads: Pioneer Western Buddhists and Asian Networks 1860-1960.  His work has been translated into Japanese, German, Spanish, Catalan, Norwegian and Turkish.

Dr Cox is co-editor and co-founder of the journal Interface, one of the best-known international journals in the field of social movement studies. He also founded and is currently secretary of the Council for European Studies’ social movement research network and plays an active role in various groups on the study of social movements. His research interests include social movement theory, comparative and historical perspectives on movements in Europe, the nature of knowledge within the movements, participatory action research and the current waves of resistance against neoliberalism.

Research project

During his time in Paris as Associate Director of Studies in the College of World Studies, he will develop a project on the different forms that the study of social movements has taken in various countries, university disciplines and intellectual traditions, especially in connection with the relationship between researchers’ scientific knowledge, the practical knowledge gained by the movements’ participants and public sociology on the subject.

Publications

He published more than 50 books, articles and chapters on social and religious movement, such as We Make Our Own History: Marxism and Social Movements in the Twilight of Neoliberalism; Understanding European Movements: New Social Movements, Global Justice Struggles, Anti-Austerity Protest; Silence Would be Treason: Last Writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa; et A Buddhist Crossroads: Pioneer Western Buddhists and Asian Networks 1860-1960.  Its publications are translated in japanish, german, spanish, catalan, norvegien and turkish.