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Dr Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou
Associate Professor in Sociology
IOE - Social Research Institute
UCL Institute of Education
- Joined UCL
- 11th Jan 2017
Research summary
My research spans social and political theory, political and economic sociology, and social movements studies. My projects broadly explore the rise of new social imaginaries and technologies of resistance under conditions of radical uncertainty. My first monograph, SPECULATIVE COMMUNITIES: LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY IN A FINANCIALIZED WORLD (University of Chicago Press, 2022) examines the ways that speculation has moved beyond financial markets to shape fundamental aspects of our social, political, and even intimate lives. My current book project is an intellectual history of conspiritorial politics in 20th century capitalism.
My articles, essays and reviews have appeared in international outlets including Sociological Review, Sociology - The Journal of the British Sociological Association, Human Relations, Organization Studies, British Journal of Sociology, Journal of Cultural Economy, Journal of Social Policy, Public Administration, Migration & Society, Sociological Research Online, Public Seminar, Los Angeles Review of Books and ROAR Magazine.
Postgraduate supervision
I welcome applications from candidates interested in undertaking PhD research in the intersections of social theory and political economy, particularly in the following areas:
- the sociology of finance & financialisation
- the politics of uncertainty & conspiracy
- capitalism studies, especially Max Weber & Cornelius Castoriadis
- collective movements, activism and direct action
- new nationalisms
- speculative thinking & political imagination
Teaching summary
- Social Theory & The Study of Contemporary Social Problems, MSc (Module Leader)
- Power, State and Collective Action, BSc year 3 (Module Leader)
Current PhD students
- Héctor Rios-Jara (Topic: 'Neoliberalism and social conflict - structure and contingency of anti-austerity student protests in England and Chile') 1st Supervisor
- Emily Clark (Topic: 'Basic Income: a technique of neoliberal governance?') 1st Supervisor
- Edward To (Topic: 'The changing role of Hong Kong's bureaucracy') 1st Supervisor
- Yixuan Fan (Topic: 'The new Xenologies of China') 2nd Supervisor
Education
- University of Cambridge
- Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy | 2013
Biography
I am Associate Professor (Reader) of Sociology at UCL's Social Research Institute, which I joined in January 2017 from King's College London. I have a BSc in Economics, and a PhD in organisational sociology from the University of Cambridge. I am a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, a member of the American Sociological Association, and a Senior Editor at Public Seminar.
At UCL I am Head of the Sociology & Social Theory Research Group, Deputy Director of the BSc Sociology programme, and member of the Steering Committees of the Urban Laboratory and the Institute of Advanced Studies Research Theme 'Growth'.