Assoc. Prof. Kevin McDonald

Background

Kevin holds a DEA and Doctorate from Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Before joining the Sociology Program at the University of Melbourne in 1996 he taught at the Phillip Institute and RMIT.

Research

Kevin's research focuses on questions of action and identity, in particular in the world of young people: from the experience of groups living contemporary social problems such as poverty and urban dislocation, to exploring new forms of commitment and identity in social movements.

His research currently is focussed in two areas: exploring the construction of identity and social relationship among drug users, and exploring the types of moral language emerging in new social conflicts.

Recent Publications

Books

Pressing Questions: Explorations in Sociology (Second Edition, Pearson, 2000).

(with R. Krieken) Sociology: Themes and Perspectives (Pearson, 2000).

Struggles for Subjectivity: Identity, Action and Youth Experience (Cambridge University Press, 1999).

Book Chapters

'De la solidarit? ? la fluidarit? : des mouvements sociaux aux mouvements d'exp?rience', in M. Wieviorka (ed.) Un autre monde est possible, Paris: Bayard (in press).

'Personal identity and the contemporary gang: reconstructing the social world', in L. Kontos (ed.) Alternative perspectives on gangs and the community, New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.

'Alain Touraine', in L. Ray & A. Elliot (eds.) Key Contemporary Social Theorists, Oxford : Blackwell, 2002.

Journal Articles

'Oneself as another: from social movement to experience movement', Current Sociology, 52 (4) 2004, pp. 575-593.

'Watch him burn', Meanjin, 58 (4) 1999: 107-121.

Refereed Articles

'L'intervention sociologique after 25 years: can it translate into English?', Qualitative Sociology, 25, 2, 2002.

'From solidarity to fluidarity: beyond collective identity - the case of globalisation conflicts', Social Movements Studies, 1, 2, 2002.

'From s11 to September 11th - implications for sociology', Journal of Sociology, 3, 2002.

Conference Papers

'After collective identity: movements as music', The Australian Sociological Association 2004 Conference proceedings.

The past decade has witnessed an extraordinary rise of new global movements that throw into question the way we think about culture, power, and action in a globalizing world. This book surveys the field and explores some of the most significant of these movements, including antiglobalization and new Islamic movements.

These movements require a rethinking of the very idea of social movement, a concept that owes a great deal to the civic and industrial culture that was so critical to Western modernity, but may be less adequate when exploring forms of culture, action, and communication in a globalized world. This book explores key dimensions of these movements, the tensions they confront, and the crises to which they are subject. It will provide an essential text for students on globalization and social movements.