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John Solomos

Professor Emeritus

Department of Sociology

 


J dot Solomos at warwick dot ac dot uk
X/Twitter: @BaggieJohn
Mobile: +44(0)7852237582

Profile

I was appointed to the University of Warwick as a Professor of Sociology in April 2013. I served as Head of Department from then until March 2018. I was also Head of Department during 2021-22. I also served as Director of Research and taken on various other roles in the Department and the University.

I became Professor Emeritus in October 2023 and reamin an active member of the research culture of the Department of Sociology through the Research Cluster on Race, Ethnicity and Migration.

Academic Background

I was a student at Kennington Secondary Modern in South London. I studied at the University of Sussex for both my undergraduate and doctoral research.

I began my academic career at the Universities of Aston and Warwick as a Research Associate at the ESRC Centre of Research in Ethnic Relations from 1980 to 1987. I was appointed to a Lectureship in Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck College in 1987. In 1994 I moved to the University of Southampton as a Professor of Sociology and Social Policy. I then moved to the London South Bank University as a Professor of Sociology in 1998. From 2001 to 2013 I was a Professor of Sociology at City, University of London. I have acted as Head of Department at Birkbeck, Southampton, City University London and the University of Warwick.

Professional Roles

During my career, I have served in a number of professional roles. I served as Chair of the Heads and Professors of Sociology from 2015 to 2020, and in that capacity, I served on the British Sociological Association's Advisory Forum. I have previously served on the Social Policy Panel of the 2001 RAE and the Sociology Sub-Panel of the 2014 REF. I have also served on the ESRC Strategic Research Board. Outside of the UK, I have acted as a specialist advisor for the Academy of Finland, and the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research. I have served on the advisory boards of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at the University of Oxford and the Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) at the University of Manchester.

Professional Recognition

2018: British Sociological Association, Distinguished Service Award

2007: Award from the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation in Honour of Work on Programme of Research Cooperation with Distinguished Overseas Scientists

2003: Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research Interests

My main areas of scholarship and research lie in the areas of the sociology of race and ethnicity, the study of racism and anti-racism, processes of racialisation, political mobilisation and race, multiculturalism and comparative race and ethnic relations.

I have attracted research funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, Leverhulme Trust, Nuffield Foundation and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Trust.

I am currently the PI for an ESRC-funded project on the Open City, which is focused on London. The project is a collaborative one, involving Professor Michael Keith (University of Oxford), Professor Steve Pile (Open University) and Professor Karim Murji (University of West London). The project has two research staff, Dr Susannah Cramer-Greenbaum and Dr Eda Yazici. It will also involve a number of Creative Fellows at certain stages of the project.

Research Students and Postdocs

I enjoy working with research students working in my areas of research and scholarly interest as well as in broader areas of sociology. I have a wide range of experience in supervising students working on topics outside of my own specific interests. If you are interested in working on your PhD with me I would be pleased to discuss this with you.

If you would like to work with me in a postdoc position you are also welcome to get in touch and discuss your ideas. More information about postdoc opportunities are available on the Department of Sociology web pages.

Invited Lectures and Plenaries

2021

‘Where Do We Go from Here? Research and Political Agendas on Race, Racism and Immigration’ Paper for German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), Online Lecture Series on International Perspectives on the Study of Racism – Definitions, Concepts, Measures, 11 October

‘Debate on Nation and Race’ Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism, 15 July

‘Where Do We Go from Here? Research and Political Agendas on Race, Racism and Immigration’ Semi-Plenary on Racism in Europe: A Cross-National Perspective, Congress of Swiss Sociological Association, 28 June

‘Conversation on How to Fight Racism in Professional Football with Yvan Gastaut and Marco Martiniello’ Conference organised by Standard de Liege and CEDEM, University of Liege, 20 March

‘Is There Room for a Cross-Atlantic Dialogue on Theories of Race and Racism? From Silences to Conversations’ Fondation Maison de Sciences de l’Homme, Paris, 6 January

2020

‘Racism and Migration: Linkages, Absences and Evolving Research Agendas’ Seminar on Intersections and Dissonances between Race, Ethnicity and Migration Studies, COMPAS, University of Oxford, 15 October

‘Conversation on Arts and Antiracism with Marco Martiniello’ Conference on Arts and Antiracism in Post-Migration Societies, University of Padova, 11 December

 2019

‘Race, Racism and Social Policy’ Plenary Session at Social Policy Association Annual Conference, University of Durham, 8-10 July

2018

‘Racism and Migration: Linkages, Absences and Evolving Research Agendas’ Workshop on Sociology of Migration: Past, Present and Future, HETS-HESSO Geneva, 6-7 December

‘Race, Nation, Class: Reception, Impact and Influence’ Conference on 30 Years of ‘Race, Nation, Class’: Ambiguous Power Relations, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 15-17 March