Dr Richard Kilminster

Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Cumulative research into the history of sociology, the Enlightenment and the sociology of knowledge has taken me into fundamental issues and to the borderlines with philosophy and psychoanalysis.

For myself and the international grouping of 'figurational' sociologists, Norbert Elias provides a powerful synthesis of perspectives. I am Chair of the Editorial Advisory Group for the Complete Works of Norbert Elias in English and editor of Volume One: The Early Writings, UCD Press, 2006.

Research Interests

My specialisms are as follows.

Classical and contemporary sociological theory
History of sociology
Sociology of knowledge
Sociology and philosophy

My current research is about the selective use of psychoanalytic schools in sociology - object relations theory versus ego-psychology; action theory as impeding the diagnosis of the ills of contemporary society; and assessing the theoretical advances of classical sociology.

Teaching

I teach various areas in the history of sociology, classical and contemporary theory, the sociology of knowledge and theories of the modern personality.

I have taught theory on the MA and one of the main first year sociology modules 'Sociological Thinking' for many years. I also teach a third level module on contemporary self-identity.

PhD Supervision

I supervise research postgraduates in topics related to my research and teaching areas.

Selected recent PhD completions under my supervision

The Sociological Problem of Religion: Reassessing the Durkheimian Tradition.
Post-Ironic Society: Corporate Modernity and the Appropriations of the Self.
A Study of the Tragic in the Writings of Georg Simmel.
Freedom in the English language Writings of Zygmunt Bauman.

Key Publications

Chapters in books

Kilminster, R (1990) 'Structuration Theory as a Worldview', In: Christopher Bryant and David Jary (eds) Giddens's Theory of Structuration: A Critical Appraisal, Routledge.