Tom Boland.

Tom Boland lectures in Sociology at University College Cork. He has two principal research interests:

Firstly, the sociology of unemployment and welfare policy. For over a decade, he has conducted interviews with unemployed people on their experience of redundancy, being out of work and job seeking. Simultaneously, he conducts national and comparative research on welfare policy, particularly around activation, that is, the mixture of supports and pressure exerted by the state – and private companies – on unemployed citizens. Reflecting this research, he has produced three books, each with Dr. Ray Griffin (SETU); The Sociology of Unemployment (2015), The Reformation of Welfare (2021) and Workocracy (Forthcoming). He has given evidence to multiple parliamentary committees and featured frequently in newspapers and radio.

Secondly, the sociology of culture and critique. Since becoming involved with Occupy and anti-Austerity protests during the Great Financial Crash, he has been researching how critique is used in public disputes. At present, he is researching how critique is ‘co-opted’ by the right-wing; that is, how rhetorical moves, like ‘revealing the truth’ or ‘unmasking ideology’ are borrowed from the left and used for anti-left purposes. This research is the basis of a forthcoming book Taking Criticism, which builds on a more theoretical precursor The Spectacle of Critique (2019).

Tom will speak on the topic of  ‘This Land is Our Land; Confronting Extremism  and Reclaiming Democracy.’ as a member of a panel discussion with Gema Kloppe- Santamaria and John Donoghue. 

Moderator. John Barimo

Friday evening 24th july at 7.30 pm at the Maldron Hotel, Shandon.

All are welcome.