Mathew Humphrey
Professor of Political Theory, Faculty of Social Sciences
Contact
Biography
Professor of Political Theory and Co-Director, Centre for the Study of Political Ideologies.
I left school at 16 and joined what was then British Rail, on the footplate. After a decade or so I'd had enough of driving trains around the Kent countryside, and couldn't imagine doing it for another forty years without succumbing to some kind of madness. Education seemed like a way out, so I took some part-time A-levels, applied to go to university, and eleven years after joining BR I left, heading for Bath to read Economics and Politics as a mature student. It was culture shock, but I adapted rather better than I ever expected to, and came out with a good enough degree to then go to Oxford for an MPhil. If Bath was like going to another country, Oxford was like interplanetary travel. Deeply weird but, after some deep breaths, very inspiring - and a place where I met some wonderful, smart, funny people.
Now Professor of Political Theory and Editor of the Journal of Political Ideologies.
DPhil, Nuffield College, Oxford 1998
MPhil, Nuffield College, Oxford, 1995
BSc. Economics and Politics (1st Class Hons), Bath, 1993
Expertise Summary
Theories of Ideology
Environmental Political Theory
Riders' Rights and the Politics of Motorcycling
Research Summary
My current research stems from an interest in 'everyday' political thinking. I have researched the ideologies of motorcycle riders-rights groups, and I am now working with some of these groups as… read more
Recent Publications
ANDERSSON-HUDSON, JESSICA, ROSE, JONATHAN, HUMPHREY, MATHEW, KNIGHT, WIL and O'HARA, SARAH, 2019. The Structure of Attitudes Towards shale Gas Extraction in the United Kingdom Energy Policy. 129, 693-697
I am interested in supervising students who want to work in the following areas:
- Political ideology/ideologies
- Theories of ideology
- Environmental political theory
- The politics of motorcycling/powered two-wheeled transport
Supervision as first- or co-supervisor to successfully completed PhDs:
Marco Genovese (successfully defended 2021)
Wil Knight (successfully defended 2018)
Zeynep Clulow (successfully defended, 2018)
Marianna Poborezhskaya (successfully defended 2013)
Eloise Harding (successfully defended 2012)
David Wills (successfully defended 2008)
David Layfield (successfully defended 2006)
Andrew Robinson (successfully defended 2005)
Current Research
My current research stems from an interest in 'everyday' political thinking. I have researched the ideologies of motorcycle riders-rights groups, and I am now working with some of these groups as 'impact partners' for a project on the role of 'powered two-wheelers' (PTWs) in transport planning in the UK.
Related publication: Humphrey, M & Andersson-Hudson, J (2022) '"The Constant is that Governments Regard Motorcyclists as a Problem": Riders' Rights Activists in the United Kingdom on Threats, Political Mobilization, and Freedom' International Journal of Motorcycle Studies Vol 18. https://motorcyclestudies.org/volume-18-2022/the-constant-is-that-governments-regard-motorcyclists-as-a-problem-riders-rights-activists-in-the-united-kingdom-on-threats-political-mobilization-and-freedommathew-humphrey-jessica/
My research involves the conceptual analysis of ideological discourse, in particular the study of political ideas as they operate at the 'everyday' level. Recent work in this field includes a conceptual history of the idea of 'authenticity' across various domains, and an analysis of crowd-sourced comments and images on key political concepts such as justice, freedom, and community. Other publications include:
- Humphrey, M., Umbach, M & Clulow, Z. (forthcoming 2019) 'The Political is Personal: An Analysis of Crowd-Sourced Political Ideas and Images from a Massive Open Online Course' Journal of Political Ideologies 24(2)
- Authenticity: The Cultural History of a Political Concept London: Palgrave Pivot (Jan 2018) ISBN: 978-3-319-68565-6 (50% with M. Umbach).
From 2015-2017 I was also a lead-educator on a 'Massive Open Online Course' Propaganda and Ideology in Everyday Life, convened in conjunction with The British Library.
My other main area of interest is in environmental politics. I have two recently completed projects in this area.
1. I led the UoN Social Science strand for 'ENOS: Enabling Onshore CO2 Storage in Europe'. This was a multidisciplinary Euro12.3m Horizon 2020 funded project working with partners in The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and elsewhere, working to test the viability of onshore CO2 storage technology, from experimental work to pilot sites.
2. The second area of work explored public attitudes to shale gas in the UK. University of Nottingham surveys on public attitudes to shale gas have been running since 2012 and have featured prominently media stories about shale gas development.
Related publications:
- Andersson-Hudson, J., Rose, J., Humphrey, M., Knight, W., and O'Hara, S., 2019, 'The Structure of Attitudes Towards Shale Gas Extraction in the United Kingdom'. Energy Policy, 129, pp.693-697.
- Stedman, R.C., Evesen, D, O'Hara, S.L. and Humphrey, M., 2016. 'Comparing the relationship between knowledge and support for hydraulic fracturing between residents of the United States and the United Kingdom' Energy Research and Social Science. 20, 2016, pp.142-148
- Andersson-Hudson, J, Knight, W, Humphrey, M and O'Hara, Sarah, 2016. 'Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom' Energy Policy. 98 (November), 2016, pp.582-589
ANDERSSON-HUDSON, JESSICA, ROSE, JONATHAN, HUMPHREY, MATHEW, KNIGHT, WIL and O'HARA, SARAH, 2019. The Structure of Attitudes Towards shale Gas Extraction in the United Kingdom Energy Policy. 129, 693-697 EVENSEN, DARRICK, STEDMAN, RICHARD, O'HARA, SARAH, HUMPHREY, MATHEW and ANDERSSON-HUDSON, JESSICA, 2017. Variation in Beliefs About 'Fracking' Between the UK and the US Environmental Research Letters. 12, 124004 ANDERSSON-HUDSON, JESSICA, KNIGHT, WILLIAM, HUMPHREY, MATHEW and O'HARA, SARAH, 2016. Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom Energy Policy. 98(November), 582-589 HUMPHREY, M., 2012. Getting 'real' about political ideas: conceptual morphology and the realist critique of Anglo-American political philosophy. In: JACKSON, B. and STEARS, M., eds., Liberalism as ideology: essays in honour of Michael Freeden Oxford University Press. 241-258
HUMPHREY, MATHEW, 2010. Green Political Theory. In: BELL, DUNCAN, ed., Ethics and World Politics Oxford University Press. 181-199
HUMPHREY, M I, 2009. Mapping the Moral Future: Environmental Problems and What We Owe to Future Generations Res Publica. 15(1), 85-95
HUMPHREY, M. I., 2008. Rational Irrationality and the 'Paradox' of Climate Change BC Journal of International Affairs. Fall, 117-126
HUMPHREY, M., 2008. Environmentalism, fairness, and public reasons Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy. 11(2), 177-192 HUMPHREY, M.I., 2007. Ecological politics and democratic theory: the challenge to the deliberative ideal London: Routledge.
HUMPHREY, M., 2007. `Imagined Autonomy': or, Any Colour You Like, as Long as it's Green CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THEORY. VOL 6(NUMB 2), 246-261 HUMPHREY, M. and STEARS, M., 2006. Animal rights protest and the challenge to deliberative democracy Economy and Society. 35(3), 400-422 HUMPHREY, M.I., ed., 2006. Taking Ideology Seriously: 21st Century Reconfigurations Routledge, London and New York.
HUMPHREY, M., 2005. (De)Contesting Ideology: The Struggle over the Meaning of the Struggle over Meaning Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy. VOL 8(NUMB 2), 225-246 HUMPHREY, M.I., 2004. ÄEcology, Democracy and Autonomy: a Problem of Wishful Thinking. In: Liberal Democracy and Environmentalism Routledge, London and New York. 115-126
HUMPHREY, M.I., 2003. Intuition, reason, and environmental argument. In: LIGHT, A. and DE-SHALIT, A., eds., Moral and Political Reasoning in Environmental Practice. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.. 45-76
HUMPHREY, M.I., 2003. Environmental policy. In: DUNLEAVY, P ET AL., ed., Developments in British Politics 7 Palgrave Macmillan Ltd, Basingstoke, UK. 302-20
HUMPHREY, M.I., 2003. Nonbasic environmental goods and social justice. In: BELL, D.A. and DE-SHALIT, A., eds., Forms of Justice: Critical Responses to David Millers Political Philosophy. Rowman and Littlefield, Inc, Boulder. 331-46
HUMPHREY, M.I., 2002. The ideologies of green welfare. In: FITZPATRICK, T. and CAHILL, M., eds., Environment and welfare: towards a green social policy Palgrave Macmillan Ltd, Basingstoke, UK. 43-60
HUMPHREY, M., 2001. Reassessing Ecology and Political Theory Environmental Politics. VOL 10(PART 1), 1-6
HUMPHREY, M., 2001. Three Conceptions of Irreversibility and Environmental Ethics: Some Problems Environmental Politics. VOL 10(PART 1), 138-154
HUMPHREY, M.I., ed., 2001. Political Theory and the Environment: a Reassessment Cass (Frank) & Co. Ltd, Liford, Essex, UK.
2000. Ontological Determinism and Deep Ecology: Evading the Moral Questions?. In: Beneath the Surface: Critical Essays in the Philosophy of Deep Ecology MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.. 85-105
HUMPHREY, M., 2000. `Nature' in deep ecology and social ecology: contesting the core Journal of Political Ideologies. VOL 5(PART 2), 247-268
HUMPHREY, M., 1999. Deep Ecology and the Irrelevance of Morality Environmental Ethics. VOL 21(NUMBER 1), 75-80 HUMPHREY, M., 1997. The "Self-Realization Thesis" in Deep Ecology: Beyond Politics. In: Contemporary Political Studies 1997 Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom, Belfast, UK. 598-606