Professor John Gabriel

I joined London Guildhall University in 1998 as Professor of Sociology and Head of Department of Sociology and Applied Social Studies. Prior to that I worked in the Departments of Sociology and Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham and Economics and Social Studies at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. I studied sociology both as an undergraduate and postgraduate at the University of Liverpool. My PhD thesis was on theories of race and racism. Although ethnicity and racism have been the focus of my teaching, I have also taught courses on sociological and cultural theory, cinema and society, globalization, the sociology of education, qualitative research methods and life history research.

The focus of my research interests has centred around racism in relationship to politics, culture and the media. My fieldwork has been mostly conducted in England but also the United States and I did spend six months in Nicaragua in 1992 working as a volunteer and studying ethnic autonomy on the Atlantic Coast and the movement for indigenous rights.  I have published a number of books as well as articles and chapters in edited collections. My books include

• The Local Politics of Race, co-authored with Gideon Ben-Tovim, Kathleen Stredder and Ian Law (Macmillan, 1986)
• Racism Culture, Markets (Routledge, 1994)
• Whitewash (Routledge 1998)
• Race and Power, co-authored with Gargi Bhattacharyya and Stephen Small, (Routledge 2001).

I am now head of the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at London Metropolitan University which, as you’ll see from the website, is large and intellectually diverse and, from a personal point of view, an extremely fulfilling and exciting environment to work. What makes it particularly so is the rich mix of undergraduate, postgraduate  and professional programmes as well as the range of research expertise and interests. The applied focus encourages a commitment to practice-based learning and evidence-based research- both well informed by theory. A number of colleagues and I have recently published an article based on work in the Department around the theme of ‘public sociology’ which appeared in The American Sociologist.

I have a strong interest in oral history, one initially inspired by some wonderful testimonial writings of community activists in central and Latin America and my visit to Nicaragua in the early 1990s. I have since been involved in a number of community based projects in London including those on Refugee Community Histories, one exploring those who worked in the Declining Industries along the Thames Gateway and another looking at the experiences of Children in Care. I have written book chapters and articles on these projects, including a number with my colleague Dr Jenny Harding. I also contribute to her MA in Life History Research, which itself grew out of our involvement in the Refugee Community Histories project.   

Outside my formal university role I have been an external examiner for different HEIs since 1980 and, since 1996, I've acted as a subject reviewer in sociology for HEFCE.  I have also been active in voluntary organisations, including Wolverhampton Community Relations Council and West Midlands Anti-Deportation Campaign and Chair of Hackney Borough Standards Committee and Independent Remuneration Panel from 2001-4. I have been on the Board of Trustees at Toynbee Hall since 2002 and I am Chair of its Governance and Search Committee.

I live with my partner Stephanie and our two daughters Asha and Polly in Highbury, north London.