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Mr Joe Rigby

Thesis Working Title

The excess of migration

Research Interests

'A problem is always reflected in false problems while it is being solved.' Gilles Deleuze

Sociology is an essentially clinical discipline. It proceeds inductively, rather than deductively, by way of careful observation and under the constraints of the situation at hand. As in medicine the objective is never simply the treatment of symptoms but also the clarification of problems or conditions, the formation of diagnoses which might help better administer a cure. It is this 'diagnostic' dimension of sociology which interests me. The capacity not simply to find solutions to social problems, and it is certainly debatable just how successful or indeed harmful sociology has been in this respect, but to re-evaluate problems themselves.

I obtained my first degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University in 2005 before coming to Lancaster in 2006 to study an MA in Sociological Research, part of a (1+3) Economic and Social Research Council funded studentship. Since then I have developed an interest in the relationship between social theory and philosophy, with a particular interest in contemporary continental philosophy, political thought inspired by a reassessment of Marxism, and post-Cartesian theories of political subjectivity.

My PhD thesis is titled 'The excess of migration.' I draw on case studies taken from the British and European contexts to develop a critique of the so-called 'problem of immigration.' I offer an analysis of some of the political and sociological dynamics through which, at both institutional and popular levels, certain forms of migration become objects of resentment and subject to strategies of normalisation and control. Adopting a diagnostic approach I aim to displace common sense and Statist constructions of the excess of migration, developing an alternative problematic structured around the themes of racism, sovereignty, ethics, freedom, and equality. My supervisors are Bülent Diken and John Urry.

I held a temporary lectureship in the academic year 2010-2011 with responsibility for running the final-year undergraduate sociology module 'Terror.' In the academic year 2009-2010 I was a seminar tutor in sociology. I ran seminars and marked essays and exams on the first-year undergraduate course 'Introduction to Sociology' as well as the module 'Terror.' I enjoy teaching and am interested in developing my thinking and practice of critical and emancipatory pedagogy.

Last year I worked with a collective of PhD students from across Lancaster University to organise a year-long seminar series on 'The University in Crisis.' I also organised, together with Michaela Spencer, the 2008-2009 Sociology Departmental Seminar Series.

In early 2013 the journal Citizenship Studies will publish an article I co-authored (with Raphael Schlembach), titled 'Impossible protest: noborders in Calais.' The article concerns 'noborder' activism and the struggles of undocumented migrants in the French port of Calais and is informed by my involvement with the UK noborders network. It has been accepted for publication in a special edition of Citizenship Studies on 'Immigrant Protest.' I was interviewed by Shift Magazine on the situation in Calais in 2009. You can read my short commentary here: http://shiftmag.co.uk/?p=315

Associated research centres: Centre for Mobilities Research (CeMoRe), Migrancy Research Group

Keywords: Marx, Marxism, Migration, Philosophy, Political philosophy, Post-structuralism, Security, Social movements, Social theory, Subjectivity, Terrorism

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