Peter Beilharz
Encyclopedia
Peter Beilharz is an Australian sociologist. Professor of Sociology at La Trobe University
, Melbourne, Beilharz is also a co-founder and editor of the international journal of social theory Thesis Eleven: critical theory and historical sociology published by Sage. Since 2002 he has been director of the Thesis Eleven Centre for Cultural Sociology at La Trobe University. He is best known for his work in social theory
and socialism
, for his intellectual biography of the Australian art historian, Bernard Smith
, and his several books on the eminent Polish sociologist, Zygmunt Bauman
. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences
.
In 1999-2000 he was the Harvard Chair of Australian Studies, Harvard University
.
and Rusden College, and after a short experience teaching high school went to Monash University, where he completed a doctorate on Trotskyism
in 1984. He taught at Monash University
, RMIT, and Melbourne University before replacing Agnes Heller
at La Trobe in 1988, where he progressed from lecturer through to personal chair in 1999. In the course of his travels Beilharz has been a visitor at Manila
, Amsterdam
, Chapel Hill
, Mexico City
, Sao Paolo and Tokyo
and a visiting fellow at Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University
. He was the William Dean Howells Fellow at Harvard Library in 2002. He is a Faculty Associate in the Sociology
Department at Yale. Beilharz has written or edited twenty books, including Labour’s Utopias (1992), Postmodern Socialism (1994), Transforming Labor (1994), Imagining the Antipodes (1997) and Zygmunt Bauman – Dialectic of Modernity (2002) and eighty papers.
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
, Melbourne, Beilharz is also a co-founder and editor of the international journal of social theory Thesis Eleven: critical theory and historical sociology published by Sage. Since 2002 he has been director of the Thesis Eleven Centre for Cultural Sociology at La Trobe University. He is best known for his work in social theory
Social theory
Social theories are theoretical frameworks which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought. An essential tool used by social scientists, theories relate to historical debates over the most valid and reliable methodologies , as well as the primacy of...
and socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, for his intellectual biography of the Australian art historian, Bernard Smith
Bernard Smith
"Father" Bernard Smith was a German-born master organ maker in England in the late seventeenth century.Smith served his apprenticeship in Germany before emigrating to England in 1667. He built an organ for the Chapel Royal and, in 1681, became the king's organ maker...
, and his several books on the eminent Polish sociologist, Zygmunt Bauman
Zygmunt Bauman
Zygmunt Bauman is a Polish sociologist who, since 1971, has resided in England after being driven out of Poland by an anti-Semitic campaign, engineered by the Communist government which he had previously supported...
. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences
Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is an autonomous, non-governmental organisation, devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It was established in 1971...
.
In 1999-2000 he was the Harvard Chair of Australian Studies, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Biography
Peter Beilharz attended Croydon High SchoolCroydon High School
Croydon High School for Girls GDST is a leading non-denominational independent school for girls, located near Croydon, Greater London, England. It is one of the schools in the Girls' Day School Trust....
and Rusden College, and after a short experience teaching high school went to Monash University, where he completed a doctorate on Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
in 1984. He taught at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
, RMIT, and Melbourne University before replacing Agnes Heller
Ágnes Heller
Ágnes Heller is a Hungarian philosopher. A prominent Marxist thinker at first, she moved onto a liberal, social-democratic position later in her career...
at La Trobe in 1988, where he progressed from lecturer through to personal chair in 1999. In the course of his travels Beilharz has been a visitor at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Sao Paolo and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and a visiting fellow at Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. He was the William Dean Howells Fellow at Harvard Library in 2002. He is a Faculty Associate in the Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
Department at Yale. Beilharz has written or edited twenty books, including Labour’s Utopias (1992), Postmodern Socialism (1994), Transforming Labor (1994), Imagining the Antipodes (1997) and Zygmunt Bauman – Dialectic of Modernity (2002) and eighty papers.