Frank Furedi
Dr. Frank Furedi, author and social commentator is an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent in Canterbury.
Furedi’s work has explored the different manifestations of the way that contemporary western culture attempts to give meaning to social experience. The current problems that society has in engaging with uncertainty have focused his interest on the workings of contemporary risk consciousness and loss aversion.
Author of over 20 books, most of his work in recent years has been devoted to the development of a sociology of fear and an exploration of the cultural developments that influence the construction of contemporary risk consciousness. His books have been translated into 14 languages.
Although his work on different forms of social anxieties is strongly influenced by the insights of social constructionist sociology, his past training in field work and history bring to the study of social problems a historical and empirical dimension. Elements of this approach are outlined in Population and Development (1997), The Silent War (1998) The Culture of Fear (1997, 2002 – new revised edition 2007) and in particular, How Fear Works: The Culture of Fear in the 21st Century(2018). These texts examine the problematisation of different forms of social anxieties (race, population and risk) and have provided him with an opportunity to elaborate a sociological approach that synthesises the methods of historical inquiry with the insights of sociological investigation.
Furedi’s studies on the problem of fear has run in parallel with his exploration of the problem of cultural authority. Since his Authority, A Sociological History(2013) he has published a study a study The First World War: Still No End In Sight – which interprets this event as the precursor of today’s Culture Wars. His study, Populism And The Culture Wars In Europe: the conflict of values between Hungary and the EU, discusses the sociological implications of the tension between populists and anti-populist political currents.
Professor Furedi’s approach towards the contemporary challenges facing education, culture and intellectual life is outlined in the in the book Where Have All The Intellectual Gone; Confronting 21st Century Philistinism. He is now engaged on a study of populism and the crisis of democracy.
Furedi’s books and articles provide an authoritative yet lively account of key developments in contemporary cultural life. Using his insight as a professional sociologist, Furedi has produced a series of agenda-setting books that have been widely discussed in the media. Furedi regularly comments on radio and television. In the past year he has appeared on Newsnight, Sky and BBC News, The Today Programme, and a variety of other radio television shows. His has been interviewed by the media in Australia, Canada, the United States, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Brazil, United States, Germany and other countries.
Furedi’s articles are published in The New Scientist, The Guardian, The Independent, The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Express, The Daily Mail, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, Toronto Globe and Mail, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Times Higher Education Supplement, Spiked-online, The Times Literary Supplement, Harvard Business Review, Die Welt and Die Zeit amongst others.
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