Dr Keir Milburn
Lecturer in Political Economy and Organisation
Contact details
- Tel: +44 (0)116 252 2008
- Email: km256@le.ac.uk
- Office: Room 610, Level 6, Ken Edwards building
- Office hours: Friday 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm
Personal details
I joined the (then) School of Management in April 2011, having previously taught at the University of Leeds. I hold a PhD in Politics, an MA in Cultural Studies and a BA in Political Studies.
Research
My research takes place on the boundaries between organisational theory, political theory and cultural studies. I focus, in particular, on how organisational structures are impacted by transformation in the subjectivities, values and desires that animate them.
- Political generations, in particular the composition and political imaginaries of the ‘young, new socialist, left’.
- Radical municipalism and ‘Public Commons Partnerships’ as transitionary policies to address our current economic and environmental crises.
- The role of cultural activism, countercultural movements and cultural policy on social change.
Recent publications
Milburn, K. (2019) Generation Left, London: Polity http://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509532230
Milburn, K. (2019) Inequality created a political generation gap. Which party will bridge it? The Guardian (27/11/19):https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/27/inequality-political-generation-gap-labour-conservatives
Milburn, K. (2019) Like it or not, ‘Generation Snowflake’ has got a raw deal. The Guardian (21/6/19): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/21/generation-snowflake-young-people-wages-housing-leftwing
Milburn, K. (2019) The old flock to Farage and the young are on climate strike. How did age come to define our politics? The Independent (24/5/19): https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nigel-farage-climate-change-strike-brexit-party-generation-divide-inequality-a8929126.html
Milburn, K. Russell, B. (2019) Public-Common Partnerships: Building New Circuits of Collective Ownership. Report for Common Wealth Think Tank: https://www.common-wealth.co.uk/reports/public-common-partnerships-building-new-circuits-of-collective-ownership
Milburn, K. Russell, B. (2018) What can an institution do? Towards Public-Commons-Partnerships and a new common sense. Renewal, 26(4)http://renewal.org.uk/files/Milburn_Russell_what_can_an_institution_do.pdf
Milburn, K. (2018). The comedian as populist leader: Postironic narratives in an age of cynical irony. Leadership. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715018809750
Harvie, D. Milburn, K. (2016) On the uses of fairy dust: Contagion, sorcery and the crafting of other worlds, Culture and Organization, 24:3, 179-195,DOI: 10.1080/14759551.2015.1118636
I am also co-host the #ACFM podcast on Novara Media https://novaramedia.com/category/audio/acfm/
Previous Books
The Free Association [Harvie, D., Milburn, K. and Watts, D.] (2011) Moments of Excess: Movements, Protest and Everyday Life. Oakland, C.A.: PM Press.
Harvie, D., Milburn, K. Mueller. T. Nunes, R. Osterweil, M. Summer, K. Trott, B. (Eds) (2010) What Would it Mean to Win?, Oakland, C.A.: PM Press.
Harvie, D., Milburn, K., Trott, B. and Watts, D. (Eds) (2005) Shut Them Down! The G8, Gleneagles 2005 and the Movement of Movements, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Autonomedia.
Reviews and Discussion of My Work
Davies, W. (2020) Bloody Furious: Review of Generation Left. London Review of Books, Vol. 42 No. 4, 20 February 2020. https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n04/william-davies/bloody-furious
Washington Post: The people power behind Sanders’s debt cancellation plan (Sarah Jaffe): https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/26/people-power-behind-sanderss-debt-cancellation-plan/
New Statesman: It’s easy to hate baby boomers - but resentment dulls our political imagination. (Eleanor Kate - 26/11/19)https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2019/11/it-s-easy-hate-baby-boomers-resentment-dulls-our-political-imagination
Bloomberg Opinion: Comedians in Politics Just Isn’t Funny Anymore. (Leonid Bershidsky - 3/10/19) https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-10-03/comedians-in-politics-it-just-isn-t-funny-anymore
Wired magazine: The left-wing meme-makers trying to reclaim meme culture (Emily Reynolds): https://www.wired.co.uk/article/left-wing-memes
Supervision
I am interested in supervising students who share any of my research interests. Current or recent doctoral students:
- Claire Deschner – ‘The performative practice of prefiguration: performance hierarchies in anarchist organising.’
- Margherita Grazioli - 'The mobile commons of migrant communities'
- Gareth Brown - 'Can a Knife of Shadows Cut Real Flesh from a Living Tree? The Organisation of Imaginal Commons'
Teaching
- MN1009 Management Inquiry and Analysis – a core first year undergraduate module
- MN2120 The Business Environment – a core second year undergraduate module
- MN2125 Crisis Management – an optional second year undergraduate module
- MN3145 Managing in a Post-Crisis World – an optional third year undergraduate module
