PROFESSOR Gary Wickham
BA (Hons) MA (Hons) PhD

Gary Wickham is Professor of Sociology. He has worked at Murdoch since 1985, having gained his BA (Hons) at Macquarie University, his MA (Hons) at the University of Melbourne, and his PhD at the University of Melbourne. He is ranked amongst the top ten sociologists in Australia in terms of international impact.

He has pursued two broad lines of inquiry:

1. The study of the intersection of society, law, politics, and culture (at the level of states and in more micro settings). Much of this work features an investigation into the best ways in which the thinking of Michel Foucault might be employed, particularly with regard to social research methods. This line of inquiry is reflected more in his publications between 1983 and (roughly) 2004.

2. The study of the way in which each of society, law, politics, state, sovereignty, and culture (along with other elements, such as morality, reason, and religion) has been and continues to be understood within the social sciences and humanities academy, with the development of arguments about how they might be better understood. This line of inquiry, reflected more in his publications between (roughly) 2005 and the present, has seen him adopt a more critical tone towards Foucault and develop a special interest in a number of early modern thinkers, especially Thomas Hobbes

• Social theory
• Law and society

Units taught in 2012

• SOC262 Sociology of Law
• SOC296 Power, Security and Modern Life
• SOC134 Introduction to Sociology (three guest lectures)

• The intersection of society, politics, law, state, sovereignty and morality
• The history and practice of sociology
• Sociological methods

• Sociology’s objects and the discipline’s relevance
• Hobbes’s commitment to society as a product of sovereignty
• The failure of governance and the governance of failure (with Jeff Malpas)

No awards in the last five years, no external grants in the last five years

Citations

Google Scholar lists 1174 citations of my work (at 14 January 2012). The breakdown of these citations is:

379 citations of co-authored book (with Alan Hunt) Foucault and Law

379 citations of co-authored book (with Gavin Kendall) Using Foucault’s Methods

46 citations of co-authored book (with Gavin Kendall) Understanding Culture

19 citations of co-edited book (with George Pavlich) Rethinking Law

80 citations of co-authored paper (with Jeff Malpas) in ANZJS (1995)

76 citations of sole-authored paper in Economy & Society (1983)

119 citations of other sole-authored papers or sole-edited book

76 citations of other co-authored papers

Benchmark of Citations

My citation count of 1169 puts me in the top 10 scholars in Australian sociology.

[This ranking was arrived at by using the ‘Author’ function of the ‘Google Scholar Advanced’ citation database to count the total citations of all 16 scholars (of which I am one) on the recently published list of 16 scholars ‘located in Australia who have a major impact on theoretical developments in sociology worldwide’ (published in the latest edition of Australia’s main sociology text book, Van Krieken et al Sociology, 2010, p. 24)].

Prizes

1999 Mayer Prize for best article in the Australian Journal of Political Science (for ‘Democracy and Instrumentalism’, co-authored with Jeff Malpas)

National and international conference presentations since 2007

2011 The Australian Sociological Association Conference, Newcastle

2011 Australian Law and Society Conference, Wollongong

2010 The Australian Sociological Association Conference, Sydney

2009 The Australian Sociological Association Conference, Canberra

2009 Global Corporate Constitutionalism Conference, Copenhagen

2009 Society of Legal Scholars Conference, Keele, UK

2009 International Law and Society Conference, Onati, Spain

2008 The Australian Sociological Association Conference, Melbourne

2008 Australian Law and Society Conference, Sydney

2008 Australian Society for Legal Philosophy Conference, Melbourne

2007 ‘States of (In)security’ Conference, Carleton University, Ottawa

2007 ‘State, Security and Subject Formation’, Edmonton

2007 6^th International Roundtable on the Semiotics of Law, Wollongong

National and international seminar presentations since 2007

2011 Law School, Victoria University, Melbourne

2010 Law School, University of NSW (two presentations)

2009 Law School, University of Westminster, London

2009 Law School, Birkbeck College, University of London

2009 Law School, University of Durham

2008 Department of Sociology, University of Melbourne

2008 School of Social Sciences, RMIT

2007 Department of Sociology, Lingnan University, Hong Kong

2007 Law and Society Seminar Series, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

University Governance

Academic Chair of Sociology 2009-2011 (and 1995-1998 and 2002-2004)

Member of the Murdoch University Academic Council 2009-2010

Broader Governance Achievements

Sole External Reviewer of the Sociology Program, University of Queensland 2010

Member of the Review of the Murdoch Business School 2009

Invited Expert on the 2008 Review of Honours Programs in the School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle

UNIVERSITY

Member of the Murdoch University Postgraduate Degrees and Scholarships Committee 2010

 Member of Murdoch University School of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Committee 2009-2010

 Member of Murdoch University School of Social Sciences and Humanities Disciplines Committee 2009-2010

Service on Murdoch Committees

Law Program Committee

Politics Program Committee

Sociology Program Committee

School Teaching and Learning Committee

PROFESSION

Service on Journal Editorial/Advisory Boards

2008-2012 International Journal for the Semiotics of Law

1999-2012 Journal of Law and Society

2001-2005 Journal of Sociology

1988-1991 Thesis Eleven

1982-1984 Melbourne Working Papers

1980-1984 Journal of Australian Political Economy

Membership of Professional Associations

The Australian Sociological Association

Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand

Australian Society of Legal Philosophy

Service on the National Executive of the Australian Sociological Association

My service to the Executive of The Australian Sociological Association between 1989 and 1991 saw me promoting the standards mentioned immediately above and also seeking to promote the interests of the discipline in Western Australia, particularly at Murdoch, being Western Australia’s only stand-alone sociology provider.

Service as a Judge for the Australian Sociological Association’s Jean Martin Award

In my service as a judge for the Jean Martin Award for the most outstanding PhD in the discipline (1995, 1997, 2003), I have always attempted to maintain the highest intellectual standards.

Service on the National Organising Committee, Australian Law and Society Association 1987-1991

In the Law and Society area, having been heavily involved in the field in Australia since 1985, I have tried to make the interdisciplinary approach (sociology and law) work in a practical manner, such that each discipline area benefits from the input of the other and that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Refereeing for Journals

2012-            Sociological Theory

2010-            International Political Sociology

2010-            Globalizations

2010-            History of the Human Sciences

2009-            British Journal of Sociology

2008-            International Journal for the Semiotics of Law

2008-            Law, Culture, and the Humanities

2008-            Griffith Law Review

2008-            Theory, Culture & Society

2008-            Australian Universities Review

2006-            Journal of Classical Sociology

2004             Journal of Australian Studies

2003             Australian Journal of Political Science

2002             National Identities

2001             Sociological Inquiry

2001             Polity

1999             Critical Public Health

1999-            Journal of Law and Society

1990-            Journal of Sociology (formerly ANZJS)

1990             Law in Context

Refereeing for Publishers

2009-2010  Routledge, London

1999-2010  Sage, London

2004-2010  Hart, Oxford

Refereeing for National Granting Bodies

2010 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Refereeing for Conference Proceedings

2010 Proceedings of The Australian Sociological Association Conference, Macquarie

2004 Proceedings of the Social Change Research in the 21st Century Conference, QUT

Magazine Publications Relating to the Profession

2007 Wickham, G. and B. Evers ‘But Culture Can Also Be Dangerous: An Outline of a Research Project’ Nexus (Newsletter of the Australian Sociological Association) 19:3, pp. 3-5 (please note that my co-author on this occasion, Barbara Evers, is one of my PhD students).

2005 Wickham, G. ‘Problems of Anti-State Sociology’ Australian Prospect (internet-based magazine) Winter (electronic magazine, no page numbers).

2002 Wickham, G. ‘Rethinking the Relationship Between the Social and the Cultural’ Nexus (Newsletter of the Australian Sociological Association) 14:2, 9-10.

1992 Wickham, G. ‘Interdisciplinarity and Australian Legal Education: A commentary on the Pearce Report five years on’ Socio-Legal Bulletin 7, 11-15.

Overseas Respondent to the Nuffield Inquiry on Empirical Legal Research, U.K. 2006

Doctoral and masters supervisions since 2007

2011 Eric Whittle

2010 Barbara Evers

2010 Rachael Kitchens

2010 Andrew Stebbins

2010 Liam Stone

2010 Kirsten Harley (co-supervised through the University of Sydney)

Currently supervising three PhD students

Books

• Harley, K., Wickham, G., (2014),Australian Sociology: Fragility, survival, rivalry. Sociology Transformed,Palgrave Macmillan UK.
• Wickham, G., Goodie, J., (2013),Legal and Political Challenges of Governing the Environment and Climate Change: Ruling Nature,Routledge.
• Wickham, G., Pavlich, G., (2001),Rethinking Law, Society and Governance. Foucault's Bequest,,.
• Kendall, G., Wickham, G., (2001),Understanding Culture. Cultural Studies, Order, Ordering,,Sage Publications Ltd.
• Kendall, G., Wickham, G., (1999),Using Foucault's Methods,,.

Chapters

• Wickham, G., (2013),Foucault and Law,In: Law and Social Theory, Hart Publishing, pages 217 to 232.
• Wickham, G., Kendall, G., (2013),Critical Discourse Analysis, Description, Explanation, Causes: Foucault's Inspiration versus Weber's Perspiration,In: Critical Discourse Analysis. Volume 1: Concepts, History, Theory, Sage Publications Ltd, pages 351 to 369.
• Wickham, G., (2011),Foucault and the promise of power without dogma,In: Routledge International Handbook of Contemporary Social and Political Theory, Routledge, pages 45 to 55.
• Wickham, G., Evers, A., (2010),Society, State, Security, and Subject Formation: The Emergence of Modern Neutrality Society and the Formation of the Types of Subjects it Requires,In: State, Security, and Subject Formation, Continuum International Publishing Group, pages 116 to 132.
• Kendall, G., Wickham, G., (2004),The Foucaultian Framework,In: Qualitative Research Practice, Sage Publications Ltd, pages 141 to 150.
• Wickham, G., (2002),Foucault and Law,In: An Introduction to Law and Social Theory, Hart Publishing, pages 249 to 265.
• Wickham, G., (1997),Governance and Consumption,In: Constructing The New Consumer Society, Macmillan and St Martins Press, pages 277 to 291.

Journals

• Wickham, G., (2021), Post-nationalism, sovereignty and the state, Journal of Sociology, 57, 1, .
• Wickham, G., Evers, A., Goodie, J., (2017), The state and civility: a crucial nexus, European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, 4, 2, pages 135 - 155.
• Wickham, G., (2016), Expanding the "social' in "social identity', Social Identities: journal for the study of race, nation and culture, 22, 4, pages 413 - 425.
• Wickham, G., (2014), Hobbes's commitment to society as a product of sovereignty: A basis for a Hobbesian sociology, Journal of Classical Sociology, 14, 2, pages 140 - 155.
• Wickham, G., Bryan, D., (2012), Money, Financial Regulation and the Fragility of Civil Peace: Maintaining Order in the Face of Chaos, Griffith Law Review, 21, 1, pages 190 - 208.
• Wickham, G., (2012), The core object 'society' and sociology's public relevance History versus theory, Journal of Sociology, 48, 4, pages 427 - 442.
• Wickham, G., Evers, A., (2012), Elias in the Footsteps of Hobbes?, Human Figurations: long-term perspectives on the human condition, 1, 1, pages 2 - 11.
• Wickham, G., (2011), Dousing the dragon's fire, Thesis Eleven: critical theory and historical sociology, 107, 1, pages 106 - 114.
• Wickham, G., (2010), Sociology, the public sphere, and modern government: a challenge to the dominance of Habermas, British Journal of Sociology, 61, 1, pages 155 - 175.
• Wickham, G., Kendall, G., (2008), What once was old is new again: reviving an early-modern form of interdisciplinarity for socio-legal studies, Flinders Journal of Law Reform, 10, 3, pages 485 - 501.
• Wickham, G., (2008), The social must be limited: Some problems with Foucault's approach to modern positive power, Journal of Sociology, 44, 1, pages 29 - 44.
• Wickham, G., (2008), High Society. Are our social sciences as relevant to government as they might be?, Australian Universities' Review, 50, 2, pages 25 - 32.
• Wickham, G., (2008), Protecting Law from Morality's Stalking Horse: The 'socio' in much socio-legal studies, Law Text Culture, 12, , pages 104 - 127.
• Wickham, G., (2008), Competing uses of history in researching the social. A reply to Peter Baehr, Current Sociology, 56, 6, pages 949 - 954.
• Wickham, G., Freemantle, H., (2008), The origins of sociology. Some additional knowledge conditions for sociology, Current Sociology, 56, 6, pages 922 - 939.
• Wickham, G., Kendall, G., (2007), Critical discourse analysis, description, explanation, causes: Foucault's inspiration versus Weber's perspiration, Historical Social Research, 33, 1, pages 142 - 161.
• Wickham, G., (2007), Expanding the classical in classical sociology, Journal of Classical Sociology, 7, 4, pages 243 - 265.
• Wickham, G., (2006), The Law-Morality Relation Revisited: A Challenge to Established Traditions by the Australian Sceptical Approach, Griffith Law Review, 15, 1, pages 27 - 48.
• Wickham, G., (2006), Foucault, Law, and Power: A Reassessment, Journal of Law and Society, 33, 4, pages 596 - 614.
• Wickham, G., (2005), Ethics, morality and the formation of cultural studies intellectuals, Cultural Studies Review, 11, 1, pages 71 - 86.
• Goodie, J., Wickham, G., (2002), Calculating 'Public Interest': Common Law and the Legal Governance of the Environment, Social & Legal Studies: an international journal, 11, 1, pages 37 - 60.
• Wickham, G., (2000), Foucault and Gadamer: Like Apples and Oranges Passing in the Night, Chicago-Kent Law Review, 76, , pages 913 - 942.
• Malpas, J., Wickham, G., (1998), Democracy and Instrumentalism, Australian Journal of Political Science, 33, 3, pages 345 - 362.
• Malpas, J., Wickham, G., (1997), Governance and the World: From Joe DiMaggio to Michel Foucault, UTS Review, The, 3-Feb, , pages 91 - 108.

Conference

• Wickham, G., (2012),Do we in sociology know what we are doing when we do 'theory'?,In: The Annual Conference of The Australian Sociological Association 2012.
• Wickham, G., (2011),Constitutionalism, Sovereignty, and the Troubled Category of Social Citizenship,In: The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Conference (2011).
• Goodie, J., Wickham, G., (2010),Competing understandings of the intersection between society and environment in the climate change debate,In: The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Annual Conference (2010).
• Wickham, G., (2010),Culture and the Study of Social Identity,In: The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Annual Conference (2010).
• Wickham, G., (2009),Sociology and International Law: some historical connections,In: The Australian Sociological Association 2009 Annual Conference.
• Wickham, G., (2008),Sociology after 9/11,In: The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Conference (2008).
• Kendall, G., Wickham, G., (2006),Problems with the Critical Posture Foucault and Crticial Discourse Analysis,In: Social Change in the 21st Century Conference (2006).
• Kendall, G., Wickham, G., (1998),Forget Postmodernism: Towards a Nonmodern Sociology,In: Refashioning Sociology: Responses to a New World Order.

 

Publications since 2007

Articles in refereed journals

• 2012 Wickham, G. and B. Evers ‘Elias in the Footsteps of Hobbes?’ Human Figurations 1:1 (print version forthcoming, electronic version released 1 February 2012).
• 2012 Wickham, G. and D. Bryan ‘Money, Post-Crisis Financial Regulation, and the Fragility of Civil Peace: Maintaining Order in the Face of Chaos’, Griffith Law Review 21:1 (forthcoming, accepted 21/2/12).

• 2011 Wickham, G. ‘Dousing the Dragon’s Fire’ (Review article), Thesis Eleven 107, 106-14.
• 2010 Wickham, G. ‘Sociology, the Public Sphere, and Modern Government: A Challenge to the Dominance of Habermas’ British Journal of Sociology 61:1, 155-75.
• 2010 Malpas, J. and G. Wickham ‘Rządzenie I porażka. O granicach socjologii’ Zarządzanie Publicczne (Good Governance) 11:1, pp. 92-102 (an edited Polish translation of ‘Governance and Failure: On the Limits of Sociology’ [1995] selected as a ‘classic text on governance’).
• 2008 Wickham, G. ‘Protecting Law from Morality’s Stalking Horse: The “Socio” in Socio-Legal Studies’ Law, Text, Culture 12, 104-27.
• 2008 Wickham, G. ‘The Social Must Be Limited: Some Problems With Foucault’s Approach to Modern Positive Power’ Journal of Sociology 44:1, 29-44.
• 2008 Wickham, G. ‘Competing Uses of History in Researching the Social: A Reply to Peter Baehr’ Current Sociology 56:6, 953-8.
• 2008 Wickham, G. ‘High society: Are our social sciences as relevant to government as they might be?’ Australian Universities Review 50:2, 25-32.
• 2008 Wickham, G. and G. Kendall ‘Critical Discourse Analysis, Description, Explanation, Causes: Foucault’s Inspiration Versus Weber’s Perspiration’. Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung 33:1, 142-61 (reproduced from Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung).
• 2008 Wickham, G. and Kendall, G. ‘What Once Was Old Is New Again: Reviving an Early-Modern Form of Interdisciplinarity for Socio-Legal Studies’ Flinders Journal of Law Reform 10:3, 485-500.
• 2008 Wickham, G. and H. Freemantle ‘Some Additional Knowledge Conditions for Sociology’ Current Sociology 56:6, 925-42.
• 2007 Wickham, G. ‘Expanding the Classical in Classical Sociology’ Journal of Classical Sociology 7:3, 243-65.
• 2007 Wickham, G. and G. Kendall ‘Critical Discourse Analysis, Description, Explanation, Causes: Foucault’s Inspiration Versus Weber’s Perspiration’ Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung 8:2 (electronic journal, no page numbers).

Refereed chapters in books

• 2011 Wickham, G. ‘Foucault and the promise of power without dogma’ in G. Delanty and S. Turner (eds) Routledge International Handbook of Contemporary Social and Political Theory. London: Routledge, 45-55.
• 2010 Wickham, G. and B. Evers ‘Society, State, Security, and Subject Formation’ in A. Yeatman and M. Zolkos (eds) State, Security and Subject Formation. New York and London: Continuum, 116-32.

Special issues of journals (edited)

• 2012 Wickham, G. (ed.) Sociology’s Object(s) and the Discipline’s Relevance, Special Issue of the Journal of Sociology 48:4 (forthcoming, accepted 12/10/11).

Refereed Papers in Published Conference Proceedings

• 2011 Wickham, G. ‘Constitutionalism, Sovereignty, and the Troubled Category of Social Citizenship’in S. Threadgold and E. Kirby (eds) Local Lives/Global Networks. Newcastle: University of Newcastle and The Australian Sociological Association (electronic publication; no page numbers).
• 2010 Wickham, G. ‘Culture and the Study of Social Identity’, in S. Velayutham et al. (eds) Social Causes, Private Lives. Sydney: Macquarie University and The Australian Sociological Association (electronic publication; no page numbers).
• 2010 Goodie, J. and G. Wickham ‘Competing Understandings of the Intersection Between Society and Environment in the Climate Change Debate’, in S. Velayutham et al. (eds) Social Causes, Private Lives. Sydney: Macquarie University and The Australian Sociological Association (electronic publication; no page numbers).
• 2009 Wickham, G. ‘Sociology and International Law: Some Historical Connections’, in S. Lockie et al. (eds) The Future of Sociology. Canberra: Australian National University and The Australian Sociological Association (electronic publication; no page numbers).
• 2008 Wickham, G. ‘Sociology After 9/11’ in T. Marjoribanks et al. (eds) Re-imagining Sociology. Melbourne: University of Melbourne and The Australian Sociological Association (electronic publication, no page numbers).