Dr Neal Harris

Neal teaches on undergraduate models across the sociology and politics programme. He has led on 9 different modules, and taught on 14, since his initial appointment at Brookes. As of September 2025, Neal is Module Leader for Foundations of Social Theory (SOCI4002), Social Media and Technology (SOCI6016), and Theorising Power and Society (POLI5001).

Neal is currently supervising two PhD students, Dan Davis and Owen Brown. Their projects both engage with the Critical Theory tradition and the intersection of Politics, Sociology, and Psychoanalysis. 

Neal's research focuses on Social Transformation, Technology, and the Social and Solidarity Economy. His first book, Critical Theory & Social Pathology: The Frankfurt School Beyond Recognition (Manchester University Press, 2022) drew on the interdisciplinary Critical Theory tradition to ask 'what is stopping us moving towards a more sustainable and fairer society?' In this monograph, Neal intervened in debates in critical social theory, psychoanalytic theory, and political economy. His second monograph, Capitalism and Its Critics (Routledge, 2022; co-authored with Professor Gerard Delanty) continued probing this question, exploring whether social and political theorists have failed to fully understand how capitalist societies change and adapt. Since then, Neal moved into exploring the question of what Alternative Societies exist within the present, exploring workers' co-operative firms, mutual aid groups, and ideas such as calls for a Universal Basic Income. In the past five years, he published articles on these topics in leading sociology and politics journals, such as Critical Sociology, the European Journal of Social Theory, Thesis Eleven, International Sociology, Social Science Information, Journal of Classical Sociology, Capital and Class, and Democratic Theory. His third monograph, Critical Theory & Alternative Societies: Co-Operatives, Mutual Aid and Universal Basic Income (also with Manchester University Press) provides a critical assessment of the transformative potential of these 'real utopias', evaluating their viability for driving forth radical social transformation. Neal's fourth monograph, Foundations of Social Theory: A Critical Introduction (Routledge, 2024) provided a critical overview of the sociological canon. This book is being used as a core-text for undergraduate modules at Universities across the country. The proposals for Neal's fifth and sixth monographs, continuing his theoretically grounded analysis of Real Utopias, Social Transformation, and the Social and Solidarity Economy, are currently being reviewed by Britstol University Press and the University of Westminster Press, as of September 2025.

Neal is an Editor for the BSA's flagship journal, Sociology. He is co-convenor of the BSA's Social Theory Working Group. He also sits as part of the editorial teams for both European Journal of Social Theory and the German review of books, SLR. 

Since February 2022, Neal has been co-leading a network, 'Alternatives to Capitalism', which has brought together third-sector partners, academics, and activists. The network has organised 10 round table events, with funding awarded by The Sociological Review Foundation. 

• Member of the British Sociological Association and Co-Convenor of the BSA's Social Theory Working Group.
• Fellow of the HEA by experience.

• September 2017, University of Sussex, UK: I was respondent to Professor Lois McNay’s (Politics, Cambridge) paper: ‘Alessandro Ferrara’s theory of disclosing critique’.
• November 2018, University of Cork, Ireland: I presented a paper on Erich Fromm’s theory of social pathology at the Social Pathologies of Contemporary Civilisation conference.
• April 2019, Ashoka University, Sonipat, India: I gave a lecture on my forthcoming paper on Adorno and Social Pathology to the Philosophy department.
• July 2019, University of Wuppertal, Germany: I was an invited speaker at the Adorno Conference organised by Heinz Sünker.
• November 2019, University of Brighton, UK: I was an invited speaker at the Critical Theory in (A Time of) Crisis Conference. I presented on Adorno and Social Pathology.
• July 2020, ISA, Porto Allegre, Brazil: Panel member for 'Alienation and Social Pathology' - Event postponed.
• May 2023, Interdisciplinary Research Conference, Oxford Brookes: I presented a paper titled 'what is neoiberalism anyway?'
• December 2023, Democratic Theory, Canberra, Australia (Online): Panel member for discussion 'Democratising the Economy'

• External examiner for the sociology programme at Nottingham Trent University.