Krishan Kumar (born 1942 in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

) is a British sociologist who is currently Chair of the Department of Sociology at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, where he holds the titles University Professor and William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Sociology.

Early life and education

Kumar was educated at William Ellis School in London and studied as an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

and for a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

. He then worked as a lecturer at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

from 1967, where he also studied for a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

, and had a spell as a producer for the talks and documentaries department of the BBC.

Career

Kumar remained at Kent, attaining the position of Professor of Social and Political Thought, until his appointment at Virginia in 1996. Kumar has held several visiting professorships, including at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, the

Central European University Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social science ...

and the

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate '' grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. Th ...

, and has been a visiting scholar at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

and a member of the

Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

. His research interests include

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

and European and

human history Human history, also called world history, is the narrative of humanity's past. It is understood and studied through anthropology, archaeology, genetics, and linguistics. Since the invention of writing, human history has been studied thro ...

. Kumar's publications include ''Prophecy and Progress: The Sociology of Industrial and Post-Industrial Society'' (Allen Lane, 1978), ''Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times'' (Basil Blackwell, 1987), ''The Rise of Modern Society: Aspects of the Social and Political Development of the West'' (Basil Blackwell, 1988), ''Utopianism'' (

Open University Press McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes refere ...

, 1991), ''1989: Revolutionary Ideas and Ideals'' (

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its boo ...

, 2001) and ''The Making of English National Identity'' (Cambridge University Press, 2003). The latter was described by

Bernard Crick Sir Bernard Rowland Crick (16 December 1929 – 19 December 2008) was a British political theorist and democratic socialist whose views can be summarised as "politics is ethics done in public". He sought to arrive at a "politics of action", as ...

as a "scholarly masterpiece" and "the deepest and best reflection so far by a fine sociologist and an intellectual historian". His work on utopianism, meanwhile, "should...find an admired place in contemporary sociology", according to Frank Webster. Kumar has also published articles in

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

s, including ''

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

'', the ''

European Journal of Political Research The ''European Journal of Political Research'' (EJPR) is a major journal of European political science sponsored by the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). It is one of the most highly respected journals in the discipline, and the ...

'', the ''European Journal of Sociology'', ''Theory and Society'', ''

Political Studies Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

'', the ''

British Journal of Sociology ''The British Journal of Sociology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1950 at the London School of Economics. It represents the mainstream of sociological thinking and research and publishes high quality papers on all asp ...

'', the ''

European Journal of Social Theory The ''European Journal of Social Theory'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers all aspects social theory. The editor-in-chief is Gerard Delanty (University of Sussex). The journal was established in 1998 and is published by SA ...

'' and '' Nations and Nationalism''.

References

External links

Krishan Kumar's homepage
at the University of Virginia *
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 14 July 2019 (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Krishan 1942 births Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of Kent English sociologists University of Virginia faculty Living people Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom English expatriates in the United States People educated at William Ellis School Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent Utopian studies scholars