UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
HONORARY CONFERRING
Monday, 25 April 2016 at 11.30 am
TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY DR STEVEN LOYAL, School of Sociology on 25 April 2016, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Literature, honoris causa on MICHAEL MANN
President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Professor Michael Mann is a world renowned scholar who has made enormous contribution to the study of a wide variety of areas within sociology: state formation, power, nationhood and nationalism, genocide and ethnic cleansing, fascism, warfare, revolutions, citizenship, historical and political sociology and sociological theory. His work is widely cited, his publications are assigned as the compulsory readings on graduate and undergraduate courses throughout the world, his books and articles are translated into numerous languages and his work he has been recipient of numerous prises and fellowships.
However what sets Professor Mann apart from many other leading sociologists is his unique ability to develop highly sophisticated and reflective theoretical and conceptual tools of analysis and then utilise these novel concepts and models in the concrete empirical contexts. Combining the theoretical with the empirical he provides a form of ‘applied theory’. This was already the hallmark of his early works including Workers on the Move: The Sociology of Relocation (Cambridge University Press, 1973); The Working Class in the Labour Market (London: MacMillan, 1979) and Consciousness and Action in the Western Working Class (London: MacMillan, 1973) and some of his path-breaking early articles including: “The Social Cohesion of Liberal Democracy”, American Sociological Review, Vol. 35, 1970. pp 423-439; “States, Ancient and Modern”, Archives Europennes de Sociologie, Vol. 18, 1977; “The Autonomous Power of the State: its Nature, Causes and Consequences” in Archives Europeennes de Sociologie Vol. 25, 1984.pp 185-213.
With these early works Professor Mann established his international reputation as an innovative scholar who demonstrated ability to construct an excellent and highly creative theoretical and conceptual apparatus (including novel concepts and ideas such as despotic vs. infrastructural power; social caging, citizenship as a ruling strategy; the autonomous power of the state). These concepts have had profound impact in the social sciences not only on sociologists but also political scientists, historians, anthropologists, nationalism studies scholars, geographers, and scholars of security studies.
Nevertheless it is his magisterial and multivolume series The Sources of Social Power (four volumes published between 1986 and 2013) that have made the most profound impact on scholars all over the world. These four books offer a novel and ground-breaking analysis of social power over the past ten thousand years and as such demonstrate a unique analytical skill and achievement that no other contemporary sociologist can match. Combining theory with empirical detail and breadth of scope with depth of detail, Professor Mann provides a subtle, knowledgeable, and longue durée analysis of diverse social orders throughout the world as they move in time. More specifically he masterly demonstrates the significance of four different power sources (economic, political, military and ideological) and historical contingencies that generate specific power configurations whereby in some historical periods political and military powers have the upper hand while in other instances it is the ideological or economic sources of power that assume the central role. These books are written in the vein of classical sociologists such as Max Weber or Karl Marx. I have no doubt that The Sources of Social Power are an unprecedented scholarly accomplishment the impact of which will last for several generations.
In addition to this masterpiece series Professor Mann has also authored several others highly influential books including The Dark-Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing. Cambridge University Press, 2005; Fascists Cambridge University Press, 2004; Incoherent Empire, London/New York: Verso Books/ Norton, 2003 and States, War and Capitalism, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988. These award winning books have generated a great deal of debate and have had a tremendous impact both inside and outside of academia.
Professor Mann’s research work contains great originality, clarity of thought, and a highly developed, articulate, and poised prose style. He is a rigorous and assiduous analyst but his writings are also accessible to a wider audience. Professor Mann is also a great lecturer and public speaker. With the ability to communicate with a cautious forceful argumentation.
For his massive contribution to the subject of sociology, Professor Mann is awarded with the honorary title of Doctor of Literature (DLitt) by UCD.
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Praehonorabilis Praeses, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hunc meum filium, quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad Gradum Doctoratus in Litteris; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.