1. Personal and Career Information
Name: Norman Myron Geras.
Date of Birth: 25 August 1943.
Place of Birth: Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia.
Nationality: British.
Marital Status: Married (to Adèle Geras, née Weston).
Children: Two - Sophie Hannah and Jenny Geras.
Education: Baines School, Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia 1949-55; Northlea School, Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia 1956-61; Pembroke College, Oxford 1962-65; Nuffield College, Oxford 1965-67.
Qualifications: BA (Hons) (Oxon), Philosophy, Politics and Economics, First Class 1965.
Previous Positions: Research Studentship, Nuffield College, Oxford 1965-67; Assistant Lecturer in Government, University of Manchester 1967-70; Lecturer in Government, University of Manchester 1970-84; Senior Lecturer in Government, University of Manchester 1984-90; Reader in Government, University of Manchester 1990-94; Professor of Government, University of Manchester 1995-2003 (during which period, Head of Department 1997-2001).
Present Position: Professor Emeritus in Politics, University of Manchester 2003 to date.
Visiting Appointments: Visiting Lecturer, Department of Economic History, University of Cape Town May 1986; Visiting Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Witwatersrand University May 1986; Visiting Scholar, Department of Political Science, University of York, Ontario January 1993.
Membership of Editorial Committees: New Left Review 1976 to 1992; Socialist Register 1995 to 2003.
2. Selected Publications
[Note: a full bibliography of my writings can be found here.]
Books
The Legacy of Rosa Luxemburg, NLB/Verso, London 1976 & 1983. 210 pp.
Marx and Human Nature: Refutation of a Legend, Verso, London 1983. 127 pp.
Literature of Revolution: Essays on Marxism, Verso, London 1986. 271 pp.
Discourses of Extremity: Radical Ethics and Post Marxist Extravagances, Verso, London 1990. 171 pp.
Solidarity in the Conversation of Humankind: The Ungroundable Liberalism of Richard Rorty, Verso, London 1995. 151 pp.
Ashes '97: Two Views from the Boundary, Baseline Books, Tisbury 1997, 163 pp. (Co-authored with Ian Holliday.)
The Contract of Mutual Indifference: Political Philosophy after the Holocaust, Verso, London 1998. 181 pp.
Men of Waugh: Ashes 2001, Norman Geras, Manchester 2002. 122 pp.
Crimes against humanity: Birth of a concept, Manchester University Press, Manchester 2011. 162pp.
Articles
'Essence and Appearance: Aspects of Fetishism in Marx's Capital', New Left Review, No. 65, January/February 1971, pp. 69-85.
'Rosa Luxemburg: Barbarism and the Collapse of Capitalism', New Left Review, No. 82, November/December 1973, pp. 17-37.
'Classical Marxism and Proletarian Representation', New Left Review, No. 125, January/February 1981, pp. 75-89.
'The Controversy About Marx and Justice', New Left Review, No. 150, March/April 1985, pp. 47-85. (Reprinted in Alex Callinicos, ed., Marxist Theory, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1989, pp. 211-67.)
'Our Morals: The Ethics of Revolution', in Ralph Miliband, Leo Panitch and John Saville (eds.), Revolution Today: Socialist Register 1989, The Merlin Press, London 1989, pp. 185-211.
'"The Fruits of Labour" - Private Property and Moral Equality', in Michael Moran and Maurice Wright (eds.), The Market and the State: Studies in Interdependence, Macmillan, London 1991, pp. 59-80.
'Bringing Marx to Justice: An Addendum and Rejoinder', New Left Review, No. 195, September/October 1992, pp. 37-69.
'Democracy and the Ends of Marxism', in Geraint Parry and Michael Moran (eds.), Democracy and Democratization, Routledge, London 1994, pp. 69-87.
'Richard Rorty and the Righteous Among the Nations', Journal of Applied Philosophy, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1995, pp. 151-73.
'Socialist Hope in the Shadow of Catastrophe', in Leo Panitch (ed.), Are There Alternatives? Socialist Register 1996, Merlin Press, London 1996, pp. 239-63.
'The view from everywhere', Review of International Studies, Vol. 25, No. 1, January 1999, pp. 157-63.
'In a Class of its Own?', in Eve Garrard and Geoffrey Scarre (eds.), Moral Philosophy and the Holocaust, Ashgate, Aldershot 2003, pp. 25-55.
'How Free?', The European Legacy, Vol. 9, No. 5, October 2004, pp. 619-27.
'The Reductions of the Left', Dissent, Winter 2005, pp. 55-60.
'Games and Meanings', in Stephen de Wijze, Matthew H. Kramer and Ian Carter (eds.), Hillel Steiner and the Anatomy of Justice: Themes and Challenges, New York and Abingdon 2009, pp. 185-200.
'What does it mean to be a Marxist?' in Matthew Johnson (ed.), The Legacy of Marxism: Contemporary Challenges, Conflicts, and Developments, Continuum, London and New York 2012, pp. 13-23.
(Co-authored with Mark Harvey) 'Marx's economy and beyond'. Online publication, April 2013: see here.
'Alibi Anti-Semitism', Fathom, Issue 2, Spring 2013, pp. 17-24.
'Staying Home: G.A. Cohen and the Motivational Basis of Socialism', Contemporary Politics, Vol. 19, No. 2, June 2013, pp. 234-46.
3. Festschrift Volume
Stephen de Wijze and Eve Garrard (eds.), Thinking towards humanity: themes from Norman Geras, Manchester University Press, Manchester 2012. (Includes chapter by me, 'Responses', at pp. 256-79.)
4. Presentations at Conferences/Seminars in Other Universities etc
* First Radical Philosophy Conference, London - April 1972
* University of Sussex - June 1973
* International Conference on 'The Contribution of Rosa Luxemburg to the Development of Marxist Thought', Reggio Emilia, Italy - September 1973
* University of Essex - autumn term 1973
* University of Sheffield - autumn term 1973
* Conference of Radical Scholars of Soviet and East European Studies, London - October 1974
* Critique Seminar, London School of Economics - May 1975
* University of Sussex - November 1975
* University of Konstanz, Germany - December 1976
* Institute of Soviet and East European Studies, Glasgow - November 1977
* University of Sussex - January 1980
* Balliol College, Oxford - May 1980
* International Conference on the 40th Anniversary of Trotsky's Death, Follonica, Italy - October 1980
* University of Munich, Germany - February 1981
* University of Sheffield - February 1983
* Critique Conference on 'Marx After Stalin', London - March 1983
* University of Kent - November 1983
* University of York - November 1983
* International Colloquium on 'The Present Day Significance of Karl Marx', Vrije Universiteit, Brussels - November 1983
* University of Leeds - January or February 1984
* University of Birmingham - February 1984
* International Colloquium on 'The Problem of Justice: An Emancipatory Approach From a Marxian Perspective', University of Ghent, Belgium - March 1984
* University of Cape Town, South Africa - May 1986
* Witwatersrand University, South Africa - May 1986
* University of Zimbabwe - May 1986
* International Symposium on 'Socialist Theory at the end of the 20th Century', University of Groningen, Netherlands - March 1987
* Conference on 'European Socialism in the Twentieth Century', University College of Swansea, Gregynog - May 1987
* Political Studies Association Marxism Specialist Group Fifth Conference, Leeds - September 1987
* University of Kent - October 1987
* University College of North Wales, Bangor - March 1988
* Fourth Realism and the Human Sciences Conference, University of Bristol - September 1988
* University of Warwick - December 1988
* Public Lecture after screening of Margarethe Von Trotta's film Rosa Luxemburg, Watershed Media Centre, Bristol - January 1989
* Linacre College, Oxford - May 1989
* University of Kent - November 1989
* University of Sussex - November 1989
* Meeting of the Northern Marxist Historians' Group, Manchester - April 1990
* International Conference on 'The Marxist Intellectual Tradition', State University of New York at Buffalo - April 1990
* Radical Philosophy Conference, 'Values, Resistance and Social Change', London - November 1990
* Political Studies Association Conference, Lancaster - April 1991
* Political Studies Association Marxism Specialist Group Ninth Conference, Manchester - September 1991
* University of Hull - May 1992
* Manchester Political Theory Conference, 'Studying Politics', Manchester - November 1992
* University of York, Ontario - January 1993
* Political Studies Association Conference, Leicester - April 1993
* University of Bristol - November 1993
* University of Newcastle - November 1993
* University of Strathclyde - February 1994
* Political Studies Association Conference, Swansea - March 1994 (and convenor of Panel on 'Political Philosophy and the Holocaust')
* University of Essex - November 1994
* University of Hull - November 1994
* University of Brighton - March 1995
* University of Kent - May 1995
* University of Nijmegen, Netherlands - June 1995
* 'Socialism in an Age of Global Capitalism', International Seminar in Honour of Ralph Miliband, London School of Economics - June 1995
* Conference on 'The Future of Socialism', University of Sheffield - September 1995
* Conference on 'Richard Rorty, Politics and Postmodernism', London - September 1995
* Nuffield College, Oxford - April 1996
* International Conference on 'Ethics after the Holocaust', University of Oregon, Eugene - May 1996
* Nuffield College, Oxford - May 1996
* Conference on 'Reconstituting Social Criticism', Queen's University of Belfast - June 1996
* International Conference on 'The Contribution of Ernest Mandel to Marxist Theory', Amsterdam - July 1996
* University of Brighton - October 1996
* University of Keele - November 1996
* University of Warwick - January 1997
* London School of Economics and Political Science - October 1997
* Manchester Political Theory Conference, 'Utopia', Manchester - November 1997
* University of York - December 1997
* Conference on 'After Postmodernism: Critical Realism?', University of Essex - September 1998
* University of Leeds - November 1998
* University of St Andrews - December 1998
* University College Dublin - January 1999
* Conference on 'Social Theory After the Holocaust', University of Warwick - February 1999
* Political Studies Association Conference, Nottingham - March 1999
* Public Lecture, Jon Lopategui Memorial Lecture Series, Kingston University - March 2000
* Seminar on 'The Wilkomirski Affair', Wiener Library, London (in association with the English Department, University of Sheffield) - March 2000
* Conference on 'Amnesty, Truth and Reconciliation', University of Hull - April 2000
* Conference on 'What Society? Welfare and the Politics of Interdependence', Tavistock Clinic (with Kingston University) - June 2000
* Northern Political Theory Conference, University of Stirling - September 2000
* International Conference on 'Marxism 2000', University of Massachusetts at Amherst - September 2000
* University of Essex - November 2000
* University of Sussex - January 2001
* King's College London - March 2001
* Political Studies Association Conference, Manchester - April 2001 (and convenor of Panel on 'Truth and Representation: Holocaust Issues')
* The Annual Frank Wright Lecture, Queen's University of Belfast - February 2002
* ESRC Seminar Series 'Beyond Contract?', University of Leicester - July 2002
* Introduction to screening of Roman Polanski's film The Pianist, Cornerhouse Cinema, Manchester - January 2003
* University College, Cork - February 2003
* National University of Ireland, Galway - February 2003
* Decennial Conference of the Association of Social Anthropologists of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, Manchester - July 2003
* Workshops in Political Theory Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University - September 2004
* University of Newcastle - December 2004
* New York University - April 2005
* Georgetown University - April 2005
* Association for Legal and Social Philosophy, London (debate on academic boycott) - June 2005
* Conference on 'Teaching and Researching the Politics of Mass Murder', Kingston University - June 2006
* University of Edinburgh - October 2006
* Hong Kong University - November 2006
* Conference on 'Political Theory and Social Hope', Queen's University of Belfast - May 2007
* Marx and Philosophy Society conference on 'The Justification of Socialism', London - May 2007
* The 2007 Manchester Peace Lecture, University of Manchester - May 2007
* Seminar on 'Ethics and the War on Terror', Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford - September 2007
* Lecture in series on Richard Rorty for the Forum for European Philosophy (London School of Economics and Political Science), London - May 2008
* Workshops in Political Theory Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University - September 2008
* Debate at the Cambridge Union - January 2011
* Conference on 'Examining the Relevance of Marx and Marxism to Contemporary Global Society', University of Newcastle - January 2011
* University of Essex - May 2011
* Cambridge Forum for Legal and Political Philosophy - November 2011
* Conference on 'Jews and the Left', YIVO Insititute for Jewish Research, New York City - May 2012
* Conference on 'Atrocity in Question', University of Essex - July 2012
* Conference on 'A Sort of Wisdom: Exploring the Legacy of Primo Levi', Edge Hill University - July 2012
* MANCEPT Workshops in Political Theory Conference, University of Manchester - September 2012
* Leeds Metropolitan University - November 2012
[Last updated: 12 September 2013.]