Ruth Levitas (born 15 May 1949 in London) is Emeritus Professor in the Department of

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

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 ...

. She is well known internationally for her research on

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

and

utopian studies ''Utopian Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles on utopias and utopianism. The journal is published twice a year by the Penn State University Press on behalf of the Society for Utopian Studies. The Editor is Nicole ...

. Her book, ''The Concept of Utopia'' (1990), addresses the notion of the ideal society throughout European history. Her follow-on book, ''Utopia as Method: The Imaginary Reconstitution of Society'' (2013), makes the case that 'utopia should be understood as a method rather than a goal.' She has formulated a program of sociology which is fundamentally utopian-focused in conventional sociological discourse. In ''The Inclusive Society?: Social Exclusion and New Labour'' (2005), Levitas introduced the idea of social exclusion as part of the new political language. She also introduced the concepts of MUD (the moral

underclass The underclass is the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class. The general idea that a class system includes a population ''under'' the working class has ...

discourse Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. ...

), SID (the

social integration Social integration is the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society. Social integration, together with economic integration and identity integration, are three main dimensions of ...

discourse), and RED (the redistribution discourse), as tools for analysing

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

Honors

In 2012 Levitas was awarded the

Lyman Tower Sargent Lyman Tower Sargent (born 9 February 1940) is an American academic, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Sargent's main academic interests are in utopian studies, political theory, American studies and b ...

Distinguished Scholar Award by the North American

Society for Utopian Studies The Society for Utopian Studies (founded 1975) is a North American interdisciplinary association devoted to the study of utopianism in all its forms, with a particular emphasis on literary and experimental utopias. Publications The Society publis ...

References

External links

Ruth Levitas' webpage at the University of Bristol
British sociologists Living people Academics of the University of Bristol Utopian studies scholars British women sociologists British Jews 1949 births British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent British people of Latvian-Jewish descent {{UK-sociologist-stub