Professor Paul Hirst (1946-2003)

18 June 2003

It is with the greatest sadness that Birkbeck, University of London, announces the death of Paul Hirst, Professor of Social Theory. Professor Hirst suffered a brain haemorrhage on Saturday 14 June from which he did not recover. He was aged 57.

During his 34 years at Birkbeck, where he spent his whole academic life, Professor Hirst was a valued inspiration to both colleagues and students. A political theorist and philosopher from the left who recently turned to international relations theory, he was a specialist on human rights, globalisation and international governance. Professor Hirst wrote many seminal works, including War and Power in the 21st Century (2001), Globalisation in Question (1996 and 1999, with Grahame Thompson), Associative Democracy (1994), Representative Democracy and its Limits (1990) and After Thatcher (1989).

Associative Democracy was a classic, seeking alternatives to both traditional liberal democracy and state socialism, while Globalisation in Question was the first book to criticise the fashionable theories of globalisation. His latest work, War and Power in the 21st Century, argued that we may be close to the limits of feasible globalisation, and that climate change may lead to serious armed conflict.

In 1972, Hirst founded Birkbeck's School of Politics and Sociology with Sami Zubaida (later Reader in Sociology) and Bernard Crick (later Sir). He was also Academic Director (since 1995) and Co-Founder of the humanities and cultural studies graduate programme for the London Consortium - a collaboration between Birkbeck, the Architectural Association, the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Tate. He was also Chair and Co-Founder of the constitutional reform movement Charter 88 and Chair of the Political Quarterly editorial board. He was one of the early advocates of the recently introduced constitutional reforms and advised Parliament and government on constitutional questions.

Professor Peter John, Head of Birkbeck's School of Politics and Sociology, says: "What was astonishing was the vast range of his interests and learning. He was a polymath, a great intellectual who will be sorely missed across the world by the vast numbers of people who knew and loved him."

Professor of Law at Birkbeck, Costas Douzinas, adds: "He bridged a number of disciplines in the social sciences and always brought new ways of looking at things. His main characteristic was his extreme versatility of mind, which meant he changed the paradigms in a number of different fields. He introduced structuralism to social theory in the 1970s, the study of power in the 1980s and he revived the tradition of associative democracy. He also made seminal contributions to law with On Law and Ideology (1979). Professor Hirst travelled widely, lecturing around the world, and had a detailed knowledge of politics and culture throughout the globe. He was a true renaissance man."

Professor Hirst was recently working on a major monograph on space and power in which he was discussing architectural theory, urban planning and the space of the new world order. "He was one of those rare academics who work with their door open and haul people in for conversations," says Dr Samantha Ashenden, a Birkbeck colleague and former PhD student of Professor Hirst's. "He was genuinely interested and fun to be with. He was the best of ambassadors, giving massively of his time, energy and considerable talent."

The Master of Birkbeck since January this year, Professor David Latchman, says: "This is a great loss for the College in general and for the School of Politics and Sociology in particular. In the short time I knew Paul I was enormously impressed with his intellectual vigour and common sense. I was discussing with him the possibility of a new College role as Pro Vice Master, with responsibility for all Birkbeck's teaching activity."

Born in Holberton, Devon on 20 May 1946, Paul Quentin Hirst spent much of his early childhood travelling due to his father being in the forces, and spent a time living in Germany up until the age of 15. Following a stint at a grammar school in Plymouth, he took his first degree at the University of Leicester in social science (1965-68), taught by Sami Zubaida, and his master's in sociology at the University of Sussex (1968-69). His first post was at Birkbeck, where he joined as Lecturer in Sociology in 1969 and in 1978 he was promoted to Reader. In 1985 he was appointed Professor of Social Theory - a role he held until his death. He leaves behind his wife Penny and son Jamie.

Birkbeck's School of Politics and Sociology, the Faculty of Arts, and the wider Birkbeck community will miss his wisdom, wit and grace.

Contact:
Catherine Doherty, Media and Publicity Officer
External Relations, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HX
Tel 020 7631 6569
Fax 020 7631 6351
Email c.doherty@bbk.ac.uk

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