Professor Michael Billig
biography : publications : workshops & talks : links
Michael Billig has been at Loughborough since 1985, when he was appointed Professor of Social Sciences. He had previously been a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Birmingham University, having been an undergraduate and postgraduate at Bristol University. He has also been a visiting professor for short spells at Temple University in Philadelphia, University of California and University of Rome. At Loughborough, Michael teaches on the first year Introductory Course in Social Psychology. He also teaches ‘Historical and Conceptual Issues’ in the second year.
Originally, Michael trained as an experimental social psychologist, under the supervision of Henri Tajfel, who was probably the most influential social psychologist in post-war Britain. Michael was involved in designing the original minimal group experiments, which formed the basis of Tajfel’s well-known Social Identity Theory. Since his Bristol days, Michael’s interests, however, have moved towards qualitative approaches and towards developing the sort of critical social psychology which will be linked with other social sciences.
He is the author of numerous books and articles, which reflect his parallel concerns with theory and with studying ways of thinking, especially ideological thought. His first book, Social Psychology and Intergroup Relations (Academic Press, 1976), provided a critique of orthodox social psychological approaches to the study of prejudice. After that work, he studied an extreme right-wing group, showing how the members’ thinking was influenced by the group’s ideology (Fascists: a social psychologial view of the National Front, Academic Press, 1979).
Michael’s interest in the study of ideology has continued in his later work. The emphasis has shifted from looking at extreme forms of ideology towards looking at the influence of ideology on common-sense, or everyday patterns of thinking. For example, he conducted a study based upon family discussions about the Royal Family (Talking about the Royal Family, Routledge, 1992). His book (Banal Nationalism, Sage, 1995) examined the way that contemporary life is infused with nationalist assumptions and symbols, which often pass unnoticed. In 1996 this book received the Myers Center Award for "outstanding work on intolerance in North America".
At Loughborough, Michael was a founder member of the Discourse and Rhetoric Group, which has been pioneering new forms of doing social psychology, based upon the study of language. His particular contribution has been to stress how thinking is shaped by the rhetorics of argumentation. Most notably, this can be seen in his book Arguing and Thinking: a rhetorical approach to social psychology (Cambridge University Press, originally published in 1987, with a new edition published in 1996). Michael’s Ideology and Opinions (Sage, 1991) is a collection of theoretical and empirical papers on rhetorical psychology. In addition, he has examined how rhetoric and conversation are involved in psycho-analytic matters. He has argued that the unconscious is formed through language. His book, Freudian Repression (Cambridge University Press, 1999) suggests that we can study repression through looking at the ways that language is used, for language is both expressive and repressive.
In his more recent works, Michael has been examining the history of psychological ideas. Laughter and Ridicule (Sage, 2005) argued that humour, and especially the threat of ridicule, is essential for social life; the book approaches its topic historically by examining the history of theories of laughter. The Hidden Roots of Critical Psychology (Sage, 2008) re-examines the works of eighteenth century thinkers such as the earl of Shaftesbury and Thomas Reid; he argues that these writers formulated some highly original ideas about language and thinking that are only now being taken seriously.
Michael has even looked at the history of popular music, especially in relation to race and the development of rock music. This work has resulted in a book, Rock’n’Roll Jews (Five Leaves, 2000), which was shortlisted for the Wingate Non-Fiction Literary Award.
Research Interests:
Research topics include nationalism, rhetoric, psychoanalytic theory and popular music. Particularly interested in developing critical psychological approaches for the study of ideology. Currently he is interested in the language that academics use and how this language can be used to conceal as well as reveal.