Professor Linsey McGoey
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Email
lmcgoey@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1206 873544
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Location
5A.321, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
Please email me for an appointment.
Profile
Biography
Linsey McGoey is Professor of Sociology, with expertise in social theory and economic sociology. She is recognized internationally for playing a pioneering role in the establishment of ignorance studies, an interdisciplinary field focused on exploring how strategic ignorance and the will to ignore have underpinned economic exchange and political domination throughout history. Her research on ignorance has led to new conceptual frameworks for understanding the political value of ignorance and the unknown. She is also recognized for work on philanthropic foundations and their role in the global economy. her work on new philanthropy movements links to her general focus on the role of power, ignorance and knowledge in contemporary society, with an emphasis on how corporate power and corporate domination affect well-being and inequality around the world. Her current research explores the relationship between economic and religious legitimation when it comes to wealth inequality within nations and globally both historically and today. Peer-reviewed articles appear in Economy and Society, Theory, Culture and Society, Science, Technology and Human Values, Politix, and the British Journal of Sociology. Books include No Such Thing as a Free Gift (Verso, 2015) and The Unknowers (Zed, 2019), and the Routledge Handbook of Ignorance Studies (2022, co-edited volume, 2nd Edition). She is a founding editor, with Matthias Gross and Michael Smithson, of the Routledge Research in Ignorance Studies book series. McGoey is on the Advisory Board of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Solidarity, University of Vienna, the Editorial Board of Economy and Society, and the Editorial Advisory Board of Finance and Society. She has held visiting fellowships at the Brocher Foundation, the LSE and Sciences Po. She writes extensively for a general audience, with articles in the New York Times, Guardian, Jacobin, Fortune, the Spectator and Open Democracy. Media coverage of her work include Radio France, The Hindu, BBC Radio 4, BBC World News, The New Humanist, The Washington Post, New York Times, the Guardian, the Globe and Mail, and Canada's CBC news. Recent keynote lectures include: 2025 Keynote Speaker, 鈥楾he Market as Master Oracle鈥� 8th Annual Interdisciplinary Market Studies Workshop, 2025, June 16-18, 2025, Stockholm, Sweden. 2025 Keynote Speaker, 鈥楾heorizing Primaculture Collapse,鈥� Contested Transgressions: A Social Theory Symposium, University College Cork, 25鈥�26th April 2025 2025 Keynote Speaker, 鈥楲ove and Hate in a Polarized World鈥�, ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, Gregynog, Wales, March 6-8 2024 Keynote Speaker 鈥楻eciprism as Religion of the Future鈥� Church of Ignorance, Ars Technica, Linz, Austria, Sept 5-8
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Social theories of knowledge and ignorance
Economic sociology
Global health governance
Human rights-based approaches to health and development
Sociology of religion
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Sociological Research Design (SC905)
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Postgraduate Taught Project and Academic Skills (SC981)
Previous supervision
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 17/5/2024
Degree subject: Criminology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 23/3/2022
Degree subject: Human Rights
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 4/10/2021
Degree subject: Sociological Research
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 5/12/2019
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 24/6/2019
Publications
Journal articles (32)
McGoey, L., INC脫GNITAS ESTRAT脡GICAS. Revista Inter-Legere. 3 (29), c23359-c23359
McGoey, L., (2025). The weaponry of racial capitalism: Gargi Bhattacharyya (2024) The futures of racial capitalism (Polity). Economy and Society. 54 (1), 172-184
Bacevic, J. and McGoey, L., (2024). . Economy and Society. 53 (1), 163-182
Iqani, M., Feigenbaum, A., Asmal, L., McGoey, L., Kanngieser, AM., Dunlap, A. and Monroe-White, T., (2024). Speaking evidence to power? An interdisciplinary conversation. South African Journal of Science. 120 (11/12)
Langley, P., Ashenden, S., Barry, A., Bear, L., Kelly, A., McGoey, LJ., Molyneux, M., Neyland, D., Parry, B., Tonkiss, F. and Weszkalnys, G., (2023). Nigel Dodd: An appreciation. Economy and Society. 52 (1), 1-8
McGoey, L., (2021). . Annual Review of Law and Social Science. 17 (1), 391-409
McGoey, L., (2021). . Sociologica. 15 (2), 75-93
McGoey, L., (2020). Micro-Ignorance and Macro-Ignorance in the Social Sciences. Social Research: An International Quarterly. 87 (1), 197-217
McGoey, L., (2018). . Theory, Culture and Society. 35 (4-5), 69-91
McGoey, L. and Thiel, DJ., (2018). . Economy and Society. 47 (1), 111-134
Kelly, AH. and McGoey, L., (2018). . Economy and Society. 47 (1), 1-26
McGoey, L., Thiel, D. and West, R., (2018). . Politix. 2018 (1), 29-54
Mallard, G. and McGoey, L., (2018). . The British Journal of Sociology. 69 (4), 884-909
McGoey, L., (2017). . Science, Technology, & Human Values. 42 (2), 257-279
Clark, J. and McGoey, L., (2016). . The Lancet. 388 (10059), 2457-2459
McGoey, L., (2014). . Third World Quarterly. 35 (1), 109-125
McGoey, L., (2012). . Poetics. 40 (2), 185-199
Davies, W. and McGoey, L., (2012). . Economy and Society. 41 (1), 64-83
McGoey, L., (2012). . Economy and Society. 41 (1), 1-16
McGoey, L., (2012). . The British Journal of Sociology. 63 (3), 533-576
McGoey, L., Reiss, J. and Wahlberg, A., (2011). . BioSocieties. 6 (1), 1-9
McGoey, L., (2010). . History of the Human Sciences. 23 (1), 58-78
McGoey, L., (2009). . Science as Culture. 18 (2), 151-164
McGoey, L. and Jackson, E., (2009). . Journal of Medical Ethics. 35 (2), 107-112
McGoey, L., (2009). . The American Journal of Bioethics. 9 (8), 35-36
Kendall, T., McGoey, L. and Jackson, E., (2009). If NICE was in the USA. The Lancet. 374 (9686), 272-273
McGoey, L., (2009). Sequestered Evidence and the Distortion of Clinical Practice Guidelines. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 52 (2), 203-217
Wahlberg, A. and McGoey, L., (2007). . BioSocieties. 2 (1), 1-10
McGoey, L., (2007). . Economy and Society. 36 (2), 212-235
Kendall, T. and McGoey, L., (2007). . BioSocieties. 2 (1), 129-140
Mcgoey, L., (2007). Pharmaceutical Hope. Science as Culture. 16 (4), 489-492
McGoey, L., (2007). On the will to ignorance in bureaucracy. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY. 36 (2), 212-235
Books (7)
Gross, M. and McGoey, L., (2022). Routledge International Handbook of Ignorance Studies. Routledge
Gross, M. and McGoey, L., (2022). Revolutionary Epistemology. Routledge
McGoey, L., (2019). . Zed Books Ltd. 978-1780326351
McGoey, L., (2015). . Verso Publication. 9781784780838
Gross, M. and McGoey, L., (2015). . Routledge. 978-0-415-71896-7
McGoey, L., (2014). . Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 1-13-877967-9. 978-1-13-877967-9
Hunt, P., Bustreo, F., Gruskin, S., Eide, A., McGoey, L., Rao, S., Songane, F., Tarantola, D., Unnithan, M., Yamin, AE., van Bolhuis, A., Ferguson, L., Halliday, E., Kuruvilla, S., Popay, J. and Sander, G., (2013). . World Health Organization. 9789241505420
Book chapters (10)
McGoey, L., (2024). Henry George, economic solutionism and reappearance of economic rent. In: Global Rentier Capitalism. Routledge. 30- 41
McGoey, L., (2022). Philanthropy. In: The Routledge Handbook of Global Development. Routledge. 119- 128
McGoey, L., (2015). . In: Sociologists' Tales Contemporary narratives on sociological thought and practice. Editors: Twamley, K., Doidge, M. and Scott, A., . Policy Press. 9781447318675
McGoey, L., (2015). . In: Vom Nutzen des Nichtwissens: Sozial- und kulturwissenschaftliche Perspektiven. Editors: Wehling, P., . transcript Verlag. 53- 74. 9783839426296
Thiel, D., (2015). . In: Routledge International Handbook of Ignorance Studies. Editors: Gross, M. and McGoey, L., . Routledge. 1- 14. 978-0-415-71896-7
Gross, M. and McGoey, L., (2015). Introduction. In: Routledge International Handbook of Ignorance Studies. Routledge. 1- 14
Davies, W. and McGoey, L., (2014). . In: An introduction to the sociology of ignorance: essays on the limits of knowing. Editors: McGoey, L., . Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 64- 83. 1-13-877967-9. 978-1-13-877967-9
McGoey, L., (2014). . In: An introduction to the sociology of ignorance: essays on the limits of knowing. Editors: McGoey, L., . Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 1- 16. 1-13-877967-9. 978-1-13-877967-9
McCoy, D. and McGoey, L., (2011). . In: Partnerships and Foundations in Global Health Governance. Editors: Rushton, S. and Williams, OD., . Palgrave Macmillan. 9780230238763
McGoey, L., (2011). . In: Reading Ranci猫re: Critical Dissensus. Editors: Bowman, P. and Stamp, R., . Continuum. 148- 162. 9781441137814
Reports and Papers (1)
Bacevic, J. and McGoey, L., (2021).
Grants and funding
2013
Evidence in interdisciplinary contextx: the value and ethics of randomised controlled trials
Economic & Social Research Council
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