Chik Collins
Contact Details
Room L121(Paisley Campus)
Tel: 0141 848 3892
E-mail: chik.collins@uws.ac.uk
staff profile
Dr Chik Collins is Senior Lecturer in the Politics and Sociology Group in the School of Social Sciences. His main current research interests are in the field of urban policy, or ‘urban regeneration’. He maintains interests in linguistic/discursive analysis as a method for investigating social and political change, and in applying cultural-historical activity theory to socio-political development in contemporary Scotland. He has worked with and contributed to a number of local community organisations over a number of years, and has since 2004 contributed to the ongoing series of Clydeside community conferences on poverty and ‘regeneration’. Most recently he has been commissioned by Oxfam to research the history of the Clydebank Independent Resource Centre. He is the author of two books, Language, Ideology and Social Consciousness: Developing a Sociohistorical Approach (1999), and The Right to Exist: The Story of the Clydebank Independent Resource Centre (forthcoming 2008). He is also the author of a wide range of book chapters and journal articles. He writes regularly for the journal of the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum, and is a member of the Political Studies Association and the International Society for Cultural and Activity Research.
Selected Publications
Books
Chik Collins, The Right to Exist: The Story of the Clydebank Independent Resource Centre, Oxfam UK (forthcoming, 2008)
Book Chapters
Chik Collins, “Discourse in Cultural-Historical Perspective: Critical discourse analysis, CHAT and the study of social change”, in Van Oers, B., Elbers, E. and Wardekker, W. eds., The Transformation of Learning: Perspectives from Activity Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (in press, April 2008).
Chik Collins, ‘“The Scottish Executive is open for business’: People and Place, The Royal Bank of Scotland and the Intensification of the Neo-Liberal Agenda”, in Scotland”, in Cumbers, A., and Whittam, G., eds., Reclaiming The Economy: Alternatives to Market Fundamentalism in Scotland and Beyond, Biggar: Scottish Left Review Press, 2007.
Chik Collins, “After Partnership: Looking beyond Better Communities”, in Shaw, M., Meagher, J. and Moir, S., eds., Participation in Community Development: Problems and Possibilities, Published by Concept in collaboration with the Community Development Journal, 2006
Chik Collins, “For Local Communities Responding to Community Planning: ‘Partnership’ in Perspective, 1987-2005”, in V. Mills, ed., The Red Paper on Scotland, Glasgow: Research Collections @ Glasgow Caledonian University, 2005.
Chik Collins, “Urban Policy, ‘Modesty’ and ‘Misunderstanding’: On the mythology of ‘partnership’ in urban Scotland”, in G. Blazyca, ed., Restructuring Local Economies: Towards a Comparative Study of Scotland and Upper Silesia, Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2003.
Journal Articles
Peter Jones and Chik Collins, “Political Analysis Versus Critical Discourse Analysis in the Treatment of Ideology: Some implications for the study of communication”, Atlantic Journal of Communication, 14 (1&2), pp.28-50, 2006
Chik Collins and Peter Jones, “Analysis of Discourse as ‘A Form of History Writing’: A critique of Critical Discourse Analysis and an illustration of a Cultural-Historical alternative”, Atlantic Journal of Communication, 14 (1&2), pp.51-69, 2006.
Chik Collins, Brian Slocock and Lucy Hughes, “The role of a VLE in the Teaching of Political Concepts and Reasoning”, European Political Science, 5 (2), pp.209-219, 2006.
Chik Collins, “People and Place, The Royal Bank of Scotland and ‘Community Engagement’”, Concept (The Journal of Contemporary Community Education Practice Theory) 16, 2, pp.9-16, 2006.
Chik Collins, “Marxism and Language: A response to McNally”, Historical Materialism, 12 (2), pp.169-187, 2004.
Chik Collins, “After Partnership: Looking beyond Better Communities”, Concept (The Journal of Contemporary Community Education Practice Theory) 14, (3), pp.18-24, 2004.
Chik Collins, “Community Regeneration in ‘The New Scotland’: a space for debate”, in Making Waves, pp.2-5, Special Supplement to Scotregen (Journal of the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum), 28, 2004.
Chik Collins, “‘Critical Psychology’ and Contemporary Struggles Against Neo-Liberalism: Some suggestions based on experience from the west of Scotland”, Annual Review of Critical Psychology, 3, pp.26-48, 2003
Chik Collins, Review Essay on David McNally, Bodies of Meaning: Studies on language, labour and liberation, in Historical Materialism, 11 (2), pp.228-238, 2003.