Dr Dan Taylor

I write and think about politics, philosophy and English society; implausibly, I am paid to teach these matters too.

I have muddled along for too many years doing this. Truth has eluded me; knowledge (what little) has been hard won. It's resulted in three books, an allsorts bag of miscellaneous papers, many late nights and a scatter of long-running research projects around the country. In the process I have met some wonderful and inspiring people who keep me going; so do the many hard-working students I've had the good fortune to teach.

My books and journal articles span the fields of political theory, philosophy, history, literature and, in more recent times, social policy. Recent topics include: the politics of anger, unpaid care, George Eliot, sympathy, Malcolm X and prison conversion, 17th century Islamophobia, climate anxiety, and the ways in which inequality can be marked on the human body. And lots and lots on a philosopher called Benedict Spinoza. 

A dilettante, an amateur? Yes. But consider the roots of those words. The dilettante is one who delights (from the Italian dilettare); the amateur is one who loves (from the Latin amator, lover). Thinking is sparked by confusion. Puzzlement leads (on good days) to wonder. Why this, not that? I wish I could sit still. I cannot understand how one can write on the same topic over and over. In the same way, most academics cannot understand me.

In 2023 I was selected as a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker.

My first two books are about British politics. Island Story: Journeys Through Unfamiliar Britain was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for political writing. It details a four-month cycling trip across Britain with a rusty bike, leaky tent and a fair amount of misadventure.

My most recent book, Spinoza and the Politics of Freedom (Edinburgh University Press, 2021), uses a neglected Enlightenment radical to reconsider what freedom, domination and desire really amount to. It is now available open access.

Over the last four years I've worked closely with communities across England to develop a storehouse of new research examining where are we going? That work began knee-deep in keywords and concepts like care, class, borders, growth and home, which were then explored through the prism of lived experience and common realities, alongside people thinking through these problems too: unpaid carers in Gateshead, neighbourhood organisers and creatives in Peterborough, Wisbech and Boston, and local residents in Barking and Dagenham. I've met too many people now, undertaken too much research, become too entangled to leave. Originally I hoped to write a book; now it has become a way of life, a second occupation. You can see more of the films, reports, events and community research network below.

Before teaching and pompous-sounding job titles, I worked for years in frontline roles in disability, mental health and homelessness charities across London. I grew up in South London in a time and place where going to university was akin to joining the French foreign legion. I had the good fortune to meet the late Mark Fisher at FE college. Knowledge really is power.

I now teach at the Open University, the UK’s most important university for social mobility. I’ve appeared on BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking and Radio 4, and written for The Independent, New Statesman, The Conversation and others. I was academic advisor on BBC2’s Union with David Olusoga. I am an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I have previously taught at Goldsmiths, University of London, Lawrence University, Roehampton University and the Mary Ward Centre.

Research

My current work focuses on three long-term community research projects:

• Fen Power: place, community and connection in Peterborough, Boston and Wisbech (project page)
• Growth and housing in Barking and Dagenham (project page)
• Unpaid care and social care in Gateshead (project page)

I also publish on Spinoza and the history of political thought. To date I've authored three monographs, two edited collections/special issues, ten journal articles, six chapters, and a similar half-dozen commissioned policy reports. A (mostly) full list of publications is available below and via ORO.

Teaching

I teach across politics and social science at the Open University. I have written material for You and Your World (D112), Global Challenges (D113), and Understanding Politics (DD211). I co-chair Modern Political Ideas (DD316) and am co-chairing a new Level 2 politics module (D224) that launches in 2028.

I write regularly for OpenLearn, the Open University's free learning platform. Click here to read some of my articles.

In the past I wrote and taught many courses and modules in philosophy, politics and history - see the Teaching section of my blog for more.

Collaboration

I'm open to approaches from prospective PhD students working in contemporary political theory, the history of political thought, or community-based and participatory research. Just send me an email to discuss your ideas: dan . taylor @ open . ac . uk. From October I will be supervising three students and will have space for 1-2 more. 

Current roles and affiliations

• Trustee for Gateshead Carers Association
• Co-director of the OU Language, Literature and Politics Research Group
• Barking and Dagenham Community Research Network, in partnership with Thames Life
• International Advisory Board, Spinoza Studies, Edinburgh University Press.
• International Scientific Committee of Sive Natura, University of Bologna.
• Peer reviewer for MIT Press, Edinburgh University Press, Bloomsbury, and for the journals Political Theory, History of Political Thought, History of European Ideas, the British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Constellations, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books, and the Journal of Modern Jewish Studies.