Ewan Kerr
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drewankerr.bsky.social
Ewan Kerr
@drewankerr.bsky.social
Postdoc researching democratic localism and state-society relations during crises; also active in the fields of trade union environmentalism, climate politics, and critical labour studies. Ex-Senior Teaching Fellow.
In our latest article (and my last from GCU), James Foley and I examine how Scottish social movement activists navigated the COVID-19 crisis, the state, and each other during the pandemic. Avaliable here: www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3...
Re-Evaluating Scottish Social Movement Activism During the Covid-19 Pandemic | Scottish Affairs
This article re-evaluates how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped contentious activism in Scotland, revealing contrasting approaches to protest and organising. While much of the social movement literature hi...
www.euppublishing.com
July 28, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Ewan Kerr
Still time to register! Share widely 🔥👇
Grangemouth oil refinery closed last month, leading to hundreds of redundancies and ending a century of refining. @riyokoshibe.bsky.social and I are contributing to @tulenetwork.bsky.social’s event next Wednesday, sharing research with Grangemouth workers. Sign up ⬇️
yorku.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
May 15, 2025 at 6:21 PM
I appear in the latest edition of the Scottish Left Review, reflecting on the implications of the pandemic upon state-society relations in Scotland:

scottishleftreview.scot/the-legacy-o...
May 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I'll be chairing this event that will examine the comparative experiences of two regions grappling with the realities of energy transitions, featuring the indomitable @ewangibbs.bsky.social!

Sign up details below.
Don't miss our next event on the 21st, 12pm EST!👇 Registration: tinyurl.com/yej2zhbt
May 8, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by Ewan Kerr
A good essay on how job hunting - and loss - works in academia.

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Yes, Academic Job Loss Really Is Different (opinion)
Academic job loss really is different from other kinds of job losses, Deepa Das Acevedo writes.
www.insidehighered.com
April 5, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Ewan Kerr
Our event is tomorrow! Registration 👇
Don't miss out on our event with @keithbrowerbrown.bsky.social this month! He will talk about his research with construction laborers in the solar industry and how the green sector could offer an opportunity for union revitalization! Register here: yorku.zoom.us/meeting/regi... March 20, 1pm EST.1/
March 19, 2025 at 11:09 AM
'How does clean energy unionization on paper fall short of the class formation needed to transform climate politics?'

@tulenetwork.bsky.social are hosting a really important talk on the future of class and climate politics on March 20th. Registration in link!
Don't miss out on our event with @keithbrowerbrown.bsky.social this month! He will talk about his research with construction laborers in the solar industry and how the green sector could offer an opportunity for union revitalization! Register here: yorku.zoom.us/meeting/regi... March 20, 1pm EST.1/
March 4, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Reposted by Ewan Kerr
'It's time for ecosocialism against crisis.'

TULE are excited to be co-presenting this event for the Toronto stop of @holgersen.bsky.social's Against the Crisis book tour, on April 11th. Registration in link below:

www.tickettailor.com/events/panit...
March 2, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by Ewan Kerr
As some Gaza residents return to the wreckage of northern Gaza, and on a day when we say Never Again, this is a very sad very powerful piece from @nesrinemalik.bsky.social
January 27, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Reposted by Ewan Kerr
🇨🇴 Colombian President Gustavo Petro reciprocates Trump’s tariffs with 50% tariffs on all US goods entering his country.
January 26, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Very pleased to see the print version of our symposium in Critical Sociology on state society-relations during crisis periods appear! The collection examines COVID-19 governance, inequalities and civil society mobilisations in Europe. Link: journals.sagepub.com/toc/CRS/curr...

#AcademicSky
December 17, 2024 at 9:18 AM
I've roasted a chicken with lemon and tarragon on top of potatos, shallots, and garlic - and put the leftovers though a South East Asian-inspired noodle soup 🍽
December 15, 2024 at 12:49 PM
I really enjoyed reflecting on and writing about Vestas with @ewangibbs.bsky.social - the occupation in 2009 highlighted both the tensions between profit motives and societal needs, and the systemic government failures in managing transitions. 15 years later, the lessons are more relevant than ever.
When Vestas (ultimately temporarily) shut down the Isle of Wight factory in 2009 it was occupied by some of the workers. You can read an account of the occupation by @drewankerr.bsky.social and I here. ⬇️

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
December 11, 2024 at 9:46 PM
This is a superb read which really captures the joy of discovery that motivates researchers and academics. If only we all had the space and time to dedicate to such passions, instead of being weighted down by metrics and the constant hunt for non-existant jobs...
November 16, 2024 at 9:59 AM
At this weekend's Historical Materialism, I argued that industrial workers can take up radical forms of climate activism, often without support from trade union bureacracies or sympathetic social democratic governments. London's pub cats were looking great too.
November 12, 2024 at 2:35 PM
I wrote a short piece for the Herald this week that aimed to offer a more nuanced perspective on Scotland's pandemic governance:
'Following the science': How Scottish Government kept up appearances during Covid
There has been cautious praise for the response of the SNP-led Scottish Government to the pandemic yet suspicion remains that the positive…
www.heraldscotland.com
January 20, 2024 at 1:12 PM
Really enjoyed presenting with @ewangibbs.bsky.social yesterday at GLEW, and look forward to future discussions on contemporary labour politics.
This afternoon, I’ll be presenting my work on energy trade unions and environmental politics at the Glasgow Labour and Employment Working group this afternoon alongside @drewankerr.bsky.social. We’re on at 12 noon, 207, 10 The Square, University of Glasgow.
December 16, 2023 at 12:25 PM