Linus Owens

Linus Owens is a Professor of Sociology at Middlebury College, where he teaches courses on social theory, social movements, urban sociology, and digital sociology. His research focuses on movements, places, and their conflicts, including anarchist organizing online, squatter practices in Amsterdam, and the visual language of political protest. He is the author of Cracking Under Pressure: Narrating Decline in the Amsterdam Squatters’ Movement and Lost in the Supermarket: An Indie Rock Cookbook. Current research projects include the cultural history of Halloween and activists' use of space in protest tactics. Owens is a founding member of a European syndicate researching squatting movements and an active participant in the North American Anarchist Studies Network. He previously taught at Wesleyan University.

Research Interests:

• Analysis of social movements and collective action
• Urban dynamics and place-making
• Visual and digital cultures in sociopolitical contexts
• Critical engagement with material culture and object-based research

Teaching: Recent courses include Society and the Individual, Visual Sociology, Social Theory, and Sociology of Tourism. He advises independent studies and senior projects.

Affiliations:

• North American Anarchist Studies Network
• European syndicate on squatting movements