معرفی
Prof. Michael Biggs is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Cross College. His research spans social movements, political protest, and historical sociology, with a focus on collective action dynamics. He has made significant contributions to understanding protest volatility through endogenous feedback mechanisms and self-inflicted suffering as a form of protest, such as hunger strikes and self-immolation.
- Education:
- BA, Victoria University of Wellington
- MA and PhD, Harvard University
His work integrates quantitative data and historical analysis, challenging conventional theories of protest mobilization. He emphasizes spatial patterns in social life, evident in studies on cartography and state formation, BNP membership, and London riots. Key projects include datasets on protest events in the US and Europe.
Research Trends across his publications include:
- Analysis of protest diffusion in 1886 strikes, 1960 sit-ins, and 2011 London riots
- Examination of self-harm as coercion, spanning self-immolation and hunger strikes
- Spatial modeling of ethnic violence (Gujarat 2002) and right-wing extremism (British National Party)
