Professor Adam David Morton
Adam David Morton is Professor of Political Economy in the Discipline of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. Previously, he was an Associate Professor in Political Economy and co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham (2005-2014). Before that he was a Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Lancaster University (2002-5) and an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (2001-2), where he also completed his PhD.
My specialisms are in the themes of political economy, geography, historical sociology, and, most recently, literary theory in their relevance to the study of modern Mexico and the global political economy.
Published monographs include Unravelling Gramsci: Hegemony and Passive Revolution in the Global Political Economy (Pluto Press, 2007); Revolution and State in Modern Mexico: The Political Economy of Uneven Development (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011) that received the 2012 Book Prize of the British International Studies Association (BISA) International Political Economy Group (IPEG); and Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis (Cambridge University Press, 2018), co-authored with Andreas Bieler. My most recent volume published is Henri Lefebvre, On the Rural: Economy, Sociology, Geography (University of Minnesota Press, 2022) co-edited with Stuart Elden.
Teaching viewpoint
My approach to pedagogy embraces what Ian Angus in Love the Questions: University Education and Enlightenment has called a process of co-questioning: the teacher does not already have all the answers but enhances the ability to confront the questions, alongside students, in a dialogical process of co-questioning. Hence the social function of teaching is about “loving the questions”. Added to this is Antonio Gramsci’s influence that ‘the relationship between teacher and pupil is active and reciprocal so that every teacher is always a pupil and every pupil a teacher’.
My achievements in teaching were recognised at the University of Sydney by a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) Excellence in Teaching Award, in 2018. This was preceded by the award of the 2015 Sir Bernard Crick Prize for Outstanding Teaching by the Political Studies Association (PSA) for innnovative teaching content delivered in the Discipline of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. In 2013, I was the recipient with Andreas Bieler of the British International Studies Association (BISA)-Higher Education Academy (HEA) Award for Excellence in Teaching International Studies and, in 2012, I received a Lord Dearing Award from my previous institution that recognises the outstanding achievements of University of Nottingham staff in enhancing the student learning experience.
Current areas of teaching
ECOP2012 Foundations of Modern Capitalism
ECOP4011 Analytic Foundations of Historical Materialism
PhD and Master’s opportunities
In 2020, I was the recipient of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) Research Mentoring Award at the University of Sydney for “sustained, generous and high-quality mentoring over a number of years”, in relation to faculty as well as research students. My former PhD students have completed award-winning doctoral theses. I have currently supervised a total of 20 PhD candidates to successful completion of their theses, sixteen as primary supervisor and four as secondary supervisor.
My involvement in research mentoring has been a central aspect in realising joint publications with early-career researchers. For example, journal articles have been collectively authored on figures such as Rosa Luxemburg in Journal of International Relations and Development (2016) and Georg Lukács in Review of International Political Economy (2023).
With supervision expertise in the areas of political economy, political geography, state theory, and historical sociology, research students would be welcome across the realms of multidisciplinary research. More specifically, PhD or Master’s by Research applicants interested in the following areas would be most welcomed:
- spatial political economy and geographies of uneven development in modern capitalism;
- approaches to world literature covering economy and space in geographical studies and political economy;
- new approaches to modernity, revolution and hegemony in the thought and action of Antonio Gramsci;
- gate-opening political economy to historical materialist questions on race, class, and gender; or
- rethinking geographies of ground rent, value theory and landed property within transitions to capitalism.
My next monograph is entitledThe Frontiers of Capital: Economy, Space, Literature that will make a contribution to geographical approaches to world literature by focusing on the frontier expansion of capitalism in the U.S.-Mexico region depicted in the novels of Cormac McCarthy. Journal articles shaping this focus as well as my approach to economy and space in literature more broadly have been published in Political Geography(2021), Annals of the American Association of Geographers (2018), and Environment and Planning D: Society and Space (2015).
Member of American Association of Geographers (US); Australian International Political Economy Network (AIPEN); The Institute of Australian Geographers; British International Studies Association (UK); Conference of Socialist Economists (UK); Political Studies Association (UK); Society for Latin American Studies (UK); International Studies Association (US); and Latin American Studies Association (US).
In 2014, I launched the Progress in Political Economy (PPE) blog: see https://www.ppesydney.net/. The PPE blog is a venue for thought about political economy in and beyond the academy. It is linked to faculty members, students, alumni, journalists, and others associated with the Discipline of Political Economy at theUniversity of Sydney and, indeed, around the world. Subsequently co-edited with Gareth Bryant, from 2015 onwards, the PPE blog has been recognised by the International Studies Association (ISA) Online Media Caucus Award for the Best Blog (Group) in 2017. In 2018, myself and Gareth Bryant also received the International Studies Association (ISA) Online Media Caucus Award for Special Achievement in International Studies for PPE.
After the success of the blog, the official launch of the new Progress in Political Economy (PPE) Book Series with Manchester University Press was announced in 2021, see: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/series/progress-in-political-economy/. The PPE Book Series provides a new space for innovative and radical thinking in political economy, covering interdisciplinary scholarship from the perspectives of critical political economy, historical materialism, feminism, political ecology, critical geography, heterodox economics, decolonialism and racial capitalism.
The Series Editors are myself and Andreas Bieler (School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham), Gareth Bryant (Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney), Mònica Clua-Losada (Department of Political Science, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), and Angela Wigger (Department of Political Science, Radboud University, The Netherlands).
Awarded the 2012 British International Studies Association (BISA) International Political Economy Group (IPEG) Book Prize for my book Revolution and State in Modern Mexico: The Political Economy of Uneven Development (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011).
This was subsequently translated into Spanish and published as Revolución y Estado en el México moderno: La economía política del desarrollo desigual. México: Siglo XXI Editores, 2017.
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| Theorising Australian Migration as Class Formation: Imperialism, Racism, and Labour Market Regulation | Sophie COTTON |
Selected publications
(Cambridge University Press, 2018)
(Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2017)
(Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc, 2013)
(Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc, 2011)
Publications
Books
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2018). Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [More Information]
- Morton, A. (2017). Revolucion y Estado en el Mexico Moderno. Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
- Morton, A. (2013). Revolution and State in Modern Mexico: The Political Economy of Uneven Development. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
Edited Books
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2006). Images of Gramsci: Connections and Contentions in Political Theory and International Relations. London: Routledge.
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2001). Social Forces in the Making of the New Europe: The Restructuring of European Social Relations in the Global Political Economy. London: Palgrave.
Book Chapters
- Morton, A., Bieler, A., Bruff, I. (2014). 'Antonio Gramsci and 'the international': Past, Present and Future'. In Mark McNally (Eds.), Antonio Gramsci.
- Morton, A., Bieler, A. (2014). Neo-Gramscian Perspectives. In Siegfried Schieder and Manuela Spindler (Eds.), Theories of International Relations, (pp. 214-230). London: Routledge. [More Information]
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2013). Hegemonia, orden mundial y cambio historico: siguiendo el camino de la teoria critica. Perspectivas neogramscianas en las relaciones internacionales. In Julian Kay and Rodrigo Pascual (Eds.), Integrados () Debates sobre las relaciones internacionales y la integracion regional latinoamericana y europea, (pp. 23-42). Argentina: Imago Mundi.
Journals
- Altun, S., Caiconte, C., Moore, M., Morton, A., Ryan, M., Scanlan, R., Smidt, A. (2023). The life-nerve of the dialectic: György Lukács and the metabolism of space and nature. Review of International Political Economy, 30(2), 584-607. [More Information]
- Morton, A. (2021). A Geography of Blood Meridian: Primitive accumulation on the frontier of space. Political Geography, 91, 102486. [More Information]
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2021). Gate-opening political economy. International Relations, 35(1), 188-194. [More Information]
Edited Journals
- Morton, A. (2010). Approaching Passive Revolutions: Special edited issue of Capital & Class. Capital and Class, 34(3). [More Information]
Conferences
- Morton, A. (2013). Keynote Address. Interrogating the Global: Challenges for the Social Sciences, UiB Global, University of Bergen, Norway.
- Morton, A. (2013). The Architecture of Passive Revolution: Society, State and Space in Modern Mexico. 8th Rethinking Marxism International Conference 'Surplus, Solidarity, Sufficiency', University of Massechusetts, Amherst, USA.
- Morton, A. (2012). The Architecture of Passive Revolution: Society, State and Space in Modern Mexico. 9th Annual Historical Materialism Conference, 'Weighs Like a Nightmare', School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)/ London.
Report
- Morton, A. (2012). 'Stubbornness and Blindness: Understanding Mexico's Neoliberal "Transition', NACLA: Report on the Americas, 46:1 (2012): 28-33.
2023
- Altun, S., Caiconte, C., Moore, M., Morton, A., Ryan, M., Scanlan, R., Smidt, A. (2023). The life-nerve of the dialectic: György Lukács and the metabolism of space and nature. Review of International Political Economy, 30(2), 584-607. [More Information]
2021
- Morton, A. (2021). A Geography of Blood Meridian: Primitive accumulation on the frontier of space. Political Geography, 91, 102486. [More Information]
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2021). Gate-opening political economy. International Relations, 35(1), 188-194. [More Information]
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2021). Is capitalism structurally indifferent to gender?: Routes to a value theory of reproductive labour *. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 53(7), 1749-1769. [More Information]
2019
- Bieler, A., Jordan, J., Morton, A. (2019). EU Aggregate Demand As a Way out of Crisis? Engaging the Post-Keynesian Critique. Journal of Common Market Studies, 57(4), 805-822. [More Information]
2018
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2018). Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [More Information]
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2018). Interlocutions with passive revolution. Thesis Eleven, 147(1), 9-28. [More Information]
- Cahill, D., Konings, M., Morton, A. (2018). Questioning the Utopian Springs of Market Economy. Globalizations, 15(7), 887-893. [More Information]
2017
- Morton, A. (2017). Revolucion y Estado en el Mexico Moderno. Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
- Morton, A. (2017). Spatial Political Economy. Journal of Australian Political Economy, 79, 21-38. [More Information]
2016
- Bieler, A., Bozkurt, S., Crook, M., Cruttenden, P., Erol, E., Morton, A., Tansel, C., Uzgoren, E. (2016). The Enduring Relevance of Rosa Luxemburg's 'The Accumulation of Capital'. Journal of International Relations and Development, 19(3), 420-447. [More Information]
- Morton, A. (2016). The Who of Power? Globalizations, 13(2), 232-241. [More Information]
- Elden, S., Morton, A. (2016). Thinking Past Henri Lefebvre: Introducing "The Theory of Ground Rent and Rural Sociology". Antipode, 48(1), 57-66. [More Information]
2015
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2015). Axis of Evil or Access to Diesel? Spaces of New Imperialism and the Iraq War. Historical Materialism-Research in Critical Marxist Theory, 23(2), 94-130. [More Information]
- Morton, A. (2015). The warp of the world: Geographies of space and time in The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 33(5), 831-849. [More Information]
2014
- Morton, A., Bieler, A., Bruff, I. (2014). 'Antonio Gramsci and 'the international': Past, Present and Future'. In Mark McNally (Eds.), Antonio Gramsci.
- Morton, A., Bieler, A. (2014). Neo-Gramscian Perspectives. In Siegfried Schieder and Manuela Spindler (Eds.), Theories of International Relations, (pp. 214-230). London: Routledge. [More Information]
- Hesketh, C., Morton, A. (2014). Spaces of Uneven Development and Class Struggle in Bolivia: Transformation or Trasformismo? Antipode, 46(1), 149-169. [More Information]
2013
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2013). Hegemonia, orden mundial y cambio historico: siguiendo el camino de la teoria critica. Perspectivas neogramscianas en las relaciones internacionales. In Julian Kay and Rodrigo Pascual (Eds.), Integrados () Debates sobre las relaciones internacionales y la integracion regional latinoamericana y europea, (pp. 23-42). Argentina: Imago Mundi.
- Morton, A. (2013). Keynote Address. Interrogating the Global: Challenges for the Social Sciences, UiB Global, University of Bergen, Norway.
- Morton, A. (2013). Revolution and State in Modern Mexico: The Political Economy of Uneven Development. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
2012
- Morton, A. (2012). 'Stubbornness and Blindness: Understanding Mexico's Neoliberal "Transition', NACLA: Report on the Americas, 46:1 (2012): 28-33.
- Morton, A. (2012). A idade do Absolutism: capitalismo, o estado-sistema moderno e relacoes internacionais [The Age of Absolutism: Capitalism, the Modern States-System and International Relations]. In Aggio Alberto Luiz Sergio Henriques and Giuseppe Vacca (Eds.), Usos contemporâneos de Gramsci. Brasilia: Fundacao Astrojildo Pereira.
- Morton, A. (2012). The Architecture of Passive Revolution: Society, State and Space in Modern Mexico. 9th Annual Historical Materialism Conference, 'Weighs Like a Nightmare', School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)/ London.
2011
- Morton, A. (2011). 'Geopolitik und passive Revolution' [Geopolitics and Passive Revolution]. In Benjamin Opratko and Oliver Prausmuller (Eds.), Gramsci globally: Neogramscianische Perspektiven in der Internationalen Politischen Okonomie [Neogramscianische perspectives in international political economy more], (pp. 184-203). Hamburg: Argument-Verlag GmbH.
- Morton, A. (2011). A Critique of Passive Revolution in Turkey: The Limits of Sociological Marxism. Paper presented at the conference 'Religion, Civil Society and Political Society in Gramsci', Buyukada, Istanbul.
- Morton, A., Bieler, A. (2011). Axis of Evil or Access to Diesel?: Spaces of New Imperialism and the Iraq War. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Historical Materialism Conference, Spaces of Capital, Moments of Struggle, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)/ London.
2010
- Bieler, A., Bruff, I., Morton, A. (2010). Acorns and Fruit: From totalization to periodization in the critique of capitalism. Capital and Class, 34(1), 25-37. [More Information]
- Morton, A. (2010). Antonio Gramsci and the Lyon Theses: The Dialectics of Living History. New Insights into Gramsci's Life and Work, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
- Morton, A. (2010). Antonio Gramsci and the Lyon Theses: The Dialectics of Living History. Manchester Workshop in Political Theory, Manchester, United Kingdom.
2009
- Morton, A. (2009). Antonio Gramsci and the Lyon Theses: The Dialectics of Living History. Sixth Annual Conference; Another World is Necessary: Crisis, Struggle and Political Alternatives, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)/ London.
- Morton, A. (2009). Travelling with Gramsci: The spatiality of passive revolution. Workshop on 'Gramscian Geographies', Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
2008
- Morton, A. (2008). Invited Speaker. International Relations and the Politics of Discourse, Department of International Relations, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.
- Morton, A. (2008). Reflections on Uneven Development: Mexican Revolution, Primitive Accumulation, Passive Revolution. 5th Annual Historical Materialism Conference, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)/ London.
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2008). The Deficits of Discourse in IPE: turning base metal into gold? International Studies Quarterly, 21(1), 103-128. [More Information]
2007
- Morton, A. (2007). Unravelling Gramsci: Hegemony and Passive Revolution in the Global Political Economy. Ann Arbor: Pluto Press.
2006
- Bieler, A., Bonefeld, W., Burnham, P., Morton, A. (2006). Global Restructuring, State, Capital and Labour: Contesting neo-Gramscian Perspectives. London: Palgrave.
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2006). Images of Gramsci: Connections and Contentions in Political Theory and International Relations. London: Routledge.
2001
- Bieler, A., Morton, A. (2001). Social Forces in the Making of the New Europe: The Restructuring of European Social Relations in the Global Political Economy. London: Palgrave.
Selected Grants
2022
- The Value of Housing, Rogers D, Morton A, Troy L, Blatman N, Altun S, The Henry Halloran Trust/Research Seminar and Publication Scheme
- The life-nerve of the dialectic: Gyorgy Lukacs and the metabolism of space and nature, Morton A, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Open Access Publishing Fund
2016
- Understanding Power, Effecting Change: Theory Across the Curriculum (Open Learning Environment - Undergraduate), Fernandes S, Baines D, Driscoll C, Angosto Ferrandez L, Konings M, Morton A, Van Wichelen S, DVC Education/Small Educational Innovation Grant
- Henri Lefebvre's writings on rural sociology, ground rent and the politics of land, Morton A, Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF)/Flexible Grants for Small Groups
Videos
Professor Adam David Morton talks about his research interests, current research projects, and teaching programmes within the Department of Political Economy. Available here and below.
Ever wanted to know about Antonio Gramsci's concept of passive revolution? A YouTube video recorded by me at my former institution at the University of Nottingham attempts to do so in 60 seconds, see: Passive revolution - YouTube.
There is also this blog post: 'What is this thing called passive revolution?'