David Miller (sociologist)

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This article is about the British sociologist. For the British political theorist, see David Miller (political theorist).

David Miller (born 1964) is a British sociologist. He is professor of political sociology at the University of Bristol,[1] and the co-founder and co-director of the non-profit company Public Interest Investigations, which runs two projects, Spinwatch and Powerbase.

Career[]

Education and posts[]

Miller earned a bachelor's degree in biological science from the University of Glasgow. He undertook doctoral research with the Glasgow Media Group.[2]

Miller began his academic career as a lecturer and then reader in film and media studies at the University of Stirling, before switching to sociology.[2] From 2004 to 2011, he was professor of sociology at the University of Strathclyde.[3] In 2011, he became Professor of Sociology at the University of Bath[4] and in 2018 assumed his current post at the University of Bristol.[5]

From 2013 to 2016 he was a Global Uncertainties Leadership Fellow with the Research Councils UK (RCUK), where he led a project examining the function of expertise in the area of terrorism.[6] Between 2013 and 2016, the UK Research and Innovation funding body provided Miller and his co-authors £401,552 in funding.[7]

Other affiliations[]

Miller is the co-founder and co-director of the non-profit company Public Interest Investigations, which has two main projects, Spinwatch, a website[8] which says it is "devoted to public interest reporting on spin lobbying and political corruption", and Powerbase, a wiki that "monitors power networks and conflicts of interest".[9] SpinWatch aligns with Miller's interest in "concentrations of power in society" by examining networks which use "spin and deception" to "distort public debate and undermine democracy".[5] Miller is a director of the Organisation for Propaganda Studies.[10][11] He is a member of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (SPM).[12]

Miller also operated the website SpinProfiles which described itself as a collaborative "encyclopedia of people, issues, and groups shaping the public agenda" and has "close to ten thousand profiles of think tanks, lobbying organisations and those associated with them".[13] The content of SpinProfiles was moved to Powerbase as of 2010.[14][15] A July 2010 article by Shiraz Maher in Standpoint magazine described SpinProfiles as displaying an "apparent obsession with 'Jewish power' or, if you will, 'the Jewish lobby'".[13] The article also said that "While they profile almost every Jewish group out there ... they only focus on those Muslims who oppose Islamism." Maher said that "friends such as Faisal Gazi and Ed Husain are logged and recorded on Miller's websites (along with myself) while there is nothing on Iqbal Sacranie, Mohammed Abdul Bari, or Daud Abdullah".[13]

In a 2021 article in the New Statesman, Dave Rich Head of Policy at the Community Security Trust, wrote that Spinwatch "echoes certain facets of anti-Semitic conspiracism."[5] Miller's work, according to Rich, attempts to identify "pro-Israel trusts and foundations" and "networks of money or power", Miller believes were attempting to "marginalise British Muslims." Miller, Rich argued, refers to "a handful of donors who had given money to two think tanks that Miller deemed to be Islamophobic. However, it is unclear what evidence he had that they gave their money specifically to fund research on Muslim-related issues ... or that they formed a coordinated 'network' that acted together."[5]

Another of Miller's websites, Neocon Europe,[16][17] hosted material written by Kevin MacDonald, an American evolutionary psychologist who appeared as a witness for David Irving in his unsuccessful libel claim against Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt. Miller said he removed MacDonald's statements in November 2009, "as soon as I became aware that they had been posted on the site". In December 2009, Miller said: "Macdonald has been repeatedly and rightly (in our view) accused of racism. Moreover, the statements expressed core essentialist anti-semitic/racist ideas. This material should not have been posted and is in no way endorsed by this site. I apologise for, and deeply regret, this error."[13][18][19]

Statements, activities and responses[]

In 2019, Jewish students and Bristol's Jewish Society at Bristol made a complaint to Bristol university, "students said they felt that, taken as a whole, his lecture ["Harms of the Powerful" [20]] was reminiscent of “anti-Semitic language, tropes and conspiracy theories”. Miller said "I don't teach conspiracy theories of any sort" that it is “simply a matter of fact" that "parts of the Zionist movement are involved in funding Islamophobia". The complaint was rejected by the university on the basis that it did not contain any material that was hostile to Jews and therefore could not be considered as anti-Semitic.[21]

On 20 May 2020, Miller was suspended as a member of the Labour Party[22] and resigned the following month, after accusing Labour leader Keir Starmer of taking money from "the Zionist movement".[23] The following month, Miller said the "targeted harassment" of him and other socialist members confirmed "the degree of influence that Zionist advocates and lobbyists for Israel have over disciplinary processes and Party policy".[24][25] In an online public forum on 29 July 2020, Miller said: "The Zionist movement, and the Israeli government, are the enemy of the left, the enemy of world peace, and they must be directly targeted."[26]

The All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism accused Miller of "inciting hatred against Jewish students".[27][28][29][26] In early March 2021, The Times newspaper reported Miller had been accused[by whom?] of antisemitism.[26] He had called for the "end of Zionism," and said Israel is "trying to exert its will all over the world."[26] He called members of the University of Bristol Jewish Society "pawns ... [of] a violent, racist foreign regime engaged in ethnic cleansing".[30]

In a letter to Bristol university, Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies said Miller's "increasingly hysterical attacks on British Jewish organisations are now raising the prospect of real physical harm". In a statement, Bristol University said it did "not endorse the comments made by Professor David Miller about our Jewish students"[31] and also said "Equally, we must balance the rights and often wide-ranging views of students and staff with institutional policies and national law concerning academic freedom and freedom of speech."[32] A few days later, Daniel Finkelstein, in a column in The Times, wrote that "waywardness has a place in academic life" and was sceptical of the merits of "cancel culture". The issue convincing Finkelstein that Miller should removed from his post was his treatment of 18-year-old students who joined the university's Jewish Society and were treated by a professor as potential agents of Israel.[33] Then on 28 February, Malia Bouattia, former president of the UK National Union of Students, in an opinion piece for Aljazeera defending Miller, said that it is "notable that the accusations of "anti-Semitism" levelled at him arise from a lecture he gave on the Zionist movement's involvement in promoting Islamophobia, a well-known fact among scholars who study the Palestinian question."[34]

On 17 March, the University said that it had begun an investigation of Miller.[28] In March 2021, the Avon and Somerset Police said that it had opened a hate crime investigation.[35][needs update]In April 2021, 550 academics, including Simon Schama and Simon Sebag Montefiore, signed a letter condemning Miller's statements,[which?].[26][36] Thangam Debbonaire, whose constituency includes the University of Bristol, denounced Miller's statement.[29][which?]

An open letter[37] to the university was signed by hundreds of public intellectuals and academics, including high profile names such as Noam Chomsky and Judith Butler stating that "Professor Miller is an eminent scholar. He is known internationally for exposing the role that powerful actors and well-resourced, co-ordinated networks play in manipulating and stage-managing public debates, including on racism."[38][39]

Selected publications[]

  • Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy: Corporate PR and the Assault on Democracy (Pluto Press, 2007)[4]
  • A Century of Spin: How Public Relations Became the Cutting Edge of Corporate Power (Pluto Press, 2008)[4]
  • What is Islamophobia?: Racism, Social Movements and the State, Narzanin Massoumi, Tom Mills, David Miller (Pluto Press, 2017)
  • Bad News for Labour: Antisemitism, the Party and Public Belief, Greg Philo, Mike Berry, Justin Schlosberg, Antony Lerman, David Miller (Pluto Press, 2019)

References[]

  1. ^ "David Miller". University of Bristol.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Appointments: University of Bath, David Miller". Times Higher Education. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  3. ^ "David Miller - University of Bath, Bath - UB - Department of Social and Policy Sciences - ResearchGate". ResearchGate. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c "David Miller". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Rich, Dave (22 March 2021). "Why 'academic freedom' is no defence of the Bristol University professor David Miller". New Statesman. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Lying and Deception in Politics". Oxford Handbooks Online. 15 November 2018. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198736578.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780198736578-e-42. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  7. ^ Clarke-Ezzidio, Harry (1 July 2021). "Revealed: Bristol academic under investigation for alleged anti-Semitism received £400k of public funds". New Statesman. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  8. ^ "About us". spinwatch.org.
  9. ^ "Home". www.dmiller.info. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  10. ^ Kennedy, Dominic. "British academics sharing coronavirus conspiracy theories online". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 July 2021. (subscription required)
  11. ^ "David Miller". University of Bristol. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Members". Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Maher, Shiraz (13 July 2010). "Questions David Miller must answer". Standpoint. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Spin Profiles". spinprofiles.org.
  15. ^ "Powerbase". powerbase.info.
  16. ^ "Welcome!". www.neoconeurope.eu.
  17. ^ "Neocon Europe database". dmiller.info.
  18. ^ Meleagrou-Hitchens, Alexander (13 July 2010). "Spinwatch must offer right of reply". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Questions for David Miller at NeoconEurope". 10 December 2009.
  20. ^ "I'm a Jewish UoB student and I'm sick of worrying about professor David Miller". University of Bristol. 22 October 2020.
  21. ^ Turner, Camilla; Horton, Imogen (8 September 2019). "Bristol University accused of failing to heed Jewish students' complaints" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  22. ^ Harpin, Lee (20 May 2020). "Lecturer who said Starmer received 'Zionist' money suspended by Labour". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  23. ^ York, Chris (20 February 2021). "Jewish Students 'Intimidated' By Professor's Comments As Williamson Defends 'Free Speech'". HuffPost.
  24. ^ Harpin, Lee (15 June 2020). "Ahead of a probe into his conduct, Bristol professor resigns from Labour blaming 'the Zionist movement'". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  25. ^ Kennedy, Dominic (16 June 2020). "Lecturer David Miller quits 'Zionist' Labour Party". The Times. Retrieved 16 June 2020. (subscription required)
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Humphries, Will (4 March 2021). "MPs and peers call on Bristol University to condemn academic in antisemitism row". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. The 116 politicians tell Brady in the letter: "Professor Miller has brought your university into disrepute. You must now act before any further damage is done." Miller was accused of antisemitism after calling Zionism 'the enemy' which had to be defeated and claiming it was 'fundamental to Zionism to encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism'. He said there was an attempt by 'the Israelis' to 'impose their will all over the world'.
  27. ^ "Bristol University: Politicians urge action over professor's comments". BBC News. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b "Bristol University: Professor David Miller investigation launched". BBC News. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Gogarty, Conor (19 February 2021). "Bristol professor makes 'appalling' comments in Zoom call". BristolLive. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  30. ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan. "Nearly 200 scholars back UK lecturer who called Jewish students Israel 'pawns'". www.timesofisrael.com.
  31. ^ Harpin, Lee (19 February 2021). "Bristol University say they 'do not endorse' Professor Miller's comments 'about our Jewish students'". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Bristol University: Politicians urge action over professor's comments". 8 March 2021 – via www.bbc.com.
  33. ^ Finkelstein, Daniel (23 February 2021). "Bristol University should sack conspiracist professor". The Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021. (subscription required)
  34. ^ Bouattia, Malia. "A war is being waged against academic freedom in Britain". www.aljazeera.com.
  35. ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (26 March 2021). "UK police: Academic calling Jewish students 'pawns' of Israel may be hate crime". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  36. ^ Hall, Rachel (27 April 2021). "Conservative MPs call Bristol University a 'hotbed of antisemitism'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  37. ^ Miller, Support David. "We stand with David Miller". Support David Miller.
  38. ^ "Conservative MPs call Bristol University a 'hotbed of antisemitism'". the Guardian. 27 April 2021.
  39. ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan. "Nearly 200 scholars back UK lecturer who called Jewish students Israel 'pawns'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 13 July 2021.

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See also[]

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