I am Associate Professor in the Social Justice and Peace Studies Department at King’s University College at Western University (territory of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Chonnonton).
My research interests are interdisciplinary, crisscrossing contemporary political theory, feminist theory, political economy, philosophy, and sociology. One strand of research revolves around the study of Real Utopias, which are institutions designed to be both normatively emancipatory and empirically grounded. My interests in this area include economic democracy, workplace democracy, basic income, citizens’ assemblies, wealth taxes, universal caregiving, good quality part-time work, and so on. Another strand of research focuses on theoretical and normative debates concerning egalitarianism, care theory, disability justice, meritocracy, social hierarchy, and democratic socialism.
Since the passing of my mentor, Erik Olin Wright, I have taken over as Coordinator of the Real Utopias Project in collaboration with the Havens Wright Center.
I am also a longtime anti-authoritarian activist and organizer. I have worked with migrant justice, anti-poverty, global justice, anti-war, and solidarity economy groups. Most recently I have been organizing with Black Lives Matter and am co-founder of the Toronto chapter of Showing Up For Racial Justice. I am also White, a settler on stolen Indigenous lands, queer, and gender non-conforming.
I can be reached at teemalleson [at] gmail [dot] com
