Tribute to Professor John Brewer

On Wednesday, Queen’s University hosted an event marking the retirement of Professor John Brewer. John has had a tremendous impact on international scholarship, as well as on my own personal career. (It appears John will have an active ‘retirement’, as he is currently working on three books!) I had the privilege to speak at the event, and my remarks are below.

Tribute to Professor John Brewer

We are here this afternoon to celebrate the career of Prof John Brewer. Most of us are aware of John’s scholarly contributions. But as is customary at such events, it is only appropriate to remind ourselves of his work and reflect on his legacy.

I will not simply read out a list of his accomplishments. But I want to start there. His achievements are truly global. John is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. When he was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 2004, he was then only the third sociologist in its more than 200-year history.

John also has served as President (2009-2012) and Chair of the British Sociological Association (2004-2006) – the premier body for the discipline in the UK. Since 2010 he has been on the United Nations Roster of Global Experts for his work on peacebuilding. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2012 from Brunel University for services to social science. He is Honorary Professor Extraordinary at Stellenbosch University (since 2017) and Honorary Professor of Sociology at Warwick University (since 2021).

Jeffrey C. Alexander, the Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor Sociology at Yale University, summed up John’s contributions in a message he asked me to pass on today:

John Brewer has crystallized a unique sociological focus that is not only of great theoretical and empirical interest but also uniquely significant in moral terms. Emphasizing the moral and symbolic elements in post-conflict situations, he has put solidarity and mutual recognition at the center of sociological focus – as they should be. John’s work has been a beacon of light, and I look forward to its continuing illumination.

Queen’s University is, of course, one of main sites where John’s work has been a beacon of light. John worked here between 1981-2002 and 2013-2023. He was Head of the then School of Sociology and Social Policy between 1993-2002 and – after spending nine years as Sixth Century Professor of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen – returned to Queen’s to take up a post as Professor of Post Conflict Studies in the Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.

John has authored, co-authored, and edited well over 20 books and hundreds of journal articles. He has been a public intellectual, communicating his expertise through a variety of mediums.

He has engaged with practitioners, especially here in Northern Ireland, and his research findings and concepts have been of value to them. For example, I am aware that John’s argument that the ‘mavericks’ working on the margins of religious institutions have been the most effective faith-based peacebuilders has informed the work of contemporary peace activists, giving them insights about how to go about their work. And if you were in Fitzroy Presbyterian Church this past Sunday, the minister, Rev Steve Stockman, quoted John in his sermon, pointing out that John had often told him and Fr Martin Magill, founders of the 4 Corners Festival, that ‘forgiveness was your – Christians’ – word, and they should not be afraid to use it in the public sphere.

John also has mentored students and younger scholars. I am one of the people whose life and career has been made better through John’s work. I first encountered John through the library at University College Dublin, when I was working on a master’s in politics. My dissertation supervisor, Prof Jennifer Todd, recommended both his work on religion in Northern Ireland and on research methods. It’s worth mentioning that one of the first books I read by John, Ethnography, published in 2000, has been cited more than 3,000 times (according to Google scholar). So it wasn’t just me turning pages in the UCD library!

My master’s dissertation research was a case study of the religious and political attitudes of evangelical students in Queen’s Christian Union. Jennifer reached out to John – who was on sabbatical at the time – and he allowed me to use his office in Queen’s to interview students from the Christian Union. Just one of many kindnesses along the way.

John was also the external examiner for my PhD at UCD, which focused on evangelicalism, conflict and peacebuilding in Northern Ireland. It was, at the time, the first publicly-defended PhD in politics at UCD. John was a persistent and fair examiner. He didn’t shy away from asking challenging questions. I later learned that some of the other students in attendance were somewhat intimidated by his questioning. But what those students didn’t know was that John had quietly reassured me before we went into the exam, indicating that his questions would be asked in a constructive spirit.

I started work in Queen’s in 2015, just a couple of years after John had returned. I was hired as a Research Fellow in the Mitchell Institute, and John was designated as my mentor. That meant I benefited from several years of sound career advice, helping me to progress to membership of the Royal Irish Academy and Professor in Sociology.

John initially established a module on Religion and Peacebuilding for the MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, which was then offered through the Mitchell Institute. Indeed, he was instrumental in helping get that very popular degree up and running. I have been teaching its Religion and Peacebuilding module since 2016. John’s work features prominently in its curriculum. His 2011 book, Religion, Civil Society and Peace in Northern Ireland, is fundamental as it lays out a theoretical understanding of the role of religion and peace processes and delves deeply into the Northern Ireland case.

I also teach a second-year undergraduate module on the Sociology of Conflict and Peace Processes. Again, John’s work is central to the curriculum, including his 2010 book Peace Processes: A Sociological Approach and his 2022 Advanced Introduction to the Sociology of Peace Processes. Students respond well to John’s distinctions between social and political peace processes, his work on victims as moral beacons, and his insights about the importance of civil society in peace processes. Indeed, in a 2012 review of Peace Processes: A Sociological Approach, no less a scholar than Johan Galtung, considered one of the founding fathers of peace studies, wrote that John’s chapter on civil society was ‘brilliant … with rich references to the processes Brewer knows best.’ Galtung goes on to write that ‘Brewer is a westerner applying much of the wisdom of the non-West to conflicts in the West. A very promising approach.’

I could keep on talking about how the promise of John’s work continues to be fulfilled and carried on by those of us he has influenced for the good. But now is the time to let some of them speak for themselves.

First, we’ll have video recordings from Rev Dr Gary Mason and Dr Gareth Higgins. Then we’ll hear from Dr David Mitchell (Trinity College Dublin) and Prof Richard English (speaking on behalf of Prof David Livingstone, who is ill) before asking John himself to respond.

Prof Daniel Muijis, head of the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, also spoke at the event.