Staff Profile

Roles and Responsibilities

School Director of Education (2014-17; 2020-21)

Director of Undergraduate Studies (2017-2020)

Degree Programme Director L200 and L241 (2017-2019)

Co-Convenor, BISA Learning and Teaching Working Group (2015-16)

Associate Editor, Politics (PSA; 2012-2016)

Degree Programme Director for Politics and Economics (2011-2013)

Politics Subject Advisor for Combined Honours (2011-2013)

Background

I am a native of Pennsylvania and a keen Philadelphia sports fan. As soon as I graduated from undergraduate school I headed to rural China (Jiangxi province) where I taught English to college students for two years under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church. I then moved to Luxor, Egypt and helped train English teachers at a primary school. Not long before the new millennium I moved to the UK to continue my studies in theology and philosophy. 

Qualifications

PhD: University of Durham: Philosophy (Biomedical Ethics and Genetic Epidemiology)

MA: University of Durham: Theological Research (Distinction)

BA: York College of Pennsylvania: International Studies/Government (Cum Laude)

Previous Positions

2004-2006: BIOS Centre, London School of Economics & Political Science: Research Fellow

2001-2004: Policy, Ethics & Life Science Centre, Newcastle University: Research Associate

Languages

Mandarin Chinese: intermediate

Research Interests

philosophy as a way of life; self-cultivation; interdisciplinarity; autoethnography; mental health; medical humanities 

My career is characterised by a thoroughgoing commitment to addressing problems not constrained by disciplinary boundaries. I have made internationally recognised contributions in international politics, bioethics, and pedagogical research. My research in philosophy as a way of life is not only an academic pursuit; it is also deeply personal. I went to China not because of its politics but because I was drawn to its traditions of self-cultivation. I researched bioethics because I’ve struggled for years with my own wellbeing. It is no surprise then that I’d come to a research agenda which both interrogates therapeutic culture while also asking what philosophy can contribute to it and, conversely, what it can contribute to the politics of everyday life.

My current research is on the modern revival of Stoicism. Despite the international success of the popular Stoic movement, we know little about its impact. My project is divided into three phases: analysis of online content and academic publications; thematic analysis of interview data with self-identified Stoics; and follow on interviews with a small subset of participants, employing interpretative phenomenological analysis to better understand the role Stoic philosophy played in giving meaning and making sense of a significant life event.

Beyond this I continue to research/practice the linkages between pedagogy and philosophy as a way of life. In particular I am working on an article based on my module Politics as a Way Life and exploring the notion of autoethnography as a spiritual exercise.

Postgraduate Supervision

I have successfully supervised 6 PhD students: i) Yuanyuan Liu on similarities between the framing of the Cultural Revolution and the Xi era (2019); ii) Cheng Qian on the rise of China as represented through US television (2018); iii) Ben Coulson on Sino-US relations (2017); vi) Sarina Theys on the soft power of small states (2017); v) Andrew Campion on energy security (2014); vi) Ji-Jen Hwang on cybersecurity (2012)

Esteem Indicators

Vice-Chancellor's Celebrating Success scheme for 'Outstanding Leadership', 2020

Invited Presenter: Shandong University's ‘China and Global Governance’ Summer School, 2019

Mentor, Newcastle Educational Practice Scheme 2019-20

Nominated for Newcastle Teaching Award for Innovative Methods, 2018; 2013; 2012

Associate Editor, Politics (PSA), 2012-2016

Member TEF Working Group, PSA/BISA, 2015-17

Nominated for Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award, 2012

Visiting Fellow, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College (Xiehe Yiyuan), Spring 2008

Funding

Internal:

GPS Small Bids 2017; 2023

PVC Teaching Development Fund, 2016-17

Newcastle University HASS Faculty REF Fund, 2010

External:

Biosecurity Capacity Building in China, UK Foreign Office, 2012-13

Alfred P Sloan Foundation, Sustaining a Global Network for Biosecurity: The Life Sciences and Dual Use Research, collaboration Dr Brian Rappert (Exeter), and Prof Malcolm Dando (Bradford), 2009-2010

UK-China Fellowship of Excellence, Department of Innovation, Universities, and Skills, 2008

Wellcome Witness Seminar: Medical Ethics Education in Britain 1963-1993. Oral history conference funds, 2006

Wellcome Trust Biomedical Ethics Grant. A comparative study of participation and non-participation in the North Cumbria Community Genetics project (with Erica Haimes), 2001-2003.

Current Teaching

POL3133 Politics as a Way of Life (module leader)

POL3046 Final Year Dissertation (module leader, supervisor)

POL3047 Final Year Project: Semester 1 (module leader, supervisor)

POL3048 Final Year Project: Semester 2 (module leader, supervisor)

POL8099 MA Dissertation (supervisor)

Previous Teaching

HSS8007 An Introduction to the Nature of Explanation and Enquiry (2017-2021)

POL8055 The 'I' in IR: Autoethnography and Political Storytelling (2014-16)

POL8052 The Rise of China (2010-2014)

POL3104 The Fall & Rise of China (2014-2017; 2020-21)

POL2084 Contemporary Chinese Politics (2009-2013)

POL1046 Order and Disorder: The Shaping of the 21st Century (2011-2014; 2020-21)

POL1131 Studying Political Economy (2010-2014)

POL1045 Truth, Lies and Politics: Research Methods (2011-2012)

• Articles

  • Zhang JY, Barr M. Harmoniously Denied: COVID-19 and the Latent Effects of Censorship. Surveillance & Society 2021, 19(3), 389-402.
  • Barr M, Wright P. Training graduate teaching assistants: What can the discipline offer?. European Political Science 2019, 18(1), 143-156.
  • Zhang J, Barr M. The transformative power of commoning and alternative food networks. Environmental Politics 2019, 28(4), 771-789.
  • Barr M. Autoethnography as Pedagogy: Writing the “I” in IR. Qualitative Inquiry 2019, 25(9-10), 1106-1114.
  • Barr M, Feklyunina V, Theys S. Introduction: The Soft Power of Hard States. Politics 2015, 35(3-4), 213-215.
  • Zhang JY, Barr M. Recasting subjectivity through the lenses: new forms of environmental mobilisation in China. Environmental Politics 2013, 22(5), 849-865.
  • Barr M. Nation Branding as Nation Building: China's Image Campaign. East Asia 2012, 29(1), 81-94.
  • Barr M. How Chinese identity politics shapes its depictions of Europe. Review of European Studies 2012, 4(3), 45-53.
  • Barr M. Mythe et réalité du "Soft Power" de la Chine. Etudes Internationales 2010, 41, 503-520.
  • Barr MT, Rose D. The great ambivalence: factors likely to affect service user and public acceptability of the pharmacogenomics of antidepressant medication. Sociology of Health and Illness 2008, 30(6), 944-958.
  • Barr MT. Cures that kill: biosecurity and the dual use dilemma. China Security 2008, 4(4), 35-43.
  • Barr MT. Beyond biosafety: biosecurity as an ethical concern. Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 2008, 18, 71-74.
  • Barr MT. 'I'm not really read up on genetics': biobanks and the social context of informed consent. BioSocieties 2006, 1(2), 251-262.
  • Barr MT, Singh I, Rose N. The pharmacogenomics of depression: mapping the social and ethical impact. Journal of Public Mental Health 2005, 4(3), 33-41.
  • Haimes E, Barr M. Key issues in genetic epidemiology: Lessons from a UK based empirical study. Trames 2004, 8(1/2), 150-163.
  • Barr M. Clinical ethics teaching in Britain: a history of the London Medical Group. New Reviews in Bioethics 2003, 1(1), 73-84.
  • Barr M. Review: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives on Biomedical Ethics. Wellcome History 2002, (21).
  • Barr M. Medical Ethics in Historical Contexts. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 2001, 4(2), 233-235.

• Authored Books

  • Zhang JY, Barr M. Green Politics in China: Environmental Governance and State-Society Relations. London: Pluto Press, 2013.
  • Barr M. Who's Afraid of China? The Challenge of Chinese Soft Power. London: Zed Books, 2011.

• Book Chapters

  • Barr M. Chinese cultural diplomacy: old wine in new bottles?. In: Kerr, D, ed. China's Many Dreams: Comparative Perspectives on China’s Search for National Rejuvenation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, pp.180-200.
  • Barr M, Zhang JY. Bioethics and Biosecurity Education in China: Rise of a Scientific Superpower. In: Rappert, B, ed. Education and Ethics in the Life Sciences: Strengthening the Prohibition of Biological Weapons. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2010, pp.115-129.
  • Barr M. The role of China as an international biosecurity actor. In: B Rappert and C Gould, ed. Biosecurity: Origins, Transformations and Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, pp.121-132.
  • Barr MT. Informed consent and the shaping of US and UK population based genetic research. In: Guston DH; Sarewitz D, ed. Shaping Science & Technology Policy: The Next Generation of Research. Madison, Wisconsin, USA: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2006, pp.291-311.
  • Haimes E, Barr M. Levels and styles of participation in genetic databases : A case study of the North Cumbria Community Genetics Project. In: Tutton R; Corrigan O, ed. Genetic Databases: Socio-ethical issues in the collection and use of DNA. London: Routledge, 2004, pp.57-77.
  • Haimes E, Barr M. Competing perspectives on reasons for participation and non-participation in the North Cumbria Community Genetics Project. In: Knoppers BM, ed. Populations and Genetics: Legal Socio-Ethical Perspectives. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003, pp.199-216.

• Reviews

  • Barr M. Book Review: The Selected Writings of Pierre Hadot: Philosophy as Practice, and Simone Kotva, Effort and Grace: On the Spiritual Exercise of Philosophy. Metaphilosophy 2020, 51(5), 766-770.
  • Barr M. The Geography of the Ocean: Knowing the Ocean as a Space. The Cartographic Journal 2018, 55(3), 302-302.
  • Barr M. Governing the Commons in China. The China Quarterly 2017, 231, 815-817.
  • Barr M. Earth governance: trusteeship of the global commons. Environmental Politics 2017, 26(3), 548-550.
  • Barr M. Singer's World. International Studies Review 2003, 5(3), 406-408.
  • Barr M. Human Genetics and Genetic Politics [book review]. New Genetics and Society 2003, 22(1), 117-118.