About
Research
Email: andrea.sau@stmarys.ac.uk
Biography
Andrea Sau joined St Mary's University in 2018 and has been designing and delivering various modules within the Department of Politics and International Relationship ever since.
He also taught at the University of Hertfordshire and King’s College London, where he completed his PhD.
Research
Research profile
Andrea’s research revolves around political and social theory as well as political economy and theories of ideology. His focus has been on the Marxist tradition, in particular the works of Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci.
His PhD is a Marxist theory of ideology based on an in-depth reading of their works. He has developed a framework that combines key concepts from the Marxist tradition with Bourdeau’s habitus/field dichotomy and insights from William James’s psychology.
He has presented some of his key concepts and distinctions while engaging in academic debates surrounding ‘cultural political economy’ and Gramscian notions of hegemony.
He is currently working on further developing his framework and employing it for the analysis of social phenomena (such as populist/ 'anti-populist' ideologies and conspiracy theories).
Areas of research supervision
- Social and political theory
- Theoretical approaches to political economy
- Political ideologies and theories of ideology
- Kal Marx’s historical materialism
- Antonio Gramsci’s political and social thought
- Political conspiracy theories.
Publications
Research monographs
Sau, A. (2020) A Marxist Theory of Ideology: Praxis, Thought and the Social World (Routledge Studies in Political and Social Thought) Abingdon: Routledge.
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Sau, A. (2024) ‘Hegemony and crisis: An analysis of habit and ideology as mechanisms for achieving “consent”’, Capital and Class.
Sau, A. (2021) ‘On cultural political economy: A defence and constructive critique’. New Political Economy, 26:6, 1015-1029.
Non-peer-reviewed
Sau, A. (2022) ‘Ideology: what it is and what it does … and doesn’t do’, Weekly Briefings, Oxford House Research Ltd.
In progress
Sau, A. Kamall, S. Wylde, C. (in progress) ‘The Commonwealth, Hegemony, and Marxism’.
Sau, A. (in progress) ‘Populism and Anti-Populism: The Role of Conspiracy Theories in Increasing Polarisation’.
Lectures and conferences
Invited lectures
Keynote speaker: Sau, A. ‘Marx’s Historical Materialism as a Holistic Method’. 16/02/ 2021 Parley 2021 Online Lecture Series, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal, India. (Available online: https://youtu.be/wPxrqF7CrVs)
Conferences
Presenter: Sau, A ‘The Commonwealth, Hegemony, and Marxism’, 29/11/2024 International Relations and the Commonwealth of Nations Conference, The Waldegrave Suite, St Mary’s University Twickenham, London, United Kingdom.
Presenter: Sau, A. ‘Populism and Anti-Populism: The Role of Conspiracy Theories in Increasing Polarisation’, 29 - 20/07/2024 Populism, Anti-Populism, Polarisation: 8th PSG Annual Workshop, CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest.
Presenter: Sau. A ‘Populism and Ideology: Reconciling the Ideational, Discursive and Strategic Approaches’ 27- 28/07/2022 12th Braga Meetings on Ethics and Political Philosophy, PANEL 12- Theoretical Approaches to Populism: Past, Present and Future, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
Organiser and presenter: Politics and Society: Book Launch Series at St Mary’s, St Mary’s University Twickenham, London, United Kingdom:
02/02/2022 Christianity and Confucianism by C. Hancock
16/03/2022 Land Abandoned by the Sea by S. Oliver
23/03/2022 Sailing Free by G.Stein and J. Nugee
30/03/2022 A Marxist Theory of Ideology by A. Sau.