Johnston Birchall | |
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Born | 1951 |
Died | 2021 (aged 69–70) |
Occupations |
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Academic background | |
Education | |
Thesis | Housing Co-operatives: A Study in the Theory and Practice of User-control (1985) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Co-operative studies |
Institutions |
Johnston Birchall (1951–2021) was a leading British academic in the field of co-operative studies and at the time of his death Professor Emeritus at the Social Science Faculty of the University of Stirling. [1] [2] [3]
Birchall studied theology at the University of Oxford, before working as a community worker and a housing association manager for five years. He then completed a masters degree in sociology at the University of York, followed by a PhD in 1985 on housing co-operatives, also at York. [4] [5] His doctoral thesis formed the basis for his 1988 book, Building Communities: The Co-operative Way. [6]
Birchall then worked at South Bank Polytechnic, followed by Brunel University and finally at the University of Stirling until his retirement. [7] From 1995 to 2000 he was editor of the Journal of Co-operative Studies. [5]
Birchall died in 2021 following a long illness. [8] In June 2022 a special commemorative edition of the Journal of Co-operative Studies was published exploring Birchall's legacy and reprinting many of his papers. [9]