UC Spark

Professor Mark Francis

School of Social and Political Sciences; Political Science

Phone: +64 3 364 2987 ext. 6156
 Office: Locke Building (English) 618

Fields of Research

  • History of political thought
  • Political philosophy
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Ethics and International Relations

Researcher Summary

Research interests include the history of political thought, colonial political theory, race and ethnicity, political philosophy, and theories of just and unjust war.

I have a major book appearing in March 2007 with Cornell University Press(USA) and Acumen(UK). This is titled “Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life” (464pp) and deals with political theory, history of science, Darwinism, metaphysics, and sociology. If you download the Cornell Spring  2007 Catalogue, page 12(10), you can see some of the reviews for this work.

On a personal note I should remark that this research has occupied most of my research time since 2005, and that none of the data and conclusions have been previously published in other formats. Since my work on this subject has been in the humanities area rather than the social sciences I have followed the convention that findings should not be issued in a provisional form in the way of articles and monographs, but wait until they are completed.

Subject Area: Disciplines

Future Research

  • I will be looking at legal and political conventions surrounding human rights during war time
  • I will working on a study of race and ethnicity in NZ, Australia and North America. This will be a comparative historical study of the period from 1880 to 1960. This is an archivally based piece of research

Publications


  • Francis, M. and Taylor, M. (Ed.) (2013) Herbert Spencer: Legacies. Durham: Acumen Publishing. In press. (Edited Book)
  • Francis, M. (2013) Positivism: G.H. Lewes, Leslie Stephen. In W. Mander (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in the 19th Century: in press. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Chapter in Book)
  • Francis, M. (2011) Herbert Spencer. In G. Ritzer and J. Stepnisky (Ed.), The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists: 165-184. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. (Chapter in Book)
  • Francis, M. (2010) Paul Crook, Darwin's Coat-Tails: Essays on Social Darwinism. New York: Peter Lang, 2007, xiv + 340pp. Isis 101(3): 660. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/657208. Book Review. (Other)
  • Francis, M. (2009) David Stack, Queen Victoria’s Skull: George Combe and the Mid-Victorian Mind. London: Hambledon Continuum, 2008. The British Journal for the History of Science 42(4): 620-621. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007087409990537. Book Review. (Other)
  • Francis, M. and Tully, J. (Ed.) (2009) In the Public Interest: Essays in Honour of Professor Keith Jackson. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press. 254pp. (Edited Book)
  • Francis, M. (2009) Introduction. In M. Francis and J. Tully (Ed.), In the Public Interest: Essays in Honour of Professor Keith Jackson: 7-18. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press. (Chapter in Book)
  • Francis, M. (2008) Harro Höpfl, Jesuit Political Thought: The Society of Jesus and the State, c. 1540–1630. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, 426pp. Australian Journal of Political Science 43(3): 580-582. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10361140802270179. Book review. (Other)
  • Francis, M. (2008) Herbert Spencer's Social Evolution: A Resource for Current Moral Philosophy. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 2(5): 113-122. (Journal Article)
  • Francis, M. (2007) Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. xiv+434pp. (Authored Book)
  • M. Francis. (2003) “The Theoretical Implications of a National Identity for Canadian Indigenous Peoples”. Australian Canadian Studies vol. 21(no. 1): pp. 17-36. (Journal Article)
  • Francis, M. (2003) Canadian Indigenous Peoples and the Transformation of Poltical Theory into Cultural Identity. In Haddock, Bruce (Ed.), Multiculturalism: 126-141. London: Routledge. (Chapter in Book)
  • Francis, M. (2003) The Theoretical Implications of a National Identity for Canadian Indigenous Peoples. Australian Canadian Studies 21(1): 17-36. (Journal Article)
  • Francis, M. (2002) Inaugural open lecture on The Theoretical Impact of Canadian National Identity upon Indigenous Peoples. Cardiff University, Wales: EUROS, School of European Studies, 30 Oct 2002. (Conference Contribution - Other)
  • Francis, M. (2002) The disembodied citizen in Australian civics. Antipodes: a North American journal of Australian literature 16(1) (Journal Article)
  • Francis, M. (2002) The Disembodied Citizen in Austrlain Civics. Antipodes: A North American Journal of Australian Literature 16(1): 79-82. (Journal Article)
  • Francis, M. (2002) The Foundations of Liberalism: the early Herbert Spencer. Cardiff University, Wales: Conference for the Study of Political Thought, 1 Nov 2002. (Conference Contribution - Other)
  • sole author. (2001) "Writings on Colonial New Zealand, Nationalism and Intentionality". In Sharp, Andrew (Ed.), Histories, Power and Loss: pp. 165-188. Auckland: Bridget Williams. (Chapter in Book)
  • Francis,M. (2001) Histories of Australian Republicanism.. History of Political Thought xxii(2): 351--62. (Journal Article)
  • Francis, M. (2001) The Cultural Identity of Indigenous Peoples and the Failure of Canadian Political Theory. Griffith University, Brisbane: Australasian Political Studies Association, Sept., 2001. (Conference Contribution - Other)
  • Francis,M. (2001) Writings on Colonial New Zealand: Nationalism and Intentionality. In A. Sharp and P. McHugh (Ed.), Histories, Power and Loss: 165--88. Wellington: Bridget Williams Book. (Chapter in Book)
  • Francis, M. (2000) Canadian Political Theory and the Cultural Identity of Indigenous Peoples. University of Wollongong: Biennial Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in Australian and NZ, 1-4 July 2000. (Conference Contribution - Other)
  • Francis,M. (2000) Republicanism and Aboriginal Peoples. Journal of Australian Studies 64(1): 154--165; 279--281. (Journal Article)
  • Francis,M. (2000) Settler Historiography, Politics and Biography in Early Colonial New Zealand. Political Science 52(2): 158--173. (Journal Article)
  • Francis, M. (1999) Republicanism and the Liberties of the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia. University of Bristol: Nationalism, Identity and Minority Rights Conference, 16-19 September 1999. (Conference Contribution - Other)
  • Francis,M. (1998) The 'Civilizing' of Indigenous People in Nineteenth-Century Canada. The Journal of World History 9(1): 51--87. (Journal Article)
  • Francis, M. (1997) Passionless Beauty: Herbert Spencer's Culture. Lancaster University, UK: Nineteenth Century Religion and the Fragmentation of Culture in Europe and America, 17-19 July 1997. (Conference Contribution - Other)