Dr Konstantinos Roussos
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Email
k.roussos@essex.ac.uk -
Location
2S2.5.22, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
I am a Lecturer in Political Sociology and Social Theory and Director of Research in the School of Health and Social Care (HSC), where I teach in the Social Work and Social Justice Division. I am also Co-Director of the Centre for Ideology and Discourse Analysis at the University of Essex. I received my PhD in Government from Essex in 2020. In my research, I adopt a discourse analysis approach to study social welfare and care, practices of commoning and solidarity, and social movements and social justice. Most of my work revolves around radical democratic and grassroots approaches to welfare provisioning in the context of multiple and interconnected crises. My work bridges critical social and political theory with applied research in health and social care, analysing how meaning, practices, and power relations shape experiences of health, care, and wellbeing. My current areas of interest and research include: • Social Work and Welfare policy and practice discourses, focusing on questions of power, critique and social justice; • Grassroots welfare movements, with a focus on social and solidarity health clinics, community food initiatives, care, and the environment; • Poststructuralist Discourse Theory (Essex School) • Commons, prefigurative politics and alternative economies, with particular reference to processes of subjectivation, social organisation and relatedness; • Critical approaches in understanding democratic engagement and involvement in health and welfare services; • Participatory and creative methodologies in research with communities and people;
Qualifications
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PhD in Government University of Essex,
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MA in Political Sociology Panteion University,
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BA in Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies University of Macedonia,
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Social Work and Social Welfare policy and practice discourses
Grassroots welfare movements
Commons, prefigurative politics and alternative economies
Democratic engagement and involvement in health and welfare services
Postructuralist Discourse Theory
Conferences and presentations
Navigating the Transition to Adulthood: Experiences, Challenges, and Support for Adults with Learning Disabilities
British Sociological Association Annual Conference, British Sociological Association Annual Conference, 23/9/2025
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Introduction to Sociological and Psychological Frameworks (HS190)
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Introduction to Research Methodologies (HS290)
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Legislation, Regulation and Ethics for Practice (HS292)
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Independent Study (HS390)
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Critical Reflection and Professional Challenge (HS391)
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Practice Placement 2 (HS393)
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Using Research and Evidence in Social Work Practice (HS633)
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Law, Policy and Ethics (HS651)
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Rights Based Research and Dissertation (HS657)
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Social Work Dissertation (HS659)
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Practice Interventions (HS394)
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Critical Issues in Contemporary Social Work (HS652)
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Global Social Work (HS658)
Current supervision
Publications
Journal articles (7)
García-Chanes, RE., Terán-Paéz, D., Garcia, JV., Roussos, K. and García-Peña, C., (2026). Structural factors of disability and ageing: spatial patterns in Mexico. BMC Public Health. 26 (1), 428-
VAZQUEZ GARCIA, J., Glynos, J., Mohor Valentino, C., Roussos, K., Steinhoff, A., Warren, R., Woodward, S., Schneider, J. and Cunningham, C., (2025). Democracy in Action: Experiencing Transformative Education. Education Sciences. 15 (5), 561-561
Howarth, D. and Roussos, K., (2023). Radical Democracy, the Commons and Everyday Struggles during the Greek Crisis. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 25 (2), 311-327
Glynos, J., Roussos, K., Voutyras, S. and Warren, R., (2023). Paradoxes in the management of timebanks in the UK’s voluntary sector: discursive bricolage and its limits. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 34 (3), 486-496
Roussos, K. and Malamidis, H., (2021). Social Movements and the Commons: A Framework for Understanding Collective Action in Crisis-Ridden Southern Europe. Mobilization: An International Quarterly. 26 (3), 359-379
Glynos, J., Howarth, D., Flitcroft, R., Love, C., Roussos, K. and Vazquez, J., (2021). Logics, discourse theory and methods Advances, challenges and ways forward. Journal of Language and Politics. 20 (1), 62-78
Roussos, K., (2019). Grassroots collective action within and beyond institutional and state solutions: the (re-)politicization of everyday life in crisis-ridden Greece. Social Movement Studies. 18 (3), 265-283
Book chapters (5)
Abdel-Jawadova, J., Roussos, K. and Wyllie, A., (2025). INvisible GOvernors? INGOs and the Identity of Social Work in Lebanon. In: The Routledge International Handbook of Glocal Social Work. Editors: Pentaris, P. and Walker, J., . Taylor & Francis. 40- 53. 9781003507710
Warren, R., Steinhoff, A., Glynos, J. and Roussos, K., (2024). The Accountability Assembly as a Counter-Accounting Performance. In: Handbook of Accounting in Society. Editors: Vollmer, H., . Edward Elgar. 310- 327. 978-1-80392-199-0
Vázquez García, J. and Roussos, K., (2024). Transformation of Research into Policies for the Aged Population: the “failed” Case of the Uk’s Guidance for the Care Sector During the Covid-19 Pandemic. In: Aging Research Methodological Issues. Editors: García-Peña, C., Pérez-Zepeda, MU., Gutiérrez-Robledo, LM. and Garcia-Chanes, RE., . Springer Nature Switzerland. 251- 261. 9783031764684
Roussos, K., Malamidis, H. and Gkagkelis, V., (2024). Cooperative media and the politics of class: Exploring post-capitalist logics in the cooperative media of Ef.Syn and AlterThess. In: Class, Culture, and the Media in Greece, Volume 2: Neoliberalism(s), the Mainstream, Counter-cultures. Editors: Mylonas, Y. and Psyllakou, E., . Palgrave Macmillan. 231- 253. 978-3-031-55158-1
Roussos, K., Vazquez Garcia, J. and Voutyras, S., (2023). Reflections on grassroots healthcare provisioning in Greece in times of crisis. In: Social Movements and Everyday Acts of Resistance. Editors: Poulakidakos, S., Veneti, A. and Rovisco, M., . Routledge. 26- 41. 9781003265337
Reports and Papers (3)
Warren, R. and Roussos, K., Mercury Theatre: A social Return on Investment of the Mercury Playwrights
Warren, R., Glynos, J., Roussos, K., Jimena, V., Steinhoff, A. and Crippa, L., Democracy in Action - Building Better Communities And Organisations Through Collective Decision Making and Action - Project Evaluation
Roussos, K., Schneider, J., Warren, R. and Jennett, J., (2024). The Bringing Community Supermarkets to Essex Programme: A “Social Return on Investment” Approach on Sustainable Community Assets for Social Support and Care
Thesis dissertation (1)
Roussos, K., (2020). Collective Action and the Production of Alternatives in the Crisis-ridden European South: Understanding the Politics of Commoning and Solidarity through the Greek Experience
Grants and funding
2026
East Suffolk Food Support Evaluation
East Suffolk Council
2025
To use specialist research methodologies to assess and evaluate the impact of an outreach programme for older UK Armed Forces veterans , and to use this data driven insight to develop loneliness mitigation strategies and supply evidence to help the growth and diversification of income streams for a charity.
Innovate UK (formerly Technology Strategy Board)
Strengthening UoE Research Partnerships in Health and Social Care
University of Essex
Developing an Outcomes Evaluation Toolkit for Public Health and Wellbeing interventions
Essex County Council
2023
Full-length Documentary on Contemporary Cooperativism in Greece
Sustanability.Health.Environmment.Development S-H-E-D
Pursuing Independent Paths KTP
Innovate UK (formerly Technology Strategy Board)
The case of Community Supermarkets at Essex: a Participatory Research on sustainable community assets for social support and care
UOE Participatory Research Fund
Community and Residents Experience
North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group
Community and Residents Experience
North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group
2022
Independent research and evaluation of the Essex County Council Community Supermarkets
Essex County Council
The case of Community Supermarkets at Essex: sustainable community assets for social support and care
University of Essex (CPPE)
Independent research and evaluation of the Essex County Council Community Supermarkets
Essex County Council
2021
Creative Exchange: Using digital platforms to support peer-based exchange in the creative sector feasibility study
Hub Arts Lab CIC
2020
Subjectivity and valuation in community economies: A pilot study of the Essex time banks
University of Essex (ESRC IAA)