Dr Neil Vallelly , Our People, History, University of Otago, New Zealand

Rutherford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow

Contact details

Academic qualifications

2015: PhD, University of Otago
2011: MA, Queen’s University Belfast
2012: BA (Hons), Queen’s University Belfast

Research interests

Neil’s research crosses the areas of political and intellectual history, critical theory, and continental philosophy. He specialises in the history of neoliberalism, critique of capitalism, and the politics of migration and borders.

His first book, Futilitarianism: Neoliberalism and the Production of Uselessness (2021), examined the historical relationship between capitalism and utilitarianism. It explored, in particular, how the neoliberal mutation of capitalism in the late twentieth century transformed the relationship between utility and the common good, trapping individuals in what he calls “the futilitarian condition,” where they are forced to maximise utility in ways that lead to the worsening of collective social and economic conditions. An Italian translation of the book, under the title Vite Rubate, was published in March 2022.

In late 2021, Neil was awarded a two-year Rutherford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to work on a project on the historical relationship between neoliberalism and migrant incarceration in Aotearoa and beyond. He is also developing several collaborative research projects on topics relating to social reproduction and essential work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the history of migration policy in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the cultural politics of suicide in public.

Neil’s research has appeared in academic journals such as Rethinking Marxism, Angelaki, and Poetics Today, he has written for media, including New Internationalist, ROAR, and New Zealand Listener, and he has appeared on several podcasts, such as A World to Win with Grace Blakeley, The Postcapitalism Podcast, and the New Books Network.

Neil is a member of the Centre for Global Migrations at Otago, a researcher for the think tank Economic and Social Research Aotearoa, and a member of the Executive Committee for the Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy.

Areas of Research Supervision

Neil welcomes research proposals on any topics related to Neoliberalism; Capitalism; Marxist and Critical Theory; Borders; Migration; Migrant Detention; Social Reproduction Theory.

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Publications

Vallelly, N. (2021). Futilitarianism: Neoliberalism and the production of uselessness. London, UK: Goldsmiths Press.

Murtola, A.-M., & Vallelly, N. (2022). Who cares for wellbeing? Corporate wellness, social reproduction and the essential worker. Organization. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/13505084221131642

Vallelly, N. (2019). The relationality of disappearance. Angelaki, 24(3), 38-52. doi: 10.1080/0969725X.2019.1620450

Vallelly, N. (2019). From the margins of the neoliberal university: Notes toward nomadic literary studies. Poetics Today, 40(1), 59-79. doi: 10.1215/03335372-7259887

Vallelly, N. (2019). "The place was not a place": A critical phenomenology of forced displacement. In E. Champion (Ed.), The phenomenology of real and virtual places. (pp. 204-222). New York, NY: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315106267

Vallelly, N. (2021). Futilitarianism: Neoliberalism and the production of uselessness. London, UK: Goldsmiths Press.

Authored Book - Research

Journal - Research Article

Vallelly, N. (2019). The relationality of disappearance. Angelaki, 24(3), 38-52. doi: 10.1080/0969725X.2019.1620450

Journal - Research Article

Vallelly, N. (2019). From the margins of the neoliberal university: Notes toward nomadic literary studies. Poetics Today, 40(1), 59-79. doi: 10.1215/03335372-7259887

Journal - Research Article

Chapter in Book - Research

Vallelly, N. (2022). Vite Rubate: Dal sogno capitalista al futilitarismo [Translation of Futilitarianism: Neoliberalism and the production of uselessness]. Blu Atlantide, 240p.

Authored Book - Other

Vallelly, N. (2021, September). Bentham in the Beehive: Utilitarianism, neoliberalism and the wellbeing budgets. ESRA (Economic & Social Research Aotearoa), 21. Retrieved from https://esra.nz/bentham-beehive-utilitarianism-neoliberalism-wellbeing-budgets

Other Research Output

Vallelly, N. (2021). Human rights against human rights [Review of the book The morals of the market: Human rights and the rise of neoliberalism]. Counterfutures, 11, 142-153. doi: 10.26686/cf.v11.7357

Journal - Research Other

Vallelly, N. (2020). Counting the cost: COVID-19 and the crisis of utilitarianism. In V. Lyon-Callo, Y. M. Madra, C. Özselçuk, J. Randall, M. Safri, C. Sato & B. W. Shear (Eds.), Pandemic and the crisis of capitalism: A rethinking Marxism dossier. (pp. 215-223). Boston, MA: ReMarx Books. Retrieved from http://rethinkingmarxism.org/Dossier2020

Chapter in Book - Research

Vallelly, N. (2020). The border and the pandemic. Social Anthropology / Anthropologie sociale, 28(2), 373-374. doi: 10.1111/1469-8676.12860

Journal - Research Other

Vallelly, N. (2019). (Non-)belief in things: Affect theory and a new literary materialism. In S. Ahern (Ed.), Affect theory and literary critical practice: A feel for the text. (pp. 45-63). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-97268-8_3

Chapter in Book - Research

Vallelly, N. (2016). Practicing disappearance: A postmodern methodology. Electronic Book Review. Retrieved from https://electronicbookreview.com/essay/practicing-disappearance-a-postmodern-methodology

Journal - Research Article

Vallelly, N. (2022). The World Cup should make us rethink our understanding of human rights. Jacobin, (11.21.2022). Retrieved from https://jacobin.com/2022/11/world-cup-human-rights-qatar-2022-economic-social-justice-migrant-workers