Cookies

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue.

Durham University

Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (IMEMS)

Staff and Governance

To contact the IMEMS administrative office please use the following details:

E: admin.imems@durham.ac.uk

T: 0191 334 2974

Core Staff

The day-to-day running of IMEMS is the responsibility of the Core Executive Committee, comprising the Director and Associate Directors and the Administrator. 

Dr Maria Dimova-Cookson, BA (Sofia), MA (York), DPhil (York)

Associate Professor in Political Theory in the School of Government and International Affairs
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 33 47182
Room number: SE008, Southend House

Contact Dr Maria Dimova-Cookson (email at maria.dimova-cookson@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

Maria Dimova-Cookson completed her DPhil in Politics on the political philosophy of the British idealists at the University of York. She has previously studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Sofia University and MA in political philosophy at the University of York. Her academic appointments have been at UCL, as a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, UEA, as a visiting fellow and University of Sheffield as a lecturer in political theory. Since 2005 she has worked at SGIA, Durham University.

Dr Dimova-Cookson’s research focuses on moral and political issues in the history of and contemporary political thought including the dual nature of liberty, justifications of human rights, moral development, value pluralism, ethical particularism versus ethical universalism, and multiculturalism. Her forthcoming book Rethinking Positive and Negative Liberty (Routledge 2019) argues that the positive/negative distinction which fell out of fashion in the late twentieth century, remains highly pertinent today. The book builds on the work of Constant, Green and Berlin who led the development of the dual conceptualisation of freedom from the eighteenth century onwards. The book proposes a new reading of the distinction where positive freedom is achieved when one succeeds in doing what is right, while negative freedom is achieved when one is able to advance one’s wellbeing. In an environment of culture wars, resurging populism and challenge to progressive liberal values, the duality of freedom can explain the moral dilemmas we face and point to ways forward.The book analyses the dual conceptualisation in more philosophical depth than previous studies and shows the links between freedom, plurality of values, moral development and political institutions.

Research Groups

School of Government and International Affairs

  • Durham Human Rights Centre (Law School)
  • Nations, Nationalisms and Diasporas
  • Political Theory

Research Interests

  • • The concept of liberty; the positive/negative freedom distinction; contemporary theories of liberty
  • • The political philosophy of the British idealists and British political thought in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century
  • • The political philosophy of Benjamin Constant and Isaiah Berlin
  • • Human rights, multiculturalism and global justice
  • • Moral issues in contemporary political theory; moral development; value pluralism; ethical particularism versus ethical universalism; ethics of giving

Publications

Authored book

Chapter in book

Edited book

Journal Article

Full Executive Committee

Our Full Executive Committee is made up of the Core Executive Committee, listed above, plus a number of executive members including:

International Advisory Board

We are extremely fortunate to have be able to call on the help and guidance of colleagues from around the world who help to shape and guide our direction, strategy and international reach. Our current Advisory Board members are: