Keith Tester (1960–2019)

At a time when sociological theory in the United Kingdom is in the doldrums, the sudden death of Keith Tester from sepsis in January 2019 represents a serious loss to the discipline. Tester was a remarkably versatile theorist with a considerable range of writings, extending from painting, morality and philosophy to his work on Eric Rohmer, the French film director, to name a few areas he covered. The multi-disciplinary basis of his writings marked his sociological reach into unexpected areas but in ways where his roots in sociology were kept well nurtured. His breadth of reading was remarkable. Almost effortlessly, Tester could sink himself in some diverse areas such as veganism, and soak up their deliberations in a calm, reflective style. It was this property of grazing widely and finding food for thought that marked out his distinctive sociological gifts.

A former postgraduate of Zygmunt Bauman, Tester joined a select band of sociologists who expanded appreciation of his pioneering work on postmodernity. As a foil to Bauman, Tester well displayed his talents in his searching work, Conversations with Bauman (2001). With other sociologists, he added greatly to the legacy of Bauman, being a longstanding, astute and acute interpreter of his work as it unfolded. The outcome was a number of highly significant reflections which did much to situate Bauman in a wider place within sociology, one not well recognised in the United Kingdom and the USA.

It would be unfortunate if Tester was placed too much under the shadow of Bauman. Tester’s own work – to name a few, The Flaneur (1994), Moral Culture (1997), Media, Culture and Morality (2013) and Civil Society (2014), all much cited – greatly expanded the boundaries of sociological theory. His range and his sympathies with the humanities seemed diffuse to those whose expectations of sociological theory were more scientific and formulaic, hence why Tester’s talents were never brought into rightful focus. As with other theorists in the United Kingdom, the funding of its universities by research grants militated against those such as Tester whose sociological imagination operated without much need for these. With the conceptual famine disabling contemporary sociology, Tester offered prospects of replenishment which are not to be realised. He wrote clearly and effortlessly and with remarkably little sense of pretentiousness. This reflected his character as a sociologist of much moral integrity.

Modest, diffident, tactful and agreeable, with much charm, he is remembered with fondness by his postgraduate students and his sociological colleagues. As an editor, he was remarkably easy to work with. Tester had some interesting connections with Poland after 2013 and was a Fellow of the John Paul II Institute in Warsaw. This reflected his broadening sympathies for Catholicism. After a short period at the University of Hull, Tester was re-adjusting his compass points and, tragically, was on the cusp of a new stage of his thought which was just beginning to unfold.