Reinventing the future

Reinventing the future: addressing social movement challenges in a post- pandemic world

 Mid-term Conference of the International Sociological Association Research Committee No 48 (RC48) 21 – 22 July 2022.
The University of Huddersfield (UK). Hybrid format (On-campus and online)
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CALL FOR PAPERS

Presentation

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected social movements and society in general? What are the intellectual challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing to social movements scholarship? By what means the COVID-19 pandemic has made an impact on collective action and social change? Is it time now to ‘reinvent the future’ and adopt new sociological perspectives to find solutions for major worldwide post-pandemic problems?

As for how different social scholars across the globe have been pointed out, the COVID-19 pandemic has occurred in a specific sociohistorical context that has deeply affected social movements. The rise of populist leaders, the imposition of lockdown measures and other restrictions on mobility, deepening inequality in global vaccine distribution, the rise of poverty, global waves of protests, and a tense geopolitical context that has transformed the relationship between governments and their citizens are just a few examples of the most visible outcomes.

 We are experiencing a double tension-dynamic inside the social movements field: while progressive intellectuals, radical thinkers, and social movements consider the pandemic as an opportunity to build a fairer and equal world, they compete with authoritarian and reactionary state actors and greedy capitalists to shape the meaning of the crisis and the world that may come out of it. In this context, the challenges encountering social movements scholarship are not minor.

This ISA RC48 mid-term conference enables social movement scholars and practitioners from around the world to share their work on these topics. The main aim is to exchange perspectives and create collaborative ideas regarding the challenges that social movements are facing in this post-pandemic future. It also offers an opportunity for networking (in person and virtually) that will extend into future academic and research collaborations. Also, and following recent global developments, this conference will host a session to explore the challenges of social movements in contexts of war and violent/armed conflict.

 During this two-day conference, we will address the following main issues:

• Theoretical and conceptual reflections concerning outcomes and/or production of solutions by social movements and grassroots organisations to address the challenges of a post-pandemic
• Methodological considerations regarding how to research social movements in post-pandemic
•  Analysis of case studies exploring different countries and regions, presenting comparative research in Western and non-Western
•  Evaluate the challenges for social movements in contexts of war and violent/armed

This conference is hosted by the School of Human and Health Sciences at The University of Huddersfield (UK).

It will be conducted in a hybrid format, and it is free of charge to participants and attendees (previous online registration).

Modes of Participation

Individual Submissions

If you are interested in presenting a paper at this mid-term conference, please e-mail a 300-500 word abstract, a 2-3 sentence bio, and contact information to the conference organisers: Liana M. Daher (daher@unict.it), Tova Benski (tovabenski@gmail.com), and Camilo Tamayo Gómez (c.a.tamayogomez@hud.ac.uk) no later than Monday, 16 May 2022. This material should be sent as a single email attachment.

Panel Submissions

Panels consist of a chair and 3-4 panellists. Panellists should plan to speak for 15 minutes each. Panellists do not need to circulate their papers in advance. If you are interested in submitting a panel, please provide a title for the panel and a brief overview of the theme or question that the panel will explore. Participants should also provide a title, a 300–500-word abstract for their presentation, and a 2-3 sentence bio with their contact information. These materials should be submitted as a single email attachment to: c.a.tamayogomez@hud.ac.uk no later than Monday, 09 May 2022.

Roundtables

Roundtable sessions consist of 4-5 discussants and a moderator, who participates more fully in the session than a chair in a traditional panel. Participants in roundtables do not present or read formal papers, but rather engage in a discussion or exchange about a specific question, text, or issue. The focus of the discussion must be clearly articulated in the abstract, and participants are expected to prepare their remarks in advance, even if the nature of a roundtable is less formal than a traditional panel. If you are interested in submitting a roundtable abstract, please include the title of the roundtable, a description (300-500 words) of the issue or question to be discussed, and a list of participants with a brief bio for each person listed, including contact information for each participant. These materials should be submitted as a single email attachment to: c.a.tamayogomez@hud.ac.uk no later than Monday, 09 May 2022.

ISA RC48 mid-term conference organising committee

Liana M. Daher, University of Catania, Italy.

Tova Benski, College of Management Academic Studies, Israel. Benjamín Tejerina, Universidad del País Vasco, Spain

Natalia Miranda, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium. Kaan Agartan, Framingham State University, USA.

David Dueñas-Cid, University of Tartu, Estonia, and Kozminski University, Poland. Camilo Tamayo Gomez, The University of Huddersfield, UK.

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