sociology book of abstracts

829 Pages·2016·13.41 MB·English

3rd ISA Forum of
SOCIOLOGY
THE FUTURES WE WANT:
GLOBAL SOCIOLOGY AND THE
STRUGGLES FOR A BETTER WORLD
10-14 JULY 2016, VIENNA, AUSTRIA
WWW.ISA-SOCIOLOGY.ORG/FORUM-2016
BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
International
Sociological
Association
Book of Abstracts 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
Table of Contents
Abstracts: Common and Plenary Sessions
Alphabetical Listing of First Authors
A . . . . . . . . . pg . 3 K . . . . . . . . . pg . 8 R . . . . . . . . . pg . 14
B . . . . . . . . . pg . 3 L . . . . . . . . . pg . 9 S . . . . . . . . . pg . 15
C . . . . . . . . . pg . 5 M . . . . . . . . pg . 10 T . . . . . . . . . pg . 17
D . . . . . . . . . pg . 6 N . . . . . . . . . pg . 12 U . . . . . . . . . pg . 17
F . . . . . . . . . pg . 6 O . . . . . . . . . pg . 12 V . . . . . . . . . pg . 18
G . . . . . . . . . pg . 7 P . . . . . . . . . pg . 13 W . . . . . . . . pg . 18
H . . . . . . . . . pg . 8 Q . . . . . . . . . pg . 14 Y . . . . . . . . . pg . 19
Abstracts: Research Committees, Thematic Groups and Working Groups
Alphabetical Listing of First Authors (Committees and Groups)
A . . . . . . . . . pg . 20 J . . . . . . . . . . pg . 332 S . . . . . . . . . pg . 600
B . . . . . . . . . pg . 60 K . . . . . . . . . pg . 342 T . . . . . . . . . pg . 685
C . . . . . . . . . pg . 119 L . . . . . . . . . pg . 391 U . . . . . . . . . pg . 711
D . . . . . . . . . pg . 164 M . . . . . . . . pg . 434 V . . . . . . . . . pg . 715
E . . . . . . . . . pg . 197 N . . . . . . . . . pg . 499 W . . . . . . . . pg . 735
F . . . . . . . . . pg . 212 O . . . . . . . . . pg . 517 X . . . . . . . . . pg . 757
G . . . . . . . . . pg . 238 P . . . . . . . . . pg . 530 Y . . . . . . . . . pg . 758
H . . . . . . . . . pg . 281 Q . . . . . . . . . pg . 565 Z . . . . . . . . . pg . 769
I . . . . . . . . . . pg . 322 R . . . . . . . . . pg . 566
Author and Presenter Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg . 781
Index of Paper Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg . 816
2
Book of Abstracts: COMMON and PLENARY (A) Table of Contents 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
Abstracts: Common and Plenary Sessions
A B
Plen-1 .2 Comm-9 .4
ABRAHAM, Margaret* (Hofstra University, BAERT, Patrick* (Cambridge University,
margaret .abraham@hofstra .edu) pjnb100@cam .ac .uk)
ISA Presidential Address Biographies and the Sociology of the Future: A Proposal
This paper reflects on the various ways in which the contingency of the future
Plen-6 .2 is addressed in modern societies and how these ways of dealing with the future
are incorporated in relatively coherent biographical narratives . Drawing partly on
ADOMAKO AMPOFO, Akosua* (University of the philosophy of existentialism and phenomenology, we explore how people’s
individual and collective projects for the future (and their knowledge of the
Ghana, adomako@gmail .com) uncertainty of the future) help shape their actions in the present and how these
projects are inevitably tied in with institutional constraints and opportunities .
Black Lives Matter and the Status of the Africana World
Plen-6 .1
Plenary Talk (4)
BAYAT, Asef* (University of Illinois,
Plen-1 .3
abayat@illinois .edu)
ALBANESE, Patrizia* (Ryerson University,
Imagining a Post-Islamist Democracy
Canadian Sociological Association,
Plenary (5)
palbanes@ryerson .ca)
Plen-5 .1
2018 ISA World Congress of Sociology, Toronto, Canada
BERTILSSON, Margareta* (University of
Comm-15 .2 Copenhagen, mb@soc .ku .dk)
ANSON, Jonathan* (Ben-Gurion University of The Ever Expanding Social Field and the (in)Capacity of
the Negev, anson@bgu .ac .il) Sociology to Respond to New Challenges
Roots and Fruits of Population Growth: Back to Malthus or The “social” is ubiquitous these days. It permeates fields far beyond the human
sciences: evolutionary biology and archeology, entomology, medicine…Not the
Forward to Marx?
least has Bruno Latour’s mockery of “the social” opened our eyes to the costs
of disciplinary boundary work: loosening sights of essential entities (things!) that
World population, currently approaching 7 .5 billion, will probably exceed 11
drive social fields in a myriad of shapes.
billion by the end of the century, almost double what it was at turn of the present
Late in my academic career, I have come to doubt the benefits of ordering
century . The growth is uneven, and the result is a redistribution of the world’s
fields in strict disciplinary manners in an attempt to weigh also the costs. I am
population: at the end of this century Europe will have no more people than it had
especially concerned with that matter called “the social”. Various scholarly fields
fifty years ago, whereas Africa’s population will have multiplied 20-fold, and will
can be viewed on a (social) scale of their world-opening versus world-closing:
have gone up from under 10 percent to over 30 percent of the world’s population
extrovert vs introvert . An extrovert science such as i .e . anthropology excels in
(1).  Not only is population growing, but it is currently growing in those regions
exploring new vistas and in opening up borders between humans and non-hu-
of the world that that have the least resources at their disposal, and the result
mans; an introvert science is keen on closing its doors, thus denying access to an
is liable to be a dramatic rise in world inequality; increased conflict over access
ever-expanding social world “out there” and “inside us”.  I fear that academic so-
to resources; and increased migrationary pressure from the poor to the richer
ciology tends to evolve more towards an introvert side – I have no clear evidence,
regions of the world . Our contribution to the Common Sessions will discuss:
but will attempt to explore the dynamics . Could it be that the ubiquitous of the
1 . The history and sources of growth in world population over the past two
social – being everywhere and difficult to exactly pinpoint – overwhelms our dis-
centuries (in particular mortality and fertility) and its eventual stabilisation
cipline and puts us in a defensive? Clearly, academic pressures, citation records,
2 . Two basic approaches to world population growth: The Malthusian approach
and scholarly careers take their tolls; but how come that we have no equivalence
which views growth as catastrophe, and the Marxian approach, which sees the re-
to journals such as Science and/or Nature at our disposal in the social sciences? My
sult of population growth as contingent on social conditions and responses
plan is to look at the future of sociology as an important auxiliary field furnishing
3 . The options which humanity faces given the anticipated growth of world
insights of various kinds (theory and methods) to neighboring fields in the human
population and its redistribution
and natural worlds? To become a scaffolding science like logic and mathematics? 
(1) United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Di-
To serve mankind broadly speaking – rather than being “sui generis” .
vision (2015) . World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision, custom data ac-
quired via website, http://esa .un .org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/
Plen-4 .3
BOATCA, Manuela* (University of Freiburg,
manuela .boatca@soziologie .uni-freiburg .de)
Exclusion through Citizenship and the Double Standards of
Modernity/Coloniality
Drawing on recent scholarship that addresses the link between inequalities
and citizenship at the global level, the paper focuses on how membership in the
national communities of citizens has ensured the relative social and political
inclusion of the populations of Western European nation-states, while at the same
time accounting for the selective exclusion of the colonized and/or non-European
populations from the same social and political rights throughout history and up to
this day . Recent developments with regard to citizenship allocation are used as an
illustration of this enduring double standard: On the one hand, wealthy investors
from certain non-Western regions are actively encouraged to purchase European
3 * denotes a presenting author. Abstracts are organized by first presenting author’s last name.
Book of Abstracts: COMMON and PLENARY (B) Table of Contents 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
citizenship rights in an unprecedented wave of commodification of residence Comm-19 .2
and citizenship requirements across Europe. On the other hand, financially
strained states and non-Western labour migrants face mounting criminalisation, BUEHLER-NIEDERBERGER, Doris* (University of
sanctions, and austerity measures when attempting to access the same rights .
The paper argues that, taken together, these mutually reinforcing dimensions Wuppertal, buehler@uni-wuppertal .de)
of increasing global inequalities testify to the longue durée of colonially charged
racial and ethnic exclusions in the history of modernity more generally, and to the Good Childhood – Good Future World? Global Programs and
coloniality of citizenship in particular . the Sociology of Childhood
Plen-5 .2 Programs to improve the conditions of growing up are most prominent
when striving for a better world and uncontested due to the moral authority of
BOEGENHOLD, Dieter* (Alpen-Adria-University the “innocent child” as a promise for the future . However, such programs are
heterogeneous as to their respective goals, perspectives, actors and interests . We
Klagenfurt, Dieter .Boegenhold@aau .at) may distinguish two types of such endeavors . Firstly, there are the ones focusing
on measurement and improvement of qualities of schooling and parenting . They
Towards a Universal Social Science . Sociology in Dialogue with are designed against the background of a universal notion of proper childhood
Neighboring Disciplines and early fostering of development of competencies . Such notion may remain
tacit, it is however assumed to be valid for all countries and all social groups in the
The last hundred years can be seen as the century of the rise and establishment countries . The programs promise to improve economic conditions and to reduce
of sociology. The academic subject sociology emerged, differentiated and social immobility and inequality on a local and a global level . Secondly, there are
consolidated a series of approaches, theories and paradigms, which are attempts to support children’s participation, to give voice to children, to advocate
sometimes overlapping or even competing . Comparing sociology with economics, their agency and to consider locally different economic conditions and notions of
psychology or history shows that borderlines between disciplines have become childhood and family .
fluid and perpetually oscillate into new shapes.  Economists, especially prominent Childhood sociologists are openly in favor of this second line to improve child-
proponents in receipt of Nobel prizes, are increasingly discussing items such hood and this goes along with the concept of “child as actor” which has a central
as motivation, rationality, norms or culture, which belong to the domain of theoretical and advocatory function in this scientific community. Meanwhile, they
sociology . Sociology should acknowledge this kind of “imperialism” and claim its keep distance to the mighty intergovernmental organization and well-funded re-
own competencies . Against the background of these circumstances, the paper search institutions implementing the first line of development. Such preferences
will argue from a methodological point of view that sociology is as modern are even mirrored in the respective research methodology .
and important as never before, but that it must be aware of its own strengths However, when the impacts of both lines are scrutinized, it is not that conclu-
and weaknesses in concert with further academic disciplines . Our recent sive which one should be favored: both may occasionally reduce inequality, but
argumentation may benefit from the Austrian authors L. von Mises and J.A. as well produce exclusion and stigmatization in other cases . For a better analysis
Schumpeter, who gave very early lessons on how sociology must be embedded in of impacts and biases apologists of both lines – divided by institutional and disci-
a dialogue with neighboring disciplines . plinary boundaries – should start to exchange
Comm-9 .1
BROADBENT, Jeffrey* (University of Minnesota,
broad001@umn .edu)
Comparing Climate Change Policy Networks: Improving Global
Transparency
Struck by the growing risks of climate change, global institutions and NGOs
have issued increasingly urgent calls for carbon emissions reduction and forest
preservation.  However, international negotiations have been hampered by
disagreements over what to do.  These tensions are based in different national
perceptions of the reality, risk, responsibility and priority of climate change as
filtered through the political process.  Negotiators and other actors lack not only
a nuanced grasp of other countries’ perceptions, practices and policies, but also
of the domestic social and political processes behind them.  The international
research project—Comparing Climate Change Policy Networks (Compon)—is
designed to clarify these complexities of these perceptions and processes, and
to investigate what causes them.  Better knowledge here will not only help
negotiators, but also contribute to social scientific progress.  Since inception
in 2007, the Compon project has developed a common policy network survey
instrument for use in multiple societies, including major emitters and significant
cases.  The Compon project produces highly comparable data about the political
processes. The policy network survey captures networks of influence that are
acted out around a given issue among engaged organizations (from state and
society).  This data about issue fields enables the research teams to study and
compare the flow of scientific knowledge, how it gets framed, and the advocacy
coalitions that bear it into the policy-formation process . Started in 2007, the
Compon project now has teams in over 25 societies and invites the participation
of new researchers and new cases.   This talk describes the project, presents some
illustrative comparative findings and sketches out its future prospects.
4 * denotes a presenting author. Abstracts are organized by first presenting author’s last name.
Book of Abstracts: COMMON and PLENARY (C) Table of Contents 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
C Comm-7 .2
CONSTANTOPOULOU, Christiana*
Comm-15 .4 (Panteion University,
CARREIRAS, Helena* (Instituto Universitario de christiana .constantopoulou@panteion .gr)
Lisboa, helena .carreiras@iscte .pt) Communication, Media and Politics: Contradictions and
Pretensions on Human ‘Destiny’
Reflexivity and the Sociological Study of the Military
The contemporary (globalized) society is characterized by profound
This presentation aims at uncovering the meaning and importance of reflexivity
contradictions (due to the absence of adequacy between social representations
for the social scientific study of the military and report on the state of the field
–essentially conveyed by media discourse- and the social being).  Principles born
in this regard. It starts by addressing the role of reflexivity in social scientific
together with the sovereign national states (or “the” social state) guaranteeing
research, exploring academic contributions that underline the social nature of
elementary “human rights” are still given as conductive lights of the contemporary
research processes and the need for incorporating a reflexive gaze over all stages
world, although world “governance” is  nowadays intimately attached to the
of scientific practice. In a second part, the presentation explores the way reflexivity
demands of economic interests (conducing to the abolition of many rights in
has been present or absent in military studies, namely in the subfield of armed
the “labor market”) . Social inequalities increase on “local” as well as on “global”
forces and society, through a selective review of existing literature . It argues that
level . When the global level is involved, the problems include practically wars,
far from being a constraint, reflexivity is the very condition for the production of
“economic crisis”, immigration (from South to North and from East to West) etc .
social scientific knowledge and for asserting the validity and reliability of research
Nevertheless, although a “plenitude” of information can be possibly given by
results.  While it also warns against inadequate uses of reflexivity as a rhetorical
the media, the “global citizen” is captured 1) by the modern myths (considering
strategy or a narcissistic exercise, the central claim is that, by allowing a better
“irrational” any discourse which differs from a technocratic point of view, which
understanding of the interplay between social, scientific and policy dynamics,
monopolizes the “correct” knowledge) 2) by the dominant rather “figural” than
reflexivity leads to greater awareness and conscious choices regarding the future
“discursive” way of signifying the world . Cultural industries contribute to this every-
of this study field.
day life “prosperity” based on the “western way of life” which apparently cannot
include any political thought related to the criticism of contemporary inequalities
Comm-8 .4 (although the consumption of products showing “prestige” does not really signify
to be part of the “rich class”, as remarked years ago Adorno and Horkheimer). 
CONSTANCE, Douglas* (Sam Houston State If Sociology could become (as wished by Ezra Park) a reportage of very good
University, soc_dhc@shsu .edu) quality, it could make redefine some contemporary constitutive myths which ex-
clude any “different” thought
The Future of the Agrifood System: Competing Visions and
Contested Discourses
Over the past fifty years a growing consensus has emerged that the
conventional agrifood system is ecologically, economically, and socially unjust and
unsustainable . Alternative agrifood initiatives and related social movements such
as organics, fair trade, Slow Food, local food, geographic indications, community
supported agriculture, food justice and food provide an agro-ecological counter
position to the hegemonic discourse of corporate-controlled, chemical-based
monoculture agriculture . While some proponents view this collection of
alternatives as the vanguard social movement of our time which can counter
the powerful forces of globalization based on neoliberalism, others question the
transformative ability of these movements as the processes of mainstreaming
and conventionalization create accommodative market-based alternatives
rather than radical oppositions to the dominant system.  In the last 10 years
as the legitimation crisis of conventional agriculture reached critical mass, the
word “sustainable” has come into play as competing factions mobilize to capture
the meaning of the term . Conventional agriculture proponents have counter-
attacked utilizing discourses such as ecological modernization and sustainable
intensification.  Alternative agriculture proponents such as La Via Campesina
advocate for an agrifood future based on agro-ecology and food sovereignty.  The
result is increasingly contested visions, discourses, and actions to influence the
transition to our future agrifood system .
5 * denotes a presenting author. Abstracts are organized by first presenting author’s last name.
Book of Abstracts: COMMON and PLENARY (D) Table of Contents 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
D F
Comm-12 .2 Comm-10 .3
DA COSTA, Isabel (CNRS-IDHES) FABIANSSON, Charlotte* (Victoria University,
ROZANOVA, Julia (Yale University) charlotte .fabiansson@vu .edu .au)
ASSUNCAO, Fatima* (University of Lisboa, The Power of Risk Perception: The Discord Between Public and
fassuncao@iscsp .ulisboa .pt) Scientific Perception of Risks Around Food
NINA-PAZARZI, Eleni (University of Piraeus) In the twenty-first century society, risk has become a household concept used
in diverse situations - risks can be found everywhere and the societal debate
CASEY, Catherine (University of Leicester) about risk reignites every time a new scare is emerging, be it a nuclear plant
meltdown, a climate change driven natural catastrophe or a food scare .
Participation, Organizational Democracy and Self What is actually a risk is debatable in many settings as it depends on the con-
Management: Past, Present, and Future text, the social and cultural milieu but it is also about who defines the situation or
action as a risk, the expert or the layperson .
RC10 involved all the members of its executive in writing a collective paper in The risk concept is especially well grounded within food production, process-
order to engage and exchange with other RCs during the ISA Common sessions ing and consumption. Experts and scientific research define risks, but so too do
for this Forum . From its inception in 1978 within ISA, the activities of RC10 on consumers . Some common ground exists about what food is safe and what food
“Participation, Organizational Democracy and Self-Management” have aimed is risky to eat, but there is also a wide gap between what the experts’ assess as a
at uniting the professional qualities, social consciousness and experience of its risk and what a layperson considers a risk, particularly in regard to foods that are
members for work on its field and the promotion of its topics. These seem more not considered “natural” .
than ever part of the struggle for a better future, which we believe should include Even if food is one of the most essential life supporting features of human life,
democracy and participation at all levels from the workplace to the political food scares do not necessarily create life-changing food consumption behaviour,
sphere . However, the responses to the crises have, on the contrary, recently as eating habits are among the most deeply ingrained forms of human behaviour
entailed in many countries unpopular austerity measures decided in a top-down well established in an individual’s social and cultural environment .
technocratic manner that threatened existing social and political participative In this paper, I discuss, how the gap between public’s and experts’ perception
schemes . Thus participation, organizational democracy, and self-management of food risks can be understood from the socio-cultural, risk society and the gov-
seem to be shrinking rather than increasing at the global level and increasing ernmentality risk discourses .
inequality, oppression, and ecological destruction have brought about protests
and struggles for a better world . Plen-1 .1
In our contribution we will first present the perspective of RC10 regarding the
common topics of the Forum, and then develop what we believe are important FELT, Ulrike* (Dean of the Faculty of
topics for future directions, in particularly those steaming from our sessions in
this Forum, such as: Public Sociology to promote collaborative research and dia- Social Sciences, University of Vienna,
logue between the public and the sociologists on issues of social justice, equality,
democracy, participation, working life conditions, and other related issues; the ulrike .felt@univie .ac .at)
future of participation in organizational life with a focus on the development of
capabilities, capacities and innovations; gender relations and the construction of WEITGRUBER, Barbara* (Director General,
a more participative society by looking at women’s participation in entrepreneur- Austrian Ministry of Science, n/a)
ship; unequal opportunities to participation for citizens within total institutions, in
particular prisons, and nursing homes; and the need for continuing struggles for SCHERKE, Katharina* (President of the Austrian
democratic participation .
Sociological Association, n/a)
Comm-7 .1 RICHTER, Rudolf (University of Vienna)
DWORKIN, Anthony Gary* (University of Welcome Addresses
Houston, gdworkin@central .uh .edu) welcome text
VRYONIDES, Marios* (European University of
Comm-14 .3
Cyprus, m .vryonides@euc .ac .cy)
FISHMAN, Robert M .* (Carlos III University in
Emerging and Continuing Inequalities in Education
Madrid, [email protected])
Education as an institution profoundly affects most segments of society.
It serves myriad functions from the socialization and training of the young, to How the Past Shapes Struggles for Equality: Contrasting
preparing and retraining a competent labor force, to securing for the elderly a Legacies of Reform and Revolution
meaningful and enriched retirement . Around the world there are a plethora of
factors that facilitate or retard educational goals.  Sociologists of education focus How do legacies of the past – many of them cultural in nature – condition
on an array of issues, seeking to explore unanticipated and unintended outcomes ongoing struggles for equality, leading to significant differences in the extent to
of educational policies, practices, and procedures among diverse groups . Much which formally democratic political systems genuinely offer political inclusion to
of our work addresses issues of educational inequality.  Sociology of education is low-income and other socially marginal sectors ? Where such legacies play an
both global and local in its focus and applies a broad range of sociological theory important role in configuring the opportunity for socially inclusionary politics their
and research methods.  causal impact is by nature at least somewhat case specific in ways that reflect
Here we present the current state of sociology of education globally regarding national socio-political trajectories of change.  But do large-scale international
research traditions and topics that attract the interests of sociologists of educa- structures and global, or in any case international, dynamics limit the ability
tion.  Our focus includes continuing and emerging educational inequalities that of such case-specific logics to matter in shaping political and distributional
will be salient in the coming decades. Attention will be paid to social stratifica- outcomes? These are the questions, to be addressed.  The analysis will take
tion, equity and access to schooling in developing and developed nations, politics up these theoretical issues through the vantage point offered by a strategically
of education and multiculturalism, educational assessment and accountability, chosen paired comparison of Portuguese and Spanish democracy, but also
school-to-work transitions, adult and lifelong learning, teacher supply, demand, through broader cross-national comparisons and theoretical debates .
and morale, and education as a vehicle for social control . Globalization in the edu-
cational processes and contemporary differences stemming from new sources of Comm-16 .1
social inequalities including the digital divide and participation or exclusion from
new forms of education, as well as issues of ethnicity and migration incorporate FLAM, Helena* (University of Leipzig,
many of the emerging inequalities that sociology of education will need to ad-
dress . Finally, we note the research methodologies used and developed within [email protected])
the sociology of education and epistemological paradigms that appear to be fa-
vored by specific research traditions among sociologists of education.
6 * denotes a presenting author. Abstracts are organized by first presenting author’s last name.
Book of Abstracts: COMMON and PLENARY (G) Table of Contents 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
Solidarity, ‘feel good’ activism and emotional domino effects in G
transnational social movements
There is still relatively little research on the transnationality of social Plen-2 .5
movements and even less on emotions. In my presentation I will reflect on both.
The transnational element is undeniable, for example, in the widespread current GARITA BONILLA, Nora* (ALAS,
German mobilization for the political refugees coming to Germany from Syria
and  Africa, although it does not require the mobilized individuals to leave their presidenta .alas@gmail .com)
country of residence . But, such mobilized individuals and, indeed, “Germany” at
the moment, are a drop in the sea.  Most Europeans, refuse to engage in similar Pueblos in Movement: Feminist and Indigenous Perspectives
acts of transnationality on their “home” territory . I will address emotions but
also migration trends, economic structures, historical trajectories and national Plenary (4)
identities to try to explain why “Germany” seems to be exceptional to then
consider the question whether such acts of transnationality express solidarity, Comm-11 .1
“feel good” mobilization or well-understood self-interest . As a second, dissimilar
case I will treat the Arab Spring whose transnationality involved enabling GERBAUDO, Paolo* (King`s College London,
emotional domino effects. These had their own economic and historical causes,
as Pearlman tells us . Finally, the movement for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation paolo .gerbaudo@kcl .ac .uk)
(JT&R) draws attention to transnational efforts to put an end to genocides as
well as war and humanitarian crimes by bringing the political and military elites PLEYERS, Geoffrey* (University of
responsible for them to the court or tribunal of justice . In this case, those who Louvain & College d’Etudes Mondiales,
debate sit in judgement of both perpetrators and their victims, calling on both
to abide by the emotional regime they envision . While many African states [email protected])
supported the JT&R movement, they no longer back its offspring, the ICC in the
Hague . The three cases taken together suggest that both transnationality and Social movement studies beyond the instrumental
emotionality of transnational mobilizations vary from case to case and therefore reductionism
call for posing case-related research questions . These - when well-posed - tell us
why such transnational mobilizations become possible or sustained . This contribution will focus on a debate that has structured the field of social
movement studies since its early beginning and that is being reconfigured by
Comm-18 .1 recent research conducted and published in different continents.
For most researchers, sociological analysis and social movement studies con-
FULLER, Steve* (University of Warwick, tinues to be dominated by instrumental and utilitarian perspectives that overlook
the role of values as organising principles of society . Social movements are depict-
s .w .fuller@warwick .ac .uk) ed as aggregations of interested individuals sharing resources to achieve certain
“public goods” . A great deal of the attention is paid to the nature of organizational
Is the Future ‘Human’, ‘Posthuman’ or ‘Transhuman’ structure and their degree of efficiency in mobilising people, regardless of the
actual “content” of the politics that is proposed, the subjectivity of the actors and
It is a postmodern commonplace that we live in times of blurred and blended with little interest in the cultural, subjective and personal dimensions of social
social identities . However, recently the very category of ‘human’ has started to processes . To overcome this situation more attention has be brought back to the
show some fuzzy borders, as advances in medicine and prosthetic technologies claims, political visions, values, cosmovisions, and ethos that are at the core of
(including brain chips) point in the direction of an ‘enhanced’ human, or ‘humanity contemporary social movements .
2 .0’, which challenges the able/disabled normative divide . At the same time, the It leads to revisit one of the most classic of sociological distinctions is the one
privilege attached to being human is coming under increasing critical scrutiny . between instrumental and value-oriented put forward by Max Weber at the be-
Thus, we see the rise of groups campaigning for the ‘rights’ of animals, nature ginning of the 20th century . People – famously argued Weber - do not act in certain
more generally and, last but not least, advanced machines (so-called ‘artificial ways only in order to achieve certain aims (that is instrumentally) but also because
intelligences’) . All of these developments share a broadly ‘futuristic’ orientation of their adherence to axiomatic values that orientate their action . This discussion
which, in some cases, promise solutions to already existing social problems, of values has constituted a key theme in much sociological discussion, from Ron-
but which in other cases displace or replace those problems . In this talk, two ald Inglehart analysis of the shift from materialism to post-materialism, to the
meta-sociological problems of this emerging world-view of ‘humanity 2 .0’ will analysis of the present culture of individualism, self-reliance and entrepeneurship
be considered: (1) Is the future about extending the human as far as possible in neoliberal times .
(‘transhumanism’) or resituating the human as one among many life-forms in a We need to recuperate a view of social movements as the spaces and actors
common environment (‘posthumanism’)? (2) Will it be possible to maintain, if not that forge new identities and values and thus the privileged place where we can
re-invent, the classical liberal idea of tolerance in a world where the value of the observe some historical and cultural direction of society .
being human – and what counts as human -- is so much up for grabs?
Plen-6 .4
GITLIN, Todd* (Columbia University,
tg2058@columbia .edu)
What Kind of a World Can Weather Climate Change?
Plenary Session (8)
7 * denotes a presenting author. Abstracts are organized by first presenting author’s last name.
Book of Abstracts: COMMON and PLENARY (H) Table of Contents 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
H K
Plen-4 .2 Comm-11 .3
HOLTGREWE, Ursula* (FORBA, KAZEPOV, Yuri* (University of Vienna,
holtgrewe@forba .at) yuri .kazepov@univie .ac .at)
Social polarisation From Citizenship to Cit(y)zenship: the changing boarders of
social inclusion and exclusion
Social polarisation and inequality characterise working life, with regard to
both paid and unpaid work, in both Northern and Southern societies, and it
appears that patterns and modes of working remain varied, or are becoming Comm-12 .3
ore so . However, its investigation often enough departs from a notion of
“normal” (full-time, regular, skilled, male) employment in the clear-cut containers KELLER, Reiner* (University of Augsburg,
of households, companies, sectors, employment systems and countries that
Germany, reiner .keller@phil .uni-augsburg .de)
has  roots in Fordist industrialised societies.   The contribution explores both
common patterns and differences between (European) societies and discusses
The Complex Discursivity of Global Futures in the Making
whether in this context the concepts of centres and peripheries make sense .
Global and transnational civil society, the proliferation of arenas and
Plen-4 .1 organizations involved in the definition of ‘world problems’ and ‘standards
making’, the burgeoning economic power of the BRIC-states as well as general
HONWANA, Alcinda* (Open University, recognition of a ‘post-colonial constellation’ together constitute a challenging
reconfiguration of transnational or global orders of discourse. The ongoing social-
alcinda .honwana@open .ac .uk) structural transformations linked to such processes deeply change global social
relationships of knowledge . The guiding thesis of the presentation therefore
Youth in Waithood: Political Protest and Social Change
states that new transnational orders of discourse emerge resp . are in the making
which confront heterogeneous local and regional discourse histories . Established
Young people’s transitions to adulthood have become increasingly uncertain . A
ways of evidence building and justification are no longer beyond question, but at
growing number of educated and non-educated young Africans find themselves
stake . Their future ‘Gestalt’ and shape are still widely contingent, and imply far
unemployed or underemployed . They are unable to attain the social markers
reaching social and political effects.
of adulthood, such as a secure job, marriage and a family . Trapped between
The complex discursivity of such sites and processes of discourse, communi-
childhood and adulthood, they are living in a twilight zone, a liminal space that has
cation, and knowledge production is a result of the hybrid constellations of the
now become known as waithood . Young people in waithood have been reacting
actors and knowledge claims involved, interconnections of heterogeneous arenas
against the establishment: they have overthrown longstanding regimes in Tunisia,
of dialogue and negotiation, diverse cultural rationalities of factuality, evidence,
Egypt, Senegal and Burkina Faso. Disillusioned young people continue to take
and legitimation, and also of translation between epistemic cultures and languag-
to the streets in various African cities.  But they are also reacting in other ways:
es from around the world . The concept of transnational spaces of discourse refers
some migrate and look for opportunities elsewhere, while others are lured into
to such new discursive formations and interconnections in which social actors
joining radical organisations such as Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda and the
and politics of knowledge beyond boarders are concerned with the construction,
Islamic State. But this is not just an African story. Increased youth unemployment
problematization and reworking of forms of knowledge and templates for action
and social inequalities in the West led to street protests in various European
for specific purposes. Such current (re-)orderings of discourse largely differ from
and American cities . Large numbers of young people are backing left-leaning
the global formations of discourse established in the  last centuries. In order to
politicians like Jeremy Corbyn in Britain, Bernie Sanders in the US, Podemos in
address these current challenges, the contribution focuses on the reach of socio-
Spain and Syriza in Greece. This growing upsurge of youth protests all over the
logical tools for analyzing transnational and global discourses as knowledge-mak-
world, crystallized in the word “Enough!” needs to be understood in the context
ing activities which will profoundly shape the global future .
of this generation’s struggles for political, social and economic emancipation .
Young people are angry and they are on the march across the world. But will this
generation be able to effect systemic social change? Comm-15 .1
KUHLMANN, Ellen* (Goethe-University
Frankfurt, Kuhlmann@em .uni-frankfurt .de)
Professions, Governance and Citizenship through the Global
Looking Glass
The state-professions relationship and the role of professionalism as facilitator
of public sector services are key issues of the professions studies . Currently,
these relationships face a number of fundamental transformations (1) state
regulation expands towards ‘governance’ with plural actors and market logics; (2)
globalization and new economies add new forms of ‘state’ and ‘citizenship’; and
(3) austerity politics curb prospering markets and public funding for professional
services . This paper maps the (re-)making of the bonds between professions,
governance and citizens in international perspective using thematic analysis
of published case study material gathered in Arab countries, Argentine, India,
Italy, Portugal, Russia, South Africa and Turkey . In the Arab countries, universal
approaches to professionalism are used strategically to build a professional field
and expertise, while mature mechanisms of public control and state support
are lacking . Russian and Turkey show strong centralized, hierarchical state
interventions to constrain professional self-governance coupled with increasing
involvement of professionals in management that may target professions-
users relationships . In Argentine, India, South Africa globalisation and a self-
governing professional model may promote the building of new professional
fields, but create different opportunities towards inclusive professionalism and
equality . Italy and Portugal respond with a mix of inclusive strategies (involving
professionals in organising/managing public services), market-based incentives
and interventionist states to control the behaviour of professionals . In summary,
the findings reveal an increasing relevance of professionals in governance
arrangements, while the local type of governance and the mechanisms of public
control shape professional development and emergent forms of professionalism .
Studying professions in global comparative perspective contributes to better
understanding transformations in public sector policy and services .
8 * denotes a presenting author. Abstracts are organized by first presenting author’s last name.
Book of Abstracts: COMMON and PLENARY (L) Table of Contents 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
This paper is supported by collaboration and material gathered by: Agartan, L
Bonnin, Correia, Hermo, Iarskaia-Smirnova, Lengauer, Pavolini, Ruggunan and
Singh
Comm-18 .3
LAMPIS, Andrea* (Universidad Nacional de
Colombia, alampis@unal .edu .co)
Global risk and local vulnerabilities: Considerations on the
shaping of disasters in contemporary Global South
Institutional structures in cities and rural areas of the Global South have been
heavily influenced by neo-liberal policies for over 40 years. International and
national corporative interests that operate at the local level reproducing a number
of globally legitimated policy guidelines are heavily influenced by de-territorialised
decision-making process . As Sassen (2014)[1] has recently observed, the concept
of ‘expulsions’ of risk is increasingly produced by globally relevant logics, interests
and actors against a local reality often made by fragmented governance systems .
The umbrella concept of institutional capacity (use of information, availability of
sufficient resources, existence of stakeholder participation, effective legal frame-
works) is most often used to analyse the effectiveness of disaster risk manage-
ment . However, besides being taxonomic and normative the analytical approach
that lays behind the concept is inadequate to explain why different social geog-
raphies under similar indicators of institutional capacity generate highly uneven
results in terms of disaster risk management.  The goal of the paper is to reveal
that both the politics and the policies related to risk management are shaped by
global pressures, logics and interests that end up embedded in local institutional
and social practices as much as in local culture . Disaster risk management should
now be enacted not only at the local level but on another more global scale where
a renewed reflection on the ethical, social justice and developmental implications
is needed .
[1] Sassen, S . (2014) . Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy .
Harvard University Press: Cambridge (MA), London (UK) .
Comm-13 .4
LANGMAN, Lauren* (Loyola University,
llang944@aol .com)
From Legitimation Crises to Movements to Power
Habermas’ 1975 theory of the legitimation crises,of capitalist economies, which
was informed by Weber’s theories of legitimacy, power and rationality, examined
interrelated yet analytically differentiated aspects of system crisis. Legitimation
crises occur at the system level when 1) the economic system fails to produce
and/or deliver adequate incomes, goods, and/or services, 2) when the political
systems of advanced democracies see their legitimation questioned in face of
economic conditions/political events, especially downturns and reversals; or
3) when cultural crises and anomie occurs, i .e ., when existing values no longer
serve to justify and guide behavior required by an evolving social system .
The salient insight of the theory, however, is that crises of legitimation at the
system level tend to migrate into the life world, where they impact identities
and emotions . Habermas’ theory emerged when Keynesian theory began to
wane . The various dysfunctions, contradictions, and adverse consequences of
neoliberal globalization that became very evident in 2007-8 prompt us to return
to, review, and revise Habermas’ theory for a neoliberal age . Perhaps the initial
point to be made is that crises at the system level fosters alienation and a variety
of discontents and “moral shocks” (Jaspers) that become channeled into social
movements and social, cultural . or political action . We have thus seen a variety of
political mobilizations, both left and right, following crises . In order to understand
the basis, recruitment, and destinies of these movements, we should note the
intersection of class, character, and emotional constellations. What specific events
or conditions foster discontents and malaise, and in turn motivate recruitment
into social movements? Once so formed, what factors sustain participation in
such movements? Why do particular actors gravitate toward the right and others
toward the left?What are the impacts and implications of social movements in
terms of gaining political power and social transformation?
Plen-2 .4
LESSENICH, Stephan* (Ludwig Maximilians
University Munich, Department of Sociology,
stephan .lessenich@lmu .de)
The “Open Society” and Its Contradictions: Towards a Critical
Sociology of Global Inequalities
Plenary Talk (3)
9 * denotes a presenting author. Abstracts are organized by first presenting author’s last name.
Book of Abstracts: COMMON and PLENARY (M) Table of Contents 3rd ISA Forum of SOCIOLOGY
Comm-9 .2 M
LOCKIE, Stewart* (James Cook University,
stewart .lockie@jcu .edu .au) Comm-11 .4
Making society possible: re-imagining sociology in an era of MANZENREITER, Wolfram* (University
global environmental change of Vienna, Dept . of East Asian Studies,
Climate and other dimensions of global environmental change (GEC) demand a wolfram .manzenreiter@univie .ac .at)
re-imagining of sociology and its role in the apprehension and motivation of social
and political change . To be sure, this challenge is not unique to sociology . While HORNE, John* (University of Central
existing programs of GEC research stress have stimulated multiple experiments
Lancashire, School of Sport and Wellbeing,
in multidisciplinary collaboration and engagement with policy-makers, neither
the scale nor breadth of this activity are commensurate with the magnitude or JDHorne@uclan .ac .uk)
complexity of the task . We know all too well, as sociologists, that collaboration
and communication are not sufficient, by themselves, to unsettle the vested Sport and the Role of Sport Sociology for Alter-Globalization
interests, institutional path dependencies, conflicts and prejudices, taken-for-
granted practices, and so on, responsible for environmental and social injustice . Sport has been criticized as a conservative institution subscribing airily to the
Power is not so easily displaced . Doing science in a manner that helps people aspirations of capitalism and neoliberal ideology . The study of sport has therefore
to comprehend environmental risk, to imagine possible and desirable futures, been seen as politically compliant, undertheorized or even ignorant of its political
and to identify tangible and feasible steps towards the realization of those significance, thereby ultimately serving the dominant political order. However,
futures requires far more innovation yet . The question (or at least one of the in the past decades global sport – particularly in its highly commercialized and
questions) is what this means for sociology? It is argued here that GEC, and the corporatized forms – has become one key field for advocacy networks that resist
social movements it has stimulated, demand theoretical and methodological both neoliberal forms of globalization and modernist backlashes against an open
development from sociology on at least two fronts . First, many more processes and equal society . Sport sociologists have not only turned to examine global social
(chemical, biological and physical) must be brought into the sociological domain, movements which reflect rising awareness of the devastating effects of global
reconceiving the subject matter of sociology as all the connections among people, capitalism in neocolonial relationships with regions from the Global South, but
institutions, technologies and ecosystems that make society possible . Second, also have considered the exploitation of Third World labor in the sporting goods
sociology must ways to contribute to the assemblage of sustainable eco-social manufacturing, the extraction of sport talent, human trafficking and athlete
futures in ways that are empirically robust and socially just . migration for consumption in the Global North, and the environmental damage
caused by the sport industries . In many cases, sociologists have become activists
Comm-10 .4 that apply investigative and participatory research methods while standing
up against social problems . Driven by a sense of social responsibility, ethical
LOW, Kelvin* (National University of Singapore, engagement and the vision of a better future, they have come to tackle racist
and xenophobic attitudes within sport, and demonstrate the unequal distribution
socleyk@nus .edu .sg) of gains and losses in the muscle drain . The take on sport as a facilitator for the
international peace movement, and the adaptation of sport by NGOs in the field
The Social Life of the Senses of developmental aid and international cooperation would not have happened
without the intervention of a critical sociology of sport and globalization . Our
Social science literature on the senses has proliferated in the last few decades, presentation outlines and contextualizes the ‘critical turn’ in sport sociology and
especially in the fields of sociology and anthropology. Departing from related poses questions about its vision of future possibilities .
works located within disciplines such as biology, psychology, and physiology,
sensory studies argue for the senses as social, revealing important insights
Comm-7 .3
pertaining to selfhood, culture, and social relations . I delineate three interrelated
sections that inform how sensory works have developed by first providing an
adumbrated background with regard to the hierarchy of the senses, and the need MENEZES, Paulo* (University of Sao Paulo,
therefore to move beyond the hegemony of vision . The second section includes paulomen@usp .br)
not only how the senses have been theorized, but also comprises some notes on
the senses and body of the researcher that is as important as those of whom we Arts and Imagination: The constitution of Social Interpretation
study . Another dimension of sensory methodology that warrants mention has to
do with how one can articulate sensory lifeworlds with and beyond textual means . This communication aims to discuss the relationships between images and the
If the senses are regarded as avenues of lived experiences that at times, even production of knowledge as a moment of the constitution of a social imaginary .
respondents are not able to harness linguistic terminology with which to convey These relationships found and direct interpretations and evaluations about the
their experiences, then what resources might researchers be able to mobilize world and the social phenomena that constitute it . It discusses how images
so as to pronounce data of the sensory type? Finally, a third section locates the construct a particular way of apprehension of social phenomena through a
development of sensory research in organizational terms, elucidating upon the complex elaboration of the imaginary that is the basis of seeing the world by the
various institutional efforts that have been pursued towards organizing sensory reference of some specific values and perspectives. As we can see, Sociology of
research and scholarly publications through different avenues. The article Arts has been changing in the past years, in order to incorporate new and old
concludes with suggestions for the next step forward towards broadening the forms of expressions that were not in the original scope of arts, as arts changes
field of research that deliberates upon sensory transnationalism. itself in order to incorporate new propositions that become art updated with
new social problems and perspectives . New realities instigate new conceptual
Comm-9 .3 and methodological approaches and promote new theoretical questions to
research . Changing forms of the new arts and the spread of images in everyday
LUKE, Timothy W .* (Virginia Tech, twluke@vt .edu) relationships suggest reflections on what can nowadays be conceived as art and
what is the field of research to a discipline that leads with artistic expression and
The Grounding Sociologies of the Future: Anthropocene its social propositions .
I intend to discuss sociological possibilities and strategies in the analyses of
Futures Emerging from the Present Burning Up the Past
art works in their epistemological, methodological or analytical problems and ap-
The Anthropocene thesis being advanced by many scientists, social scientists, proaches, in order to problematize art works as an important social phenomena
and humanists is fraught with many uncertainties, but it also demands innovation that alludes to the observer various possibilities of meaning constitution and in-
in our methods and theories . What can sociology contribute to these broad terpretation about reality and social organization, social groups and their relation-
debates, since the assumptions and aspirations about the Anthropocene al systems of values and social structuration .
increasingly are influencing the daily routines and long-term collective lives of
those who accept its plausiblity? There still are many risks to be identified, avoided,
mitigated, transferred, and shared, and the horizons of Earth System Science or
Governance as social imaginaries with definite elitist and inegalitarian agendas
to shape human and nonhuman futures.  What can be learned by comparing the
expert and lay struggles in different countries and settings over this analysis of
the future?  And, what visions for alternative futures in the Anthropocene are now
imaginable and perhaps achievable for the broader macro-dynamics affecting the
entire planet?
10 * denotes a presenting author. Abstracts are organized by first presenting author’s last name.