Papers are invited for a session on “Figurational Studies and Contemporary Social Processes” at the Copenhagen conference, 2-4 April 2012.
The session organisers are Matt Clement (UWE, Bristol), John Lever (Jblresearch) and Ryan Powell (Sheffield Hallam University).
The session will engage with figurational work that sets out to understand contemporary social processes, their direction(s) and their outcomes for different groups. Researchers in many fields of inquiry are increasingly drawn to Elias’s conceptual apparatus, using it to examine a range of contemporary issues related to policy, space and governance. Particular areas of inquiry have included:
* Anti-social behaviour and the governance of conduct
* The decivilizing of welfare
* Urban regeneration and partnership working
* Group relations and conflict in the city
* The stigmatisation of ‘outsider’ groups
* Spaces of informalization
* Civilizing offensives and civilizing spurts
* Climate change and global warming
* Moral panics and austerity
Many studies use a variety of methods to develop insightful theoretical accounts of contemporaneous social processes. This inter-disciplinary session attempts to build on these accounts. We envisage contributions from those working across sociology, human geography, criminology, history and political science, but welcome contributions from other disciplines. Papers from early career researchers and postgraduate students are also particularly welcome. The session is looking for papers that foster new sociological insight and theoretical development.
Please send abstracts, of no more than 150 words, to Ryan Powell at R.S.Powell@shu.ac.uk, by 15th December 2011.
Please register for the conference by sending an email to Mette Cruse Skou (mcs@ifs.ku.dk) with your name, affiliation, address, phone number and email address.
The Conference fee is €50, which covers lunches, coffee/tea and fruit. Students: €15. The conference fee needs to be paid at the conference venue/registration desk when the conference starts.