Research Committee 36 Alienation Theory and Research RC36 Newsletter 29 June 2011 vol. 9 No. 29 C O N T E N T - A Letter from the RC 36 President 2 - Call for Paper - RC36 and RC38 Interim Conference “Beyond Alienation and Integration: Social Issues and Movements” in Curitiba/ Brazil (24 -25.07.2011) 4 - ISA Forum 2012 in Buenos Aires/ Argentinia 7 - Paper to the XVII ISA World Congress of Sociology, Gothenburg, Sand, Hans Petter 2010: „Reopening a National Wound” 8 - RC 36 Officers and Board Members 20 1 A letter from the RC 36 President Dear friends, colleagues and members of RC36: Our RC has had a new leadership group for a half year now after our successful conference in Gothenburg, Sweden, last summer. The honor and responsibility of continuing our Committee's traditions of good leadership fell on me as the fourth president of RC 36. Some of you may remember reading in the Newsletter that our previous President, Lauren Langman, introduced me as his successor by emphasizing that he has known me for many years. However, knowing the traditions and officers of our Committee does not make my job any easier, for following such past RC 36 presidents as Lauren Langman, Devorah Kalekin-Fishman, and Felix Geyer is as much an honor as it is a challenge. Lauren also contrasted my "organizational skills" with his "personal chaos and disorganization," which supposedly constituted an obstacle for him doing the job. But I am not sure whether a victory over chaos is what has made RC 36 successful through the years, especially if one regards chaos in a Durkheimian sense as the necessary "evil" from which all good emerges. My impression is rather that our Committee's history of successful leadership should not be described in such terms since one of its constant features has been a sense of calling that makes such service a task more demanding than most academic positions. As we move forward, perhaps the biggest challenge we face is to preserve the true spirit of our Committee. This involves renewing our research theme, supporting the motivation of our membership for high scholarly achievement, encouraging a sense of intellectual responsibility in a troubled world, creating a feeling of friendship amongst ourselves, and fostering the awareness that we belong to an important scholarly community. I believe that the new leadership of RC 36 possesses the necessary commitment to the cause of sociology as a science which possesses a dignified intellectual goal and an important social function. But in order for the new leadership to succeed in its endeavors, it will be necessary that you give the elected officers your trust and support, as you have always done in the past. As you already know, the two immediate tasks facing us are our interim conference this coming July in Curitiba, Brazil, and our participation in the Second ISA Forum ("Social Justice and Democratization") in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in August 2012. I would like to thank all of you who 2 have already sent in your abstracts for Curitiba as well as those who have informed us you are interested in coming but have not yet sent them in. Please note the deadlines and details concerning these two events, which have been published in the Newsletter – particularly the fact that the deadline for submitting abstracts for Curitiba has been extended to 30 March. The Board of RC36 has chosen not to organize regular sessions for the 40th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology (IIS), which will take place in Delhi, India, 16-19 February 2012. We regret having to take this decision not only because the Congress topic ("After Western Hegemony: Social Science and Its Publics") is of particular interest to us, but also because we have been regular participants in IIS events over the years. It appeared that most of our members would likely not be able to be away from their universities during February in order to attend a conference. It also seemed likely that many of us might not be able to attend both the Delhi IIS Congress and the Buenos Aires ISA Forum in one and the same year. We gave our preference to the ISA event because the growing number of RCs that will participate in it promises to make the Forum a virtual ISA World Congress. However, I encourage all of you who have the opportunity to be in Delhi to submit abstracts and join existing sessions. It is also possible for you to organize sessions of our own. Please let us know if you will be there so that we can keep track of all the events in which our members cooperate with the IIS. I hope that the renowned beauty of the conference venues we have chosen for the next two years may help motivate you to join in. We trust that your indoor conference experiences will be at least as rewarding and exciting as your outdoor experiences will certainly be. I look forward to receiving your abstracts for Curitiba and your session proposals for Buenos Aires, and also to meeting with you in either the one, or the other, or perhaps even both cities! With best regards, Vessela Misheva 3 Call for Paper RC36 and RC38 Interim Conference “Beyond Alienation and Integration: Social Issues and Movements” (Curitiba/ Brazil – 24 -25.07.2011) The Research Committee on Alienation Theory and Research (RC36) and the Research Committee on Social Movements, Collective Action and Social Change (RC 48) are jointly organizing a two-day interim conference in Curitiba, Brazil, in conjunction with the XV Congress of the Brazilian Sociological Association. This interim conference aims to bring together scholars from the two Committees who systematically deal with the modern challenges which research on alienation and social movements face today, including points of intersection between the two fields. 4 The topics to be discussed may include: • Contemporary and classical perspectives on alienation • Alienation, Integration and Social Movements: Theoretical Issues. • Social Selves, Alienated Relationships, and Conflicts. • Alienation, Well-being and Emotions at the Work-place. • Emotions, Alienation and New Media • Popular Youth Culture: Alienation, Expression and Identity • Alienation, Socialization and Education • Alienation, Lifestyle and Healthcare Topics for joint sessions of RC36 and RC48 include: • Emotions, Body, and Identity in the Study of Alienation and Collective Action. • Identities, Collective Action, and Social Change. • Main Tensions between the Local and the Global in Social Mobilizations. • Emotions, Alienation, Collective Mobilizations. • Framing, Discourse, and Ideology. • Problems of Capitalist Societies and Social Crisis. • Transnational Mobilization and Global Transformations. • Social Movements, Struggles for Democracy and the State. DEADLINE for call for papers: Wednesday the30th of March 2011 The Papers should include: • Title of presentation • Abstract of the paper Please send this mail to Cc also to Vessela Misheva ([email protected]), and with Cc to Miriam Adelman ([email protected]) and to Dirk Michel Schertges ([email protected]). 5 ACCOMODATION: Hotel Altarregia Rua Dr. Faivre, 846 - Centro - Curitiba-PR CEP 80060-140 telephone: 55 41 3026 3223 | Fax: 55 41 3028 5670 webpage: www.altareggia.com.br Please send a copy of your registration to our contact person: Paula Gimenes ([email protected]) as well as to Miriam ([email protected]) to give her the chance to plan and to help if problems occur. DEADLINE for registration of the hotel: Friday, the 22nd of April 2011 Reservation Code to be given by room reservation: SOCIOLOGY EVENT UFPR Contact person: Paula Gimenes, Events department, Hotel Altareggia; email: [email protected] Price for one night : BR real $112,50 per night (USD 67.57 at today's exchange rates, same rate for single or double room, with breakfast included) Our conference will immediately precede the Brazilian conference, which runs from the 26th to the 29th of July. More information concerning the Brazilian Congress, the topic of which is Changes, Permanencies and Sociological Challenges, can be found at http://www.sbs2011.sbsociologia.com.br/. This site is available in Portuguese, Spanish, and English The link below provides a glimpse of the beauty of the conference venue: http://www.curitiba-parana.net/brazil/pictures.htm 6 SECOND ISA FORUM „Social Justice and Democratization” (Buenos Aires/ Argentinia – 01. – 04.08.2012) http://www.isa-sociology.org/buenos-aires-2012/ The RC36 at the ISA intends to take an active part in the work of the Second ISA Forum in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1-4-August 2012. RC36 invites interested members and researchers to submit proposals for sessions dealing with questions of theoretical and empirical significance for the field. The proposal should include the name and the contact information of the session organizer, a session title, and an abstract of approximately 200 words that clarifies the session’s theme and the type of research interests which it in particular will address. Proposals for sessions which deal with the interpretation of classical perspectives, encourage the discussion of modern forms of alienation, or offer cross-national and comparative perspectives on the varieties and forms of alienation on personal, organizational, and societal levels in the contemporary world are equally welcomed. Also of interest are proposals for joint sessions to be held in cooperation with another ISA Research Committee. Session proposals are to be submitted by 15 June 2011 Please send your session proposal by e-mail (address given below) to Vessela Misheva ([email protected]), who will serve as RC36 Program Coordinator for the 2012 ISA Forum and Cc to Dirk Michel Schertges ([email protected]). Please note that if your proposal is approved you are expected to organize the session and serve as its convener and chair.