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Plenary Themes
Five Plenary Themes will be held parallel at 13:45-15:15 during 5 days, from Monday through Friday, July 12-16, 2010. Each Plenary will focus on a different theme which will be developed in five sessions.
Venue
Svenska Mässan (The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre)
Each session, group or committee is allocated in the same venue throughout the Congress, except for few occasions such as joint sessions. This is a preliminary venue and can be subject to minor changes. The final schedule will be presented in June.
Plenary sessions are solicited directly by the ISA Programme Committee and only selected scholars are invited to present papers or participate in round table debates.
- Theme 1. Violence and war
Violence is a ubiquitous feature of the modern world, expressed as means of domination both within and between societies. It is discussed in disparate fields, from gender studies to criminology, from studies of terrorism and militarism to international relations, but we need to develop a sociology of violence - a subfield of sociology that treats violence in its own right. A sociological approach to violence should compete with psychological and biological approaches to violence, so as to better grasp the possibilities of its reduction. [Read more..]
- Theme 2. Sustainability
In 1987 the World Commission on Environment and Development presented evidence documenting the degradation of the environment on a planetary scale, and concluded that the present pattern of development is environmentally unsustainable over the long run. The Commission proposed and popularized the concept of “sustainable development”, which it defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. After almost a quarter of a century of talking about sustainability, it is time to assess relations between sustainability discourse and sustainable practices, which implies examining relations between social constructions and nature’s constructions. This series of plenary sessions at the 2010 World Congress of the International Sociological Association will address those issues. [Read more..]
- Theme 3. Worlds of difference
Worlds of difference constitute a most apt subject for comparative sociological analysis in the global age. The plenary focuses on transformation processes in historical, civilizational and contemporary perspectives. While placing emphasis on spatial, cultural and institutional diversities, it addresses themes such as human rights, citizenship, communal politics, exploitations and domination as these take shape across the world. [Read more..]
- Theme 4. Action and imagination
Action and imagination: the idea to put together these two large notions gives the oppportunity to move in a way from « old » theoretical perspectives, methodologies and objects (or fields of research) to other ones, which give more place to creativity or imagination. At the same time, both action and imagination have to be considered key elements of the uncertain and moving world of today. This Plenary Theme aims to open discussions on some theoretical perspectives, new methodologies and new objects in sociology of culture. It also addresses some important themes in relation with the increasing role of action and imagination in current society. [Read more..]
- Theme 5. Religion and power
For a long time most social scientists – and not only they – have believed that secularization is a necessary corollary of modernization processes. In the last two decades, however, this (often tacit) assumption has been challenged very forcefully. Religions revitalization in several parts of the world, new forms of the instrumentalization of religion by political power, but also the religious inspiration of social movements against oppression have become crucial topics of social research and social theory. Moreover, this rethinking of ‘religion and power’ throws new light on the history of secularization and on current religious trends in a global perspective. [Read more..]
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International Sociological Association, May 2010 |