The XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology will start in a few days. The research committee 47 “Social classes and social movements” proposes a very timely program in a world increasingly shaped my reactionary movements and authoritarian regimes but where progressive movements remain also very lively and creative. With 31 panels and over 150 speakers, it will be the largest program ever run by our RC at an ISA event. Have a look at the program in this newsletter and join us in room 705 in Toronto!

Our experience in Yokohama and Vienna showed us how important it is to get to know each other before starting a very demanding week at the ISA congress. We have set up a convivial “Welcome session” that will take place on Sunday July 15th at 3 pm at the congress venue. It will be an opportunity to get to know each other, to share our recent research and publications as well as to present some recent projects by our research committee. Have a look at the program on page 2.

Among the highlights of the RC47 program in Toronto, the Opening session will gather leading scholars to reflect on the current state of social movements across the world (Monday 16, 15:30). RC47 has also organized two “ISA integrative sessions”. The first one will focus on social movements in the Global South (Wednesday 18, 12:30) and the second one on social movements and labour (Friday 20, 12:30).

The RC47 business meeting will take place on Thursday 19th of July at 19:00. It will be the opportunity to propose new projects and to take an active part in our RC. We will also process to our internal elections to designate our board members for the next 4 years. Join us and contribute to shape the future of our research committee!
As program organizers, we would like to thank all the session chairs and coordinators as well as the panellists who have chosen ISA47 to present their latest research results. Before arriving in Toronto, have a look at the short guidelines to present a paper below.

We are very pleased that one of our active member, Tommaso Gravante, from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, has received one of the ISA Awards for junior researchers for his article “Desaparición forzada y trauma cultural en México. Una nueva narrativa social a partir del Movimiento de Ayotzinapa”.
We look very much forward to seeing you on Sunday in Toronto!

Breno Bringel & Geoffrey Pleyers
RC47 Program coordinators at the 2018 World Congress of Sociology

To download the full newsletter, click here

See our program in this pdf document and join us, submitting your abstract! Have a look at the section “How to present a paper” (p. 13) and don’t hesitate to contact the panel coordinators for more information about their panel.

Membership of RC47 is not compulsory but will be taken into account in the abstract selection process. Please join us at http://www.isa-sociology.org/memb_i/index.htm

Our aim is to foster a global dialogue among sociologists of social movements. Therefore, all panels should include about half of the speakers from the Global South.

Program Coordinators:
Geoffrey PLEYERS, Belgium/France
Breno BRINGEL Brazil

The deadline for panel proposals at the next world congress of sociology is nearing. Please register your session proposals directly on the ISA website before March 15th (!!).

https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2018/rc/cfs.cgi  (Then choose RC47).

Proposals should be thematic open call for abstracts (and not closed sessions with invited scholars).

These panel proposals will then go through a selection process, taking into account both thematic and geographical balances. The selected one will then be included in the ISA47 call for abstracts for the 2018 world congress of sociology.

The ISA47 board has suggested a few orientations for its program at the World Congress of Sociology. Please take them into account when preparing your proposal:

1. Each panel should include at least one and if possible half of the speakers coming from the Global South (and if possible not only the richest Latin American countries). We need to get our colleagues from Africa and Asia on board! There won’t be any session on a specific geographical area.
2. Some priority will be given to the topics we defined as our priority at our last board meeting: epistemologies of the South; trade unions and movements; conservative/extreme right movements.
3. Our overall call will include diverse topics and cover a range of movements. Among the other topics that should have some space in our program: online/offline activism; environmentalist movements; outcomes of the movements; epistemology and practices of social movement studies (including the relation between researchers and activists)… And the topics you consider as relevant in 2018.

Two years ago, we received 69 proposals for our 14 slots initially allocated to our RC at the ISA Forum in Vienna. We will have slightly more slots this time, but we won’t be able to select all the proposals. The call is widely open. Some priority may be given to ISA47 members who have been active in some of our initiatives.

Note that session organizers will have to be members in good standing of ISA47 before the general call for abstracts is published (April 7^th, 2017).

For questions or further information, please contact Geoffrey Pleyers, Breno Bringel, or any of the ISA47 board members.