New Cultural Frontiers

CALL FOR PAPERS – Challenges for Democracy and Universal Rights in the Global Market Era

Emanuele — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:45:45 +0000

Deadline Submission: 31st January 2012

In the past decades, deep economic and social transformations had a major impact on work, redefining its role at individual and collective level. There have been major changes that produced opportunities for workers but, at the same time, new challenges to the affirmation of their dignity and rights.

Work has no longer the same central dimension in the society as it used to have in the industrial era – not much because of its lesser importance in the construction of individuals’ identities – but, as expression of subjectivity, is now articulated by individuals in every dimension of their existence. Even if it’s no longer the primary vector of collective identities, work can certainly not be conceived as secondary for the life of the individual. Work maintains a well-defined role in the construction of individual biographies, both considering the positive aspects for self-determination and assertion of the existence of subjectivity then, on the other hand, considering the negative aspects on personality, such as corrosion of one’s temper.

The innovation of technologies and processes, the development of the Internet, the increasing access to education, reflected not only on products but on the ways in which they are produced. The gradual growth of used knowledge in work has opened up the possibilities for emancipation of individuals foreshadowing new paradigms in which knowledge is seen as essential, enhancing the creativity and skills of individuals. Nevertheless, we are nowadays witnessing to the emergence of new modes of exploitation, due to the accentuation of specific forms of domination increasingly pervasive that, on one hand, refer to practices of domination and, on the other hand, go straight to the discipline resulted in the internalization of subordination.

These modes of exploitation are accompanied by a variation of the insecurity that goes beyond the single dimension of work, to be extended to the existential dimension. In general terms, the logic of market and profit seems to impose itself on the chance to achieve individual and universal rights, leading to a crisis of democracy and representation that accompanies the economic one.

In opposition to these dynamics, different forms of reaction emerge. In some cases the individual isolation is transformed into an extreme individualism, aimed primarily at obtaining personal benefits. In other cases the need for protection involves the strengthening of professional corporatism, local and of other kinds.

Both instrumental individualism and communitarianism hinder the definition of a collective strategy for the affirmation of fundamental and universal rights, enabling the affirmation of each individual, through their work opportunities (careers).

On the other hand, forms of processing, strength and pursuit of alternatives to local and international emerge, aiming at affirming the dignity of labour and universal rights.

The third issue of New Cultural Frontiers aims at discuss these issues, accepting both theoretical or empirical, contributions encouraging a multidisciplinary approach to the debate

Vol. 2 – 2011 – Crisis, subjectivities and inequalities

Emanuele — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:51:07 +0000

New Cultural Frontiers

vol.2/2011

Crisis, subjectivities and inequalities

(download the whole issue)

Contents

Equality, Inequality and Difference - Elisa Reis

Living in Emergency: humanitarian images and the inequality of lives – Pierluigi Musarò

Centre d’appels délocalisés: une fabrique de français? L’exemple du Sénégal – Benoît Tine

Nuevos rumbos del activismo socio-espacial en recife/pe: comunidad Josué De Castro – ¡La esperanza de la construcción de un nuevo territorio! – Cláudio Jorge Moura de Castilho

Sécurité, politique et ordre social au Chili – Nicolás Angelcos

Attendants, participants, and activists: Profiles in online political behavior during electoral campaigns – Víctor Sampedro Blanco, Celia Muñoz Goy, José A. López Rey

La création des profanes: Les juges de proximité dans son travail – Pedro Heitor Barros Geraldo

To be able to read the issue/articles (pdf-files), you need the Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded for free.

From Social to Politics. New Forms of Mobilisation and Democratisation

Emanuele — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:40:04 +0000

ISA RC47 – Social Classes and Social Movements

ISA RC48 – Social Movements, Collective Action and Social Change

FROM SOCIAL TO POLITICS. NEW FORMS OF MOBILIZATION AND DEMOCRATIZATION

University of Bilbao – Spain

⁹^th – 10^th February 2012

Please send your call for papers (deadline 30^th November 2011) proposal to Conference Organisers: Antimo Luigi Farro – antimoluigi.farro@uniroma1.it Benjamin Tejerina – b.tejerina@ehu.es

OBJETIVES AND THEME

In the recent evolution of contemporary social movements three phases can be identified. The first phase is marked both by the labour movement and the systemic importance attributed to the labour conflict in industrial society. A conflict interpreted by Emile Durkheim as a shortcoming of social integration, by Max Weber as a rational conflict by entrepreneurs and workers interests, and a central class struggle for society transformation by the view of Karl Marx. The second phase of development of social movements takes on new social movements of the sixties and seventies of the XX century, such as students, women and environmentalists movements of post-industrial society. Actions whose sense and meaning are explained mainly by two new analytical perspectives: resource mobilization theory (McAdam and Tilly) that focuses on the study of rational attitudes of these actions and conflicts; and actionalist sociology, which aims to identify new central actors of the conflicts in the post-industrial society, as labour movement was in industrial society. The third phase emerges in a world framed by the ascendancy of market, the prominent role of financial capital flows, communitarian closure and fundamentalism, and refers to movements of affirmation of human rights and democracy as alternatives to global domination and systemic conditioning of individual and groups. The objective of this conference is to foster theoretical reflections and to present empirical evidences regarding some of the recent mobilizations that took place in the Mediterranean area and that have two very clearly distinguished threads. On the one hand, there are the mobilizations that reveal the need to open space to democracy by asking for political reforms and democratization processes in countries such as Tunez, Egypt, Morocco, Libya and Syria, among other. On the other hand, numerous discontent displays regarding the political management of economical crisis and the shrinking of the Welfare State in South Europe triggered mobilizations such as 15-M in Spain, “Indignez-vous” in France, Italy and Greece and other protests organized by young people and students in England and Belgium. Bringing together different networks and orientations around social movements, expressed by the two ISA Research Committees 47 and 48, this conference offers the opportunity to debate around the changes and the meanings of social movements of the twenty-first century. In special, we are interested in analysing the antecedents, the influence of social and political conditions, the movement’s nature regarding organization, forms of protest, claims, causes, protagonists, role of social media and to spot the meaning of these relatively new forms of protest beyond the action repertoire.

ORGANIZATION

The general structure of the Conference has provided different ways for participation. One of them is the organization of academic sessions. Each thematic session will consist of the presentation of a guest lecturer for 20 minutes, four oral communications for 15 minutes each, and five communications presented in poster format. The final constitution of these thematic sessions will be a posteriori, when all communications are received and the Scientific Committee has made the selection of oral communications and posters. All communications will have the same status for the issuance of participation certificates. A prerequisite for presenting a communication is to be properly enrolled in the Conference. Regarding a possible publication –still in consideration- of the full papers participants must adapt the texts to a model that will be sent later.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

The abstracts of communications should be sent to the organization of the Congress based on the following criteria: • Length: Maximum 1000 words. It is considered that a minimum of 700 words is required to provide enough information to evaluate the proposal. • Languages: Communications must be submitted only in English. • Contents: All abstracts must have the following information: a) Communication information. - Title. b) Author’s information. - Surname, first name. - Email address. - Affiliation. c) Work content. - Kind of work: describe briefly if it is a theoretical reflection, an qualitative/quantitative empirical research, a case study or a comparative analysis; - 3 key words; - Description of the object and/or main subject of the work; - Methodology; - Main findings, conclusions and/or contributions; - References; bibliography. d) Other elements which are considered of interest: e.g. if the proposal is framed in a competitive research project or international research project.

PARALLEL ACTIVITIES

We are opening the possibility to organise a parallel exhibition of graphic material related to the congress. Formats admitted are: - Photos of manifestations: in case you have been involved or had the chance to observe these movements in person we would appreciate if you could share your materials, like photos, leaflets picked in locus, posters, etc.. Send us your links to Flickr, Facebook, or any other social network in which your photos are posted. - Videos of mobilizations that can be posted in Social Networks like Youtube, Vimeo, etc.; - Recordings of interviews, direct testimonies (in mp3, mp4) or posted in Social Media Platforms; - Interesting websites (webography related to these movements that can be consulted during the conference; like bloggs, movements websites, etc.). If you have any other ideas relating contents for these parallel activities please feel free to contact us and we will evaluate the possibility of including them.