[Air-L] Reminder: CFP Localising Sociological Inquiry

[Jaime García Iglesias]

The Place I Call Research: Localizing Sociological Inquiry

Call for Papers

Despite the recent focus in social sciences on situating one’s research,
the actual process of selecting and navigating particular community
contexts remains a difficult task. The reconfiguring of local spaces into
sites of research is particularly relevant now, as the internet and new
media blur previously taken-for-granted boundaries and processes of
localization.


This conference seeks to engage researchers across the social sciences and
humanities to discuss the role of places in their work. In particular, we
are interested in exploring the ways in which methodologies are
contextualized to tackle both new spaces and ‘old’ spaces in the flux of
change. However we are also attentive to the interaction between
researchers and the larger community regarding those spaces, such as public
policy development that is contextually bound and the impact of business
models in the alteration and creation of places.

The conference will take place at the University of Manchester on 15 June
2018. It is an all-day event which will feature both academic papers and
public events including a roundtable with community members, a public
screening, and an exhibition. Attendance is free.


We welcome submissions for 15 minute papers from doctoral and masters’
students and early-career researchers across multiple disciplines,
especially sociology, anthropology, economics, politics, geography, public
health, and cultural studies. Some of the conference’s key themes are:


   -

   addressing changing political and social contexts in our research
   -

   urban/rural dichotomies
   -

   new and old spaces: queer, postcolonial and online contexts
   -

   place ownership, no-place, and homelessness
   -

   how social, cultural, and community challenges affect fieldwork
   -

   developing community-specific methodologies and research questions
   -

   how theories and knowledges are context-specific, as well as the
   potential for trans-contextual research


Abstract submissions should be between 150 and 300 words and include five
keywords. Creative research methodologies are welcomed. Scholars are
encouraged to reflect on local engagement in their papers. Deadline for
submission is March 26, 2017. Website (and submission form):
www.placemcr2018.wordpress.com. Inquiries should be directed at
placemcr2018 at gmail.com