The Process and Implications of Doing Social Theory (One-Day Symposium)

Call for Short Papers (750 - 1,000 words by 28th February 2025, 5pm GMT)

The Process and Implications of Doing Social Theory (One-Day Symposium)

A BSA Early Career Regional Funded Symposium (organised by the BSA Theory Study Group)

To be held on Friday, 23rd May 2025 at the University of Cambridge

We are delighted to invite short paper submissions for a One-Day BSA Early Career Regional Funded & BSA Theory Study Group Symposium titled ‘The Process and Implications of Doing Social Theory’ and scheduled to be held on the 23rd of May 2025 at the University of Cambridge. This Symposium will provide a platform for Early Career scholars to discuss papers as part of themed workshops, receive feedback from distinguished discussants and peers, engage in constructive dialogue, and meet other social theorists from across a wide range of social theoretical disciplinary fields.

Rationale for the event: 

The process of producing social theory is often assumed to be self-explanatory within academic institutions. With the current ‘crisis’ of higher education and intensification of academic precarity disproportionately affecting theoretical scholarship, centres, departments, and institutes, the co-organisers of this Symposium wish to create a space for Early Career scholars interested in social theory to receive feedback on their ongoing research/papers and discuss the day-to-day experiences, challenges, and opportunities of continuing to undertake theoretical scholarship.

The Symposium will include two elements: 

• Papers will be grouped into thematic workshops (based on overlapping areas of interest) where each paper will be allocated a 25-minute slot for collective discussions. Each paper will be allocated a discussant from among four distinguished scholars (introduced below) and all other workshop attendees will be encouraged to read the papers in advance in order to contribute to a wider discussion and offer constructive feedback. These insights will, we hope, contribute to informing and refining your work for future publication.

• A roundtable event where the four guest discussants will share reflections from their own theoretical work (the processes by which they undertake social theoretical scholarship, highlighting the methods they employ to generate original concepts and insightful interventions), followed by a wider discussion where we will consider further aspects of the conditions of producing social theoretical work.

We are honoured to announce that our guest discussants are Sarah Bufkin (Assistant Professor in Political Theory at the University of Birmingham), Birgan Gokmenoglu (Lecturer in Sociology at Birmingham City University), Teodor Mladenov (Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Dundee), and Kristin Surak (Associate Professor in Sociology at the London School of Economics).

We encourage the submission of short papers embedded within social theory and a wide range of sub-fields such as (but not limited to): political sociology, elites, nationalism, and international migration; disability, independent living, international social policy, (post)socialism and social justice; political ethnography, social and political change, time and the future; Black Atlantic political thought, cultural studies, and feminist and Marxist theory.

Timeline and requirements:

• Submit a short paper with a  theoretical contribution (between 750 - 1,000 words, excluding references) by Friday, 28th February 2025, 5pm GMT. 

• If your short paper is selected for the Symposium, you will be invited (in early March) to submit a full draft (between 6,000 - 9,000 words, excluding references) by Monday, 28th April 2025, 5pm BST.

How to submit:

• Please send your short paper to [email protected] in a Word Document or PDF file. 

• Include your name, institutional affiliation (if any), four keywords related to your paper, three keywords related to your wider scholarly interests, and a very brief statement confirming your Early Career status.

Attendance:

• Attendance will be free. We encourage early career scholars who are also BSA members to access the BSA Support Fund for transport/accommodation costs of up to £1,000. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for attendees at the symposium. 

To all recipients of this email: we would be grateful if you could forward this email to your networks and Early Career colleagues and friends.

The organisers of this symposium are Ioana Cerasella Chis, Joe Davidson, and Sebastian Raza Mejia (co-convenors of the BSA Theory Study Group). For further inquiries, please contact us at [email protected]. We look forward to your submissions and to a lively symposium!

https://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-bsa-events/the-process-and-implications-of-doing-social-theory/