The Organizing Committee cordially invites you to submit an abstract for a paper to be presented at the next conference of the Nordic Sociological Association by 16 February, 2016.

When we planned this conference, we wanted to organize an event that would address the place of sociology in a world where new threats awake old divides and where increasing social, political and economic instabilities are affecting all regions, including the Nordic countries. When this call is becoming finalized, thousands of refugees, many of them fleeing the brutal conflict in Syria, have already for some months been streaming across Europe in search of safety and security. The terror attacks around the world flood the news with stories of human suffering. These events give rise to compassion, but they also boost turmoil and distrust, making the threat of deepening divides between the Global North and Global South, the East and the West, increasingly acute. Such divides do not remain at the level of regions, however. Rather, new divisions are emerging within societies. These troubled times call for engaged but critical sociologies, developed to examine the complex problems of our times in a reflexive way. It is also important not to let these ‘meta-events’ overshadow other, deep-rooted cleavages that sociology may have neglected, if we wish to develop a sociology beyond its ‘black spots’.

The theme of the conference is ‘Knowledge-Making Practices and Sociology’s Global Challenge’. The theme calls us to think together about ways to address the Eurocentrism and parochialism of many of our central concepts and categories. In addition to the conference’s theme, the programme covers other themes of general interest, such as North-South issues within the Nordic region, the renewed political tensions between East and West in Europe, sociology’s relation to economics, and where and how sociologists publish their research. We invite abstracts in all major sociological areas. In addition, we welcome contributions related to the conference’s theme as well as other current themes in sociology.

Read more about the conference on the conference website nsa2016.org

On our website you will also find the instructions for submitting an abstract. Abstracts are to be submitted using the electronic form on the website, nsa2016.org/call-for-abstracts/

Important dates

11 January 2016 Registration opens

16 February 2016 Deadline for abstracts

5 April 2016 Notification for accepted abstracts

5 May 2016 Early bird registration deadline

5 June 2016 Registration deadline for paper presenters