Caros Colegas

Envio-lhes abaixo a chamada para os trabalhos a serem apresentados no RC 47- Social Classes and Social Movements, no próximo Congresso da Associação Internacional de Sociologia, a ocorrer na Austrália em Julho de 2002. Conforme anunciei anteriormente em Boletim, os resumos devem ser encaminhados via e-mail para François Dubet: francois.dubet@u-bordeaux2.fr até 31 de Agosto próximo. Solicito aos que se inscreverem para comunicar-me também pois poderei estar subsidiando-os com as informações do Comitê Organizador ao longo da organização do evento. Espero que muitos brasileiros participem do RC 47 neste Congresso levando dados, análises e reflexão sobre os movimentos sociais no Brasil. Recomendo fortemente a ida à Brisbane. Estive em 1996 lá e foi uma experiência fascinante.

Saudações. Maria da Glória Gohn

The current  project of Research Committee 47 : Social Classes and   social Movements of the International Sociological Association (ISA) is largely considered to be that of a general sociology, in that it places social movements at the very heart of social life. For the Brisbane Congress, our RC should try to overcome the general perception contained in the break-up and dispersion of social struggles by trying to analyse these struggles around a few capital questions. Central to all this is the fact that processes of globalization often reveal common stakes within various social struggles.

Let’s distinguish 3 themes.

1.Social movements and social/cultural change. How do social movements react to the large changes that sweep through various national societies? To what extent are social movements the actors of these changes? It seems appropriate to place the sociology of social movements within an analysis of the various modernization processes  which transform cultural systems, the modes of production and the institutional conditions of collective action. One aim of our role in the World Congress should be to clearly articulate what may seem ‘new’: therefore, history and long term social changes should be kept in mind.

 2.The formation of actors. The sociology of social movements cannot be separated from a sociology of action and the formation of actors, their interests, identities and subjectivities. What are the mechanisms, and what is at stake in the transformation of the experiences of individuals into social movements ? Why do some of these problems emerge whilst others not? This is not a case of considering the formation of collective action only, but rather the nature of what is actually being mobilized in social movements. What are the struggles that clearly demonstrate this process and what are the theories permitting its analysis ?

3.Social domination. Social movements emerge when they confront social adversaries more or less directly in social struggles. Beside class relations and “traditional” political contexts, the transformations generated by modernization and globalization have given birth to other forms of domination which appear as forms of exclusion and marginality, as an absence of recognition of cultural specificities, as struggles against forms of domination  symbolized by global networks or financial powers. Thus, social movements are often mixed with cultural movements, national movements and trans-national movements.

The debates of RC 47 will be organized around the 3 above questions: who are the actors of contemporary movements, who are their adversaries and what are the stakes of their action?

These 3 questions can be addressed from the point of view of particular themes and problems and it is impossible to draw an exhaustive list. A few more specific objects of inquiry however might be the following:

 -anti-globalization movements as they appeared after the Seattle demonstrations-urban and rural movements born from exclusion and marginality and sometimes assimilated to forms of deviance-workers struggles and resistances to new forms of management that  have appeared with the advent of globalization

-“minorities” struggles, whether cultural, sexual or linked with specific positions in society like youths or citizens movements

-“moral” struggles supported by NGOs and often dealing with natural or planetary problems-right wing movements and mobilizations This list remains open to many other topics.

Authors of proposed papers should feel entirely free in their choices as long as they address one of the three main questions above which will tentatively organise our debates.

 Abstracts, not exceeding 200 words, should be sent by e-mail to francois.dubet@u-bordeaux2.fr before 31st August 2001. Authors should mention their institutional address, fax and telephone numbers (research center, university…) and their position (student, professor, researcher…).

Please note that all paper givers will be required to be members of ISA and of RC47 in good standing before 31st December 2001 (details can be obtained on http://www.ucm.es/info/isa.)

The RC47 coordinating committee will give its answer to the proposed abstracts and announce the definite content of the various sessions of its meeting in Brisbane by mid October 2001.