World Congress of Sociology

At the meeting held on 1st May 2021, The Assembly of Councils of the International Sociological Association [ISA] has decided to postpone the XX ISA World Congress of Sociology to 25th June-1st July 2023. The congress is scheduled in Melbourne, Australia.

In the first place, the increasing number of populists, authoritarian, xenophobic as well as racist acts has made our duty as sociologists extremely crucial. In addition to this situation, the gradual presence of public culture coupled with excessive religious and nationalist zeal has further complicated the scenario.

To sum up the President of the ISA, Sari Hanafi’s thoughts on the issue, the question of how to analyze and rethink the global revival of authoritarian outlook has come to the foreground repeatedly. Moreover, the need to find out another beneficial approach along with a postcolonial one, for the sake of battling the ill effects of the colonial era, has equally emerged. While finding out the perfect weapon to resist the resurgence, one needs to keep in mind that not only the societies get affected by authoritarianism but also the very ways how knowledge production works. While the narcissist, selfish and insignificant issues have begun to be the centre of the discourse, on the other hand, the significant and primarily discussed ones have started to lose their importance. Equally important concerns are how both the upfront authoritarianism that ushers violent and power-mongering behaviour of politics and society and the one masked behind the neoliberal attitude act together to chalk out governing strategies to be used against the mass backlash.

In view of these concerns, one of the major mottos of the Congress is how to disassemble not only the Western perspective but also the existing sociological construction of secularism, already accepted by the contemporary society. Furthermore, Congress aims towards a clear distinction between religion and the state. In order to achieve that, it welcomes the possibility of a nuanced dialogue between all the disciplines connected with sociology on the subject of “multiple or layered secularities.”

All things considered, the XX ISA World Congress of Sociology aims to discuss how sociologists from the world plan to add to the discourse on resurging authoritarianism and analyze critically its relationship with socio-political and economic aspects. Moreover, Congress will analyze the position and the possibility of active engagement of the sociologists against the backdrop of the aforementioned problems.

Program Committee:

The Chair is Sari Hanafi, the President of ISA, American University of Beirut, Lebanon. The other members include, ISA Vice-Presidents Geoffrey Pleyers from the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, Filomin Gutierrez from the University of the Philippines Diliman, Eloisa Martin from the United Arab Emirates University, Sawako Shirahase from the University of Tokyo; ISA Research Coordinating Committee consisting of Hiroshi Ishida from the University of Tokyo, Allison Loconto from the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Susan Mcdaniel from the University of Victoria, Nazanin Shahrokni from the Syracuse University; ISA National Association Liason Committee members- Grace Khunou from the University of Johannesburg, Elina Oinas from the University of Helsinki, Bandana Purakayastha from the University of Connecticut, Celi Scalon from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Local Organizing Committee member Dan Woodman from the University of Melbourne and finally Armando Salvatore from the McGill University, the invited ISA member.

Australian Local Organizing Committee Members

This committee consists of the Co-conveners: Dan Woodman from the University of Melbourne, Katie Hughes and Jo Lindsay from Monash University; Sonia Martin from the RMIT University in charge of the Exhibition Space Management; Bradly Robards from the Monash University in charge of Social Media; Shanthi Robertson from the Western Sydney University in charge of Public Engagement; Anna Halafoff from the Deakin University in charge of Events, Social Events and Tours; Kim Humphery from the RMIT University in charge of Sustainability; Netta Bromdal from the University of Southern Queensland in charge of Inclusion of Equity; Theresa Petray from James Cook University in charge of the Indigenuous Engagement and Support; Catherine Hastings from the University of Technology, Sydney in charge of Travel Assistance and finally, Georgia Van Toorn from the University of New South Wales in charge of Travel Assistance.

Deadline

5th May 2022 24:00 GMT: Announcement of the Program Coordinators (Upon receiving of the name and contact information at isa@isa-sociology.org)
15th June 2022 24:00 GMT: Proposal Submission for Integrative Sessions, Regular Sessions, Author Meets Critics Sessions and Ad Hoc Sessions to isa@isa-sociology.org
29th June 2022: Announcement of the accepted proposals
1st-15th September 2022 24:00 GMT: Call for Sessions
17th-25th September 2022 24:00 GMT: Finalist List of Sessions
1st-31st October 2022 24:00 GMT: Submission of Abstracts, written in English, Spanish or French via online Confex platform
6th-20th November 2022 24:00 GMT: Selection of Abstracts
21st-28th November 2022 24:00 GMT: Relocation of the best quality Abstracts
2nd December 2022 24:00 GMT: Sending Notification letter to the authors, co-authors of both rejected and accepted abstracts via Confex
15th December 2022 24:00 GMT: Scheduling the finalist Sessions
31st January 2023 24:00 GMT: Sending Applications for ISA Grants
15th February 2023 24:00 GMT: Submitting Selected Receiver of the Grants
22nd March 2023 24:00 GMT: Presenters’ Registration
3rd-18th April 2023 24:00 GMT: Modification of Sessions, Assigning Chairs, Completion of Session Schedule
9th may 2023 24:00 GMT: Publication of online program

Guidelines

These guidelines are set on the sessions allocated, the various types of sessions such as paper presentations, panel discussion, keynote address, etc. The three official languages are English, Spanish and French. To deliver a high-quality session, the Program Coordinators are supposed to be well-acquainted with the rules and regulations regarding their duties and responsibilities.

Timeline

The sessions are scheduled from 25th June to 1st July 2023. Generally, the first session will begin from 8:30 a.m. and the final one will begin from 9 p.m. with plenty of breaks in-between.

Ambassador Program:

In addition to the aforementioned sessions, this program is a significant aspect of the offered activities. With the hope to receive support and guidance from academic professionals from the world, this program aims to create and grow awareness as well as attendance of both national and international delegates at the ISA World Congress of Sociology to be held in 2023.

They are expected to promote the Congress within their networks, develop amicable relations with the associated organizations and hopefully seeking out organizations for further promotions. Those who are interested, are encouraged to contact at wcs2022@arinex.com.au.

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