Preconferences provide an opportunity for disciplinary peers to gather for an extended period to discuss their work related to a particular field of study, theory, perspective, question, controversy, or professional context. All preconferences are scheduled for Friday, August 8. Registration is required.
Department Leaders Preconference
Leading Through Uncertainty: Strategies for Building Resilient Departments
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: $200 for Department Affiliates/$230 for Non-Affiliates
Session Organizer: Aaryn L. Green, American Sociological Association
Today’s rapidly evolving higher education landscape presents increasing challenges for department leaders. As the discipline navigates heightened tensions, building stronger, more resilient departments is critical to its future, and department leaders are in need of more comprehensive approaches to tackling today’s challenges.
This preconference is designed for chairs and directors of graduate and undergraduate studies to connect with peers, share insights, and develop strategies needed to navigate conflict, policy shifts, and institutional change. Discussions will examine:
- The impact of federal and state policies
- Evolving faculty expectations and evaluations
- Strategies for supporting teaching
- Attracting and retaining majors
- Best practices for program reviews, and more
Join us for a day of engagement, practical takeaways, and peer support as we tackle the pressing issues facing sociology departments today. See full agenda.
The Sociology of Climate Change
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: $25
Session Organizers: Danielle Falzon, Rutgers University-New Brunswick; Raka Sen, University of Pennsylvania; Brianna Castro, Vanderbilt University; Vitor Martins Dias, Butler University; Ankit Bhardwaj, New York University; Miranda Ysabel Simes, Northwestern University; Joshua A. Basseches, Tulane University
Climate change is fundamentally transforming society and its impacts will only intensify with time. Yet many sociologists are still figuring out how to talk about it. Long-term climate sociologists have made great strides in explaining the global and local inequalities of climate impacts, how climate policies are developed or obstructed, how activists have advocated for climate justice, and identifying the intersections with core sociological concerns in race, politics, labor, and health, among others. However, there remains a need to expand the scope of sociological inquiry on climate change and to welcome new scholars from across the discipline to this topic.
In line with the growing visibility of climate impacts, there has been a clear surge in sociological attention to climate change in recent years. This preconference will work to harness and amplify this surge to establish a far-reaching sociology of climate change. Recently, former Eastern Sociological Society President Dr. Dana Fisher led a successful climate change-themed annual meeting in 2024. Then, at the ASA conference the following August, Dr. Rene Almeling, a newcomer to sociological work on climate change, put together an informal meet-up to gather seasoned and budding climate scholars, and over 60 sociologists attended. It was there that enthusiasm around the idea for this preconference arose.
The goal for this preconference is to bring together sociologists from diverse sub-disciplines and varied levels of experience engaging with the issue of climate change, to lay the foundation for sustained disciplinary attention to climate change going forward. It will also work to foster the cross-pollination of ideas for fruitful collaborations and conversations to develop among colleagues. Given the escalating suppression of climate-related work diffusing into our institutions from the federal government, forming research communities on this topic is more important now than ever before.
Charting a Path Amid Uncertainty: Teaching Sociology in Times of Austerity, Backlash, Technological Change, and Political Polarization
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Registration Fee: Student $15/Faculty $30
Session Organizers: Michel Estefan, University of California-San Diego; Natascia Boeri, Bloomfield College
In a time marked by profound uncertainty, this Preconference Workshop offers teacher-scholars a space to navigate the shifting terrain of sociological pedagogy. We invite educators to examine how evolving labor markets, cultural backlash, rapid technological change, and political polarization are reshaping the sociology classroom. Through roundtable discussions, panel presentations, and networking opportunities participants will share strategies for addressing the practical, political, and emotional challenges of teaching in an unsettled time. Our aim is twofold: to cultivate a supportive network of committed teacher-scholars and to identify pedagogical approaches that both support their labor and empower their students to embrace sociology as a valuable lens for understanding the complexities of a changing world. Attendees will leave with renewed insight, fresh connections, and a readiness to guide their classrooms through these ongoing transitions, ensuring that the future of teaching and learning sociology remains dynamic, inclusive, supportive, and meaningful.
