Calls for Papers: Publications
The International Journal of Comparative Sociology invites papers for its upcoming special issue on the theme “Confronting Challenges to Democracy: Civic Resistance and Institutional Resilience.” Editors request that authors submit an extended abstract (500 words) and a short biographical note by October 15, 2024. The abstract should give a clear and concise overview of the proposed article and how it relates to the overarching theme of the special issue. For more details on the submission process, as well as suggestions for possible paper topics, click here.
The Journal of Elder Policy invites submissions for a special issue focused on “Relationships in Later Life.” The issue will explore a wide range of relationship dynamics in later life, including caregiving, intergenerational bonds, friendships, work connections, and other social and emotional connections. The editors welcome submissions from researchers, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners that contribute to the understanding of relationships in later life and policies that relate to and foster these relationships. The abstract deadline is October 15, 2024. Read the full call for papers here.
Communication Papers: Media Literacy & Gender Studies seeks papers for its thematic issue on “Exploring the Nexus of Artificial Intelligence and Gendered Media Practices.” The relationship between artificial intelligence and gender is a dynamic and evolving one. Editors invite scholars to delve into the intricate landscape of gender portrayals within AI-generated or influenced media content and the biases and asymmetries behind them. Submissions may employ various methodologies, from qualitative content analysis to computational approaches, to deepen our understanding of the complex interplay between algorithms and gender in media. The submission deadline is October 18, 2024. Read the full call for papers here.
Vernon Press invites book chapter proposals for the forthcoming edited volume titled “Colonial Reason in Enlightenment Philosophy: Engagements and Interventions.” This volume will contribute to an understanding of how European Enlightenment Era thinkers drew upon and promulgated colonial reasoning within their works and will add to the literature a more holistic, systematic examination of primary philosophical categories, concepts, and systems of thought developed by the European philosophers. Scholars and researchers from all academic fields are invited to submit an abstract and a short biography by November 15, 2025. Find out more here.
The Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia seeks papers for its upcoming special issue on the theme “Digital Transformations in Asian Politics: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Democracy.” The issue will explore how technology shapes the political landscape in Asia and will offer insights into managing the challenges of technology while harnessing its potential for positive or counter-democratic outcomes. Submit a 500-word abstract by November 29, 2024.Read the full call for papers here.
Gender and Society seeks papers for a special issue on the theme “Feminist Metascience, Feminist Open Science? Pain Points and Possibilities,” exploring the relationship between feminism, metascience, and open science, seemingly disparate areas of inquiry of contemporary significance. Although feminist metascience and feminist open science developed relatively independent of one another with different purposes in mind, there are also synergies between the two. This special issue will be a forum for feminist scholars to explore these relationships. All papers must make both a theoretical and empirical contribution. Completed manuscripts are due February 1, 2025. For more background on the theme and possible topics to consider, visit the website.
Ethics Press specializes in books for the academic market and invites proposals for scholarly books and edited collections in Humanities, Social Sciences, and beyond. It will consider adapted doctoral theses, and edited collections, including adaptations from conferences and symposia. You can find information about the press and any current calls for chapters or collections on the website. This invitation is ongoing.
Calls for Papers: Conferences
The European Center for Populism Studies seeks paper proposals for its Fourth Annual International Symposium on the theme “Civilizational Populism: National and International Challenges” on May 22–23, 2025, in Poland. This three-day symposium will explore different aspects of the interplay between populism, religion, and civilizationism from local, national, transnational, international, and global perspectives. Evaluating their combined impact on plural societies, intergroup relations, social cohesion and democratic institutions, the symposium will analyze how populists from diverse cultural, geographical, and political contexts both in Global North and Global South interact with and employ religion, civilizationism, and digital technologies in their discourses and performances. The abstract deadline is October 15, 2024. Read the full call for papers here.
The 21st International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic, and Social Sustainability will be held on the theme “Sustainable Development for a Dynamic Planet: Lessons, Priorities, and Solutions” on January 23–25, 2025, in Miami and online. The On Sustainability Research Network is brought together by a common concern for sustainability from a holistic perspective, where environmental, cultural, economic, and social interests intersect. It seeks papers on the following themes: ecological realities; participatory process; economic, social, and cultural context; and education, assessment, and policy. The deadline for proposals is October 24, 2024. For more information, visit the website.
Action for Climate Justice: Contributions from Social Science, a workshop at Yale University, will be held March 28–29, 2025. Organizers invite proposals from scholars studying any aspect of climate change and are especially interested in creative, innovative theoretical, and/or methodological approaches. Submit a proposal by November 1, 2024, by filling out this form with your information and 300 words describing the presentation you would give and the research upon which it is based.
Fellowships
The Stone Center for Inequality Dynamics (CID) at the University of Michigan invites applicants for its Visiting Fellowship program. The fellowship has nonresidential and residential options and is designed to provide funding for a second semester of sabbatical support to external social science professors currently on the tenure track but not yet tenured. For the 2025–2026 fellowship year, priority will be given to applicants whose proposals focus on one or more of our current areas of expertise: wealth and income inequality, economic mobility, economic history, economic sociology, and housing. Applications are due October 15, 2024. More information about the fellowship program is available on the website.
The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University is now accepting applications for residential fellowships for the 2025–2026 academic year. It is looking for scholars and thinkers tackling big questions with fresh approaches and especially appreciates scholars who value discussion across fields, unencumbered by disciplinary boundaries. An academic year at the Center provides fellows freedom to work on consequential projects, a location that affords them access to research and colleagues at Stanford and Silicon Valley, and a collaborative environment that encourages fellows to broaden their perspectives. The Center encourages those from diverse backgrounds, institutions, and countries to apply. Apply on the Center’s website through November 1, 2024. For more information, guidelines, and application requirements, visit the website.
Editorship
Alpha Kappa Delta invites applications for the positions of Editor or Co-Editors of Sociological Inquiry, the official journal of Alpha Kappa Delta (currently published by Wiley). Sociological Inquiry is committed to the exploration of the human condition in all its social and cultural complexity. The journal publishes papers that challenge us to look anew at traditional areas or identify novel areas for us to investigate. Both theoretical and empirical work are welcome, as are the varied research methods in the study of social and cultural life. The application deadline is October 15, 2024. Read the full call for editors here.
Event
The Center on Knowledge Translation for Disability and Rehabilitation Research will be holding its 2024 Virtual Conference on October 15, 16, and 18, 2024, from 1–5 p.m. Eastern. Dive into crucial conversations on disability inclusion, intersectionality, and knowledge translation. This is a great opportunity to connect with experts and explore innovative strategies in disability research and knowledge translation. Explore the full agenda and register here!
Accomplishments
Alexandra Aylward, University of Nevada-Reno; Rebecca A. Cruz, Johns Hopkins University; Catherine Kramarczuk Voulgarides, City University of New York-Hunter College; and Natasha Strassfeld, University of Texas at Austin received a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences for the four-year mixed methods project “A Comparative Exploration of IDEA Racial Equity Policy to Inform Research, Policy, and Practice.”
Deborah Carr, Boston University; Bruce Carruthers, Northwestern University; Prudence Carter, Brown University; Patricia Hill Collins, University of Maryland-College Park; Adia Harvey Wingfield, Washington University in St. Louis; and Alexandra Killewald, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor were inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences during its Induction Weekend, September 20–22, 2024, in Cambridge, MA.
From left: Prudence Carter (Brown University); Alexandra Killewald (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor); Patricia Hill Collins (University of Maryland-College Park); Bruce Carruthers (Northwestern University); Adia Harvey Wingfield (Washington University in St. Louis); Deborah Carr (Boston University)
In the News
Nancy T. Ammerman, Boston University (retired), was quoted in the September 3, 2024, article “As Millions Leave Organized Religion, Spiritual and Secular Communities Offer Refuge” in USA Today.
Hector Carrillo, Northwestern University, was quoted in the September 4, 2024, article “‘I Know What I’m Worth’: The Joys and Struggles of Chicago’s Migrant Go-Go Boys” in the Chicago Reader.
Margaret May Chin, CUNY-Hunter College, was quoted in the September 19, 2024, article “6 Decades After Civil Rights Act, Racial Pay Gap in IT Persists” in ITPro Today.
Rodney D. Coates, Miami University-Ohio, and Lee Banville, University of Montana authored the September 11, 2024, article “Starting with a Handshake, Presidential Debate Between Harris and Trump Then Turns Fierce, and Pointed” in the Conversation.
Joshua Davis, University of New Hampshire, was quoted in the September 25, 2024, article “‘Saving Western Civilization’: The Far-Right Appeal of Louisville’s Highlands Latin Empire” in the Courier-Journal.
Hannah Haynie, Kent State University, was listed in on September 17, 2024, in Crain’s Cleveland Business as “20 in their 20s, 2004.”
Anthony Abraham Jack, Boston University, was interviewed for the September 21, 2024, piece “BU Professor Explores Inequality on College Campuses in New Book about Harvard” in the Boston Globe and authored the August 23, 2024, article “Elite Colleges are More Diverse than Ever. They’re Still Unequal” in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Eric Klinenberg, New York University, was quoted in the September 14, 2024, article “Historic Numbers of Older Americans Are Now Living by Themselves” in the Washington Post.
Nancy Lopez, University of New Mexico-Albuquerque, was quoted in the September 2, 2024, article “Afro-Latinos, a Growing Demographic, Face Employment Disparities, Report Shows” in the Arizona Republic.
Amanda McMillan Lequieu, Drexel University, authored the August 27, 2024, article “Why People Stay After Local Economies Collapse—A Story of Home Among the Ghosts of Shuttered Steel Mills” in the Conversation.
Aaron M. Pallas, Teachers College-Columbia University, was quoted in the September 3, 2024, article “With COVID-19 Relief Gone, Teachers Are Losing Their Jobs. It’s A Blow to Diversity” in USA Today.
C.J. Pascoe, University of Oregon, and Tristan Bridges, University of California-Santa Barbara, were quoted in the August 21, 2024, article “Tim Walz’s Superpower? Jock Insurance.” in the New York Times.
Jennifer Reich, University of Colorado Denver, was quoted in the August 27, 2024, article “Rising Vaccine Exemptions in Pa. Schools Up Chance of Measles Outbreaks” in Spotlight PA.
Jake Rosenfeld, Washington University-St. Louis, was quoted in the September 12, 2024, article “Sacramento Hotel Workers Approve Strike Option, Joining National Movement” in the Sacramento Bee.
Jason E. Shelton, University of Texas-Arlington, was quoted in the August 29, 2024, article “Virtual Faith: Why Black Churchgoers Are Staying Home on Sunday” in Word in Black.
Benjamin Shestakofsky, University of Pennsylvania, was quoted in the September 3, 2024, article “‘Never Again’: Inside the Chaotic World of The People Making AI Seem Human” in Fast Company.
Sherry Turkle, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was quoted in the August 20, 2024, article “Empathy Is on The Rise in Young People. Here’s How to Build Yours” on CNN.
New Books
Roger Baumann, Hope College, Black Visions of the Holy Land: African American Christian Engagement with Israel and Palestine (Columbia University Press, 2024).
Daniel Bin, University of Brasilia, Capitalist Dispossessions: Redistribution and Capital Expansion in Contemporary Brazil (Routledge 2024).
Andy Clarno, Enrique Alvear Moreno, Lydia Dana, and Haley Volpintesta, University of Illinois-Chicago; Janaé Bonsu-Love, National Black Women’s Justice Institute; Michael De Anda Muñiz, San Francisco State University; and Ilā Ravichandran, University of Washington-Tacoma, Imperial Policing: Weaponized Data in Carceral Chicago (University of Minnesota Press 2024).
Mariana Craciun, Tulane University, From Skepticism to Competence: How American Psychiatrists Learn Psychotherapy (University of Chicago Press 2024).
Celeste Curington, Boston University, Laboring in the Shadow of Empire: Race, Gender, and Care Work in Portugal (Rutgers University Press 2024).
Debra J. Davidson, University of Alberta, Feeling Climate Change: How Emotions Govern Our Responses to the Climate Emergency (Routledge 2023).
Lauren Olsen, Temple University, Curricular Injustice: How U.S. Medical Schools Reproduce Inequalities (Columbia University Press 2024).
Samuel L. Perry, University of Oklahoma, Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion (Oxford University Press 2024).
Georg Rilinger, MIT Sloan School of Management, Failure by Design: The California Energy Crisis and the Limits of Market Planning (University of Chicago Press 2024).
Blake R. Silver, George Mason University, Degrees of Risk: Navigating Insecurity and Inequality in Public Higher Education (University of Chicago Press 2024).
Chana Teeger, London School of Economics, Distancing the Past: Racism as History in South African Schools (Columbia University Press 2024).
Danny Wilson, author, How the Small Business Administration (SBA) Evolved (An Example of How a Government Agency Is Created and Evolves) (Booklocker 2024).
Eli Revelle Yano Wilson, University of New Mexico-Albuquerque, Handcrafted Careers: Working the Artisan Economy of Craft Beer (University of California Press 2024).
Eugene Carlyle Johnsen passed away May 30, 2024. Johnsen was a professor emeritus in the Department of Mathematics at the University of California-Santa Barbara and a decades-long member of American Sociological Association (ASA). He received the ASA Section on Mathematical Sociology’s Harrison White Outstanding Book Award in 2013, with his coauthor Noah Friedkin, for Social Influence Network Theory: A Sociological Examination of Small Group Dynamics (Cambridge University Press 2011). In 2019, he received a Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of higher education. Johnsen’s partner notes that he was passionate about his involvement with the Mathematical Sociology Section and loved attending the ASA Annual Meeting.
Gayl Ness, professor emeritus in the University of Michigan Department of Sociology, died peacefully at home on July 4, 2024. He earned a BS (1952), MA (1957), and PhD (1961) in sociology from the University of California-Berkeley, joining the University of Michigan in 1964. Ness focused his academic career on the intricate relationships between global population growth, economic development, and environmental change. Read full obituary here.
Rachel A. Schurman
1958-2024
Rachel A. Schurman passed away on March 17, 2024, after living with pancreatic cancer for two years. Schurman earned her PhD in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993. Most recently, she held a joint full professor appointment in sociology and global studies at the University of Minnesota, where she and her husband Michael Goldman joined the faculty in 2004. Prior to joining the Minnesota faculty, she held positions at the University of California-Berkeley and University of Illinois.
Schurman was an accomplished scholar whose research and teaching spanned a wide range of interests, from agricultural transformation in Africa to biotechnology, sustainable development, political ecology, food studies, social movements, the new philanthropy, the sociology of work, and the politics of neoliberalism. Regional interests included Africa and Latin America. She loved engaging in scholarly dialogue and collaborative learning with her colleagues and students, which is why so many of her 24 articles, 10 chapters, and two books were coauthored. Her intellectual endeavors were unconstrained by disciplinary boundaries. Her book Fighting for the Future of Food: Activists versus Agribusiness in the Struggle over Biotechnology (University of Minnesota Press 2010), coauthored with William A. Munro, won the 2011 Lynton Keith Caldwell Prize for best book on environmental politics from the American Political Science Association.
Schurman’s enthusiasm for international and interdisciplinary scholarship led to many other collaborations across both disciplinary and national boundaries. Ron Aminzade, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who conducted research with Schurman in Tanzania, called her “a patient, caring, generous, and thoughtful teacher, as well as an avid learner and great listener.” Schurman published in a wide range of outlets, including top sociology journals such as the American Journal of Sociology and Theory and Society, as well as preeminent interdisciplinary journals.
As important as Schurman’s scholarship was, she is just as likely to be remembered in the University of Minnesota Sociology Department as a dynamic teacher, an attentive advisor and mentor, and a wonderfully warm and committed colleague and friend. She designed and taught popular undergraduate courses such as “Supercapitalism” and her food studies course “Stuffed and Starved,” as well as graduate seminars on food and social justice, labor and the new economy, and her always-popular advanced methods course on in-depth interviewing. The devotion and appreciation of graduate students, including both formal advisees and those she mentored informally, found expression in her selection for the Sociology Department’s 2022 Faculty Mentoring Award.
Schurman was a dedicated and enthusiastic community builder, who invited students, faculty, and staff into her home, where they could interact informally in a relaxed setting, get to know one another better, and experience her impressive baking and cooking skills. Her interests and talents were wide ranging, from politics and social justice to art, music, and literature. Schurman cared deeply about her students, colleagues, and neighbors, and treated everyone with dignity, respect, and kindness. Her colleagues in Minnesota, and around the country and the world, mourn the loss of an exceptional scholar and human being. Schurman is survived by her husband, Michael Goldman, and her children, Nadia and Eli.
The Rachel A. Schurman Social Justice Fund has been established at the University of Minnesota Foundation to honor Schurman’s passion for a more just world. The fund will support graduate students researching social justice issues—with an emphasis on support for international students, who held a special place in her heart.
Kathy Hull, University of Minnesota
