Cfp Public Sociology and Social Intervention in the Carpathian Basin, Oradea, 2013

The International Conference Public Sociology and Social Intervention in the Carpathian Basin, 21-23 May 2013, is organised by Hungarian Sociological Association – Section for the Social Research in the Carpathian Basin, Partium Christian University and Romanian Sociological Society in Oradea, Romania.

The International Conference Public Sociology and Social Intervention in the Carpathian Basin, 21-23 May 2013, is organised by Hungarian Sociological Association – Section for the Social Research in the Carpathian Basin, Partium Christian University and Romanian Sociological Society in Oradea, Romania.

The Carpathian Basin societies had to endure far-reaching transformations in the last century: the region witnessed several military conflicts and became terrain for various dictatorships, incipient democracies and a shattered playground of traditionalist, modernist and colonizing forces. Nevertheless, the various shrinking-enlarging populations of the region remain deeply tied to the basic shared values of ethnic and religious diversity and co-existence, a „casual” multiculturalism continuously questioned, however, by competing forces of ideological and/or state domination.

Since the turmoil surrounding the regime changes of 1989, an ever-growing number of social scientists and sociologically minded intellectuals came to recognize the profound need for the rebuilding of public conversation, to enhance new senses of civic awareness and togetherness. This novel senses tend to question certain types of discourses or ideologies, pointing in the same time to the necessity of adopting critically re-constitutive attitudes by the emerging new public elites.

Having to experience in the past two decades a multitude of shallow, non-harmonized and costly policies in various domains (social welfare, education, health, social inclusion, tolerance-enhancement etc.), sociologists of our „reinvented” societies do feel the urge to be effectively (re)enacted as public actors with widened prerogatives, to be much more than mere implementers of governmental or EU policies or technical consultants for the old-new generations of decision-makers. Wishing to be genuinely faithful to our most valuable heritage of European multiculturalism deeply embedded in our region, an authentic public sociology, an ongoing and active conversation in the Burawoyian sense, is to be promoted and fought for in our professional life.

The International Conference Public Sociology and Social Intervention in the Carpathian Basin, organized by the Hungarian Sociological Association – Section for the Social Research in the Carpathian Basin, Partium Christian University and the Romanian Sociological Society aims to act as a forum for the discussion of the way in which social researchers can act as catalysts of public life, in order to maximize the inclusiveness and social effectiveness of Sociology as an academic disciple. The conference aims to bring together theoretical and empirical contributions in Sociology as well as in related fields such as Social Policy, Ethnic Studies, Demography and Social Work. Specialists in the above mentioned and other related areas are expected to present papers and participate in discussions.

Proposed sections

• Trends in social change
• Social issues and social policy: the challenge of inclusive society
• National identities and inter-ethnic dialogue
• Value structures and value change in the post-commuenist period
• Higher education for social cohesion

More section proposals are welcome until 15th of March. Please send the proposals with a maximum 300 words description and the name of the section coordinator to the conference email address.

Keynote speakers

• Ferge Zsuzsa PhD, Professor Emeritus, Full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest
• Karády Viktor PhD, Full professor at the Department of History and Nationalism Studies Program, Central European University, Budapest
• Ladányi János PhD, Full professor at the Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Corvinus University of Budapest
• Lazăr Vlăsceanu PhD, Full professor at Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest

The language of the conference is English.

Submission. Abstracts for papers of about 300 words, keywords, author’s affiliation and email address should be uploaded online accessing this registration form by 12th of April 2013. Participants will be notified online on the acceptance of their paper no later than 17th of April 2013.

Registration fee. Registration fee is 60 EUR/260 RON/18000 HUF or 30 EUR/130 RON/9000 HUF for PhD students and it must be paid until 1st of May 2013.

Publication. Full papers, submitted no later than June 15, 2013 will appear in the Conference proceedings. Please see details here.

Contact. Please check periodically the conference website for news or send inquiries to the conference email address.