Movements and Morality Conference 28-29th May - Hosted by CISTAS

Invitation and call for papers to conference on

Movements and Morality

We invite submission of abstracts and general registration for a two-day conference on social movement and morality 28-29th of May 2019.

The impetus for the conference stems from the feeling of a need to revisit the normative foundations of collective action and research in social movements in light of a societal development that has been described as a return to the US ‘gilded age’: An age of increasing material inequality and concentration of power and influence within a small elite. At the same time, the financial crisis and the climate crisis, as well as war and conflict and the displacement of millions of people has led to mobilization and ‘populism’ on both the right and the left in the US and Europe. This situation calls for an evaluation of the moral principles that are acted upon and that may thwart or foster hopes of a better future.

While social movements studies have made great progress when it comes to questions of mobilization, identity, framing, spread, diffusion, recruitment etc. research into the moral and normative experiences and principles that collective action implicitly or explicitly relies upon has not received the same attention. In addition, after the fear of the mob of the early 20th century had settled, social movement scholars have been motivated by a sympathetic attitude towards the movements studied. But this attitude has often not been supported by a developed normative position.

This conference aims to explore these matters: How can social movement scholars explicate the normative principles and experiences of those they study? How can scholars develop their own normative position? And could social movement scholars help locate, develop, and spread languages of collective commitment?

The first day of the conference will be a combination of thematic sessions with presentations and discussions and plenary sessions with talks by Professor Jeffrey Alexander, Yale University, Professor Nina Eliasoph, University of Southern California, and Professor Douglas John McAdam, Stanford University.

The second day will be a paper-workshop where presenters of full papers are offered the opportunity of getting detailed feedback by the three keynote-speakers as well as the other participants.

Intended to be a creative venue, the organizers hope that collective publication projects may emanate from the conference. To this end, the organizers are in contact with international publishers in the field.

To be considered for presentation, submit an abstract by the deadline. If in addition you submit a full paper, you will benefit from getting detailed feedback in the second day workshop.