Southern Sociological Society
2024 Annual Meeting
CALL FOR PAPERS
DISRUPTING BINARIES
New Orleans, Louisiana
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
April 3-6, 2024
Submission Due Date: November 6, 2023
President
Gayle Kaufman, Davidson College
Program Co-Chairs
D’Lane Compton, University of New Orleans
Hiromi Taniguchi, University of Louisville
Theme: Disrupting Binaries
People like to put themselves and other people into boxes. There are boxes for gender. There are boxes for sexual orientation. There are boxes for race, and boxes for ethnicity, disability status, and on and on. We see boxes for men and women, gay and straight, white and non-white, those with a disability and those without a disability, and so on. But an increasing number of people don’t fit into any of these categories. Sociology has taught us that how and who we categorize is extremely meaningful.
All of this at a time when there are increasing attacks on people who do not fit neatly into the categories that have been constructed around gender and sexuality. From the US House of Representatives to states across the country, there are hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills. In 2022, 26 bills passed. So far in 2023, 80 bills have already passed. These bills target LGBTQ and particularly trans rights in schools, health care, public accommodations, and other civil rights.
The theme of disrupting binaries is an invitation to sociologists exploring binary thinking and the many ways in which we place people into opposing categories. This lends itself well to issues of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, disability and health, aging and youth, rural and urban sociology, migration, globalization, and more. We welcome submissions that touch on these topics or broader sociological research.
Submission Details
The SSS annual meeting is constructed entirely out of member submissions. Submissions are considered from the breadth and depth of the discipline regardless of the theme of the conference. There are four submission types: individual papers, poster presentations, full session proposals, and special sessions. To submit to SSS 2024, please visit our membership portal.
Important notes: The information provided through the submission portal will appear exactly as it is entered (including capitalization) by the member. Therefore, enter your paper title, name, and affiliation as you wish it to appear in the program. Also, time slots are limited, thus, participants may serve in no more than two presentation roles (author of a paper, panel participant, workshop leader, poster presenter, etc.). There are no restrictions on the number of times a participant may serve as a session presider or discussant.
1) Individual Papers: You may submit extended abstracts of individual papers for potential inclusion in a regular paper session. These abstracts will be organized into sessions by members of the Program Committee on the basis of common themes. All regular paper submissions should include: (a) the title of the paper, (b) names, affiliations, and contact information for each author, and (c) an extended abstract. Extended abstracts should be approximately 400-450 (max. 450) words and organized with the suggested three section headings: Objectives, Methods, and Findings. See helpful hints on writing extended abstracts here.
2) Poster Presentations: You may submit abstracts for inclusion in a poster session. All poster submissions should include: (a) the title of the paper, (b) names, affiliations, and contact information for each author, and (c) a brief abstract (max 250 words). Posters should display relevant objectives, theory, methods, results, and conclusions in a way that is accessible (readable from a distance of six feet) and visually appealing. Easels, clips, and backing boards are provided by SSS. Your poster should not exceed the size of the foam backing board (30” x 40”).
3) Full Session Proposals: All full session proposals must include an abstract (max. 450 words) detailing the theme of the proposed session. This should include a brief description of the session’s prospective broad appeal and/or connections with the 2024 meeting theme of Disrupting Binaries, if relevant. All areas of sociology are welcome! If the session is being submitted on behalf of an SSS Committee (or multiple committees), include this information in the session title. Additionally, you must include full details for all participants including submission title, submission type, abstract, three keywords, name, institution, email, and position. Participants include the presider and organizer, in addition to the presenters or panelists, and discussant, if included.
4) Special Sessions: Members can submit ideas for a range of other special sessions, including workshops, mini-conferences, and Author-Meets-Curious-Readers (AMCR), among others. AMCR sessions spotlight books with broad enthusiasm across SSS membership. AMCRs may be self-nominated and should include three to four potential ‘curious readers.’ Proposals for workshops on a range of topics like social change, pedagogy, methodology, networking, and publishing, for example, will be considered too. Proposals for AMCRs and workshop sessions should be sent directly to the program co-chairs for consideration and follow the guidelines described above under Full Session Proposals.
Members can also make a call for papers for a session. To do so, submit to “Sessions Seeking Papers,” which will be updated and subsequently circulated as a digest on a weekly basis. If you see a session that you would like to join, you should email the person organizing the session (their info will be included in the weekly digest). The organizer will let you know if they will add you to their session, and if so, request your submission title, abstract, three keywords, name, institution, email, and position. They will then submit the full session for all participants in the session.
Submission and Registration Procedures
Anyone attending the meeting or listed in the program must be a current dues-paying member of SSS (with the exception of undergraduate observers and presenting undergraduate affiliates of SSS Departmental Members). All program participants (presenters, presiders, discussants, panelists, etc.) must also be registered for the annual meeting. Please note that conference attendees are strongly encouraged to pre-register for SSS 2024 on or before March 1, 2024. Those who register after this date will pay increased on-site registration fees. You may join/renew your SSS membership, submit abstracts, and pre-register for the conference from our website: https://www.southernsociologicalsociety.org/
Hotel Information
Book your room at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel using this link. Web-based reservations are preferred but you may also call (888)627-7033 to reserve a room – simply mention that it is for the “Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting.” The SSS conference rate is $239 (single, double, triple, quad). The deadline for booking within the SSS Annual Meeting room block rate is March 14, 2024. However, the room block often fills up well before this cut-off date.
A Note About COVID
We are excited to plan an in-person 2024 conference. All those attending SSS will be required to follow any COVID 19-related protocols mandated by local authorities at the time of the meeting. We strongly recommend that attendees receive a COVID-19 vaccination or booster in advance of the conference. Mask use is optional but encouraged. Please do your best to consider your own health and that of your colleagues. Depending on circumstances closer to our meeting in April, SSS Executive Committee may enact stricter protocols.
Please direct conference program questions to: program@southernsociologicalsociety.org. Questions regarding membership or registration should be directed to: webmaster@southernsociologicalsociety.org.