Sessions Seeking Papers

1. Contextualizing Menopause: Sociocultural Variation in the Menopausal Experiences of Women in the United States

Menopause is marked by a natural transition in female reproductive function. This transition can be summarized as the onset of declining ovary function (perimenopause) to the eventual biological cessation of reproduction (menopause/post-menopause). Recent data reveal great variation in women’s menopausal outcomes, specifically worse vasomotor symptoms (e.g., hot flashes/night sweats/sleep disturbances) and other health related outcomes for women of color, as compared to their white counterparts. Unfortunately, few studies have addressed the ways in which culture and various social factors underlie the journey through menopause. This session seeks to advance the knowledge in this area by recognizing and discussing these differences. By acknowledging the cultural and social variation in experience, we can work to ensure that all women receive the support and care they need during this significant life transition.

If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit your information by October 11th to Brandy H. Wallace (bhwalla@umbc.edu).

2. Diasporic Womanist Sociology Mini Conference

Theme: A Decolonial, Anti-racist Reclaiming of Our Souls, Our Priorities, And Our Time for Community-Facing Dialogue, Survival Scholarship, and Activism

Organizers: Dr. Sancha Medwinter, Dr. Tannuja Rozario, and Monisha Issano Jackson

We seek submissions for our 4th consecutive Diasporic Womanist Sociology mini-conference. Embracing a womanist epistemology, we welcome all mediums of knowledge (papers, essays, poetry, art, prose, spoken word etc.). We are interested in works that articulate decolonial, antiracist, and transnational womanist and/or feminist theory, method, praxis and/or pedagogy. For example, we are interested in critical scholarship on coloniality and neocolonialism, white supremacy, US hegemony, global racial capitalism, military occupation, cultural imperialism, and epistemic violence amongst other topics. We draw on and expand existing theories, politics and praxis of internationalist and decolonial scholars who exist in and bridge liminal spaces between the Global South and Global North such as Audre Lorde, Chandra Mohanty, Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi, Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Joy James, Lila Abu-Lughod, and Maria Lugones. In recognizing the continued need for members of Global South diasporas and other thinkers who are committed to internationalist understandings, we continue to carve out an emancipatory space within Sociology where we can articulate collaborative struggles and prioritize whole communities inside and beyond US borders. We advance a womanist framework that articulates women’s oppression, resistance, and survival as inextricably tied to the oppression, resistance, and survival of their families and communities. Therefore, we prioritize community-facing dialogue with and work against oppression alongside women, men, and gender-expansive community members as self- and community- affirming work that matters and work that counts. All paper submissions should go to the co-organizers of Special Session: Diasporic Womanist Sociology using this Google Form, https://forms.gle/orZMw9E1AixcSUg38 by October 24th. We will notify you of your acceptance as we receive them. Your submissions should include: submission title, abstract, three key words, name, institution, email, and position. Your abstracts should be approximately 300-450 (max. 450) words. Accepted submissions will be uploaded as full panels to the SSS portal on your behalf and you will receive an email confirmation from SSS. If you submit to the google form after our October 24th due date, also submit your paper to the SSS portal and ensure you write your title as “DW mini conference: [your title].” Please also notify us via email that you have done so. This will be the only way that we can track your submission and tag it to our mini conference. Submit early to go through the more streamlined process and increase your chances of acceptance. Contact Monisha Jackson, mjackson181@gsu.edu with any questions.

3. Work Values in Comparative Perspectives

Around the globe, work-related values and orientations have been undergoing significant changes. In the US, terms such as “quiet quitting” and “the great resignation” point to a trend of growing detachment from work. In China, more and more people refuse to join the rat race at work but choose to “lay flat” instead. This session aims to bring together new theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence on such emerging trends around the world.

If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit your information by October 20th to Yang Cao (yangcao@charlotte.edu).

4. Memorialization and Racist Violence

This panel will bring together scholars whose work broadly engages with debates surrounding public memorialization and racist violence. This can include, but is not limited to, theoretical and empirical work discussing the broad relationship between past violence, its memory in the present, and the legacy or effects it continues to have on society. Last year we had two panels, one focusing on memorials/monuments broadly and one more squarely on legacies of racist violence of all kinds (e.g., slavery, sundown towns, lynching, the KKK). We are particularly interested in receiving submissions from students and young scholars as we aim to expand engagement with this sub-area, but we, of course, welcome seasoned scholars to submit as well if they have work that fits the topic.

If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit your information in a Word document by Monday, October 30, if not sooner, to Heather A. O’Connell (hoconnell@lsu.edu) or Sarah N. Gaby (gabys@uncw.edu). In your document please include: 1. Each author’s name, affiliation, position, and email address 2. Title of the paper 3. Three keywords 4. Extended abstract (400-450 words) – Please note that the SSS guidelines suggest, if applicable, that the abstract should be organized with the following section headings: Objectives, Methods, and Findings.

5. Social Determinants of Mental Health Across the Life Course

This session invites papers that address social determinants of mental health at different points in the life course. Research that addresses how early life circumstance and events influence later life mental wellbeing is encouraged. The objective of this session is to highlight sociological work on mental health, illness and wellbeing.

All 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 400-450 (max. 450) words and organized with the suggested three section headings: Objectives, Methods, and Findings. These section headings may not apply to all submissions, so authors may modify as needed. Please submit materials by October 25, 2024, via email to Margaret Ralston (mr1636@msstate.edu).

6. The Effect of Redevelopment and Gentrification on Low-Income Populations

This session examines how gentrification and/or redevelopment in cities affects people’s lives, housing opportunities, and jobs; particularly focusing on low-income populations. Papers are welcomed that explores redevelopment’s effects on homelessness, social services, housing availability, or employment opportunities (or lack thereof). Papers can be qualitative or quantitative, theoretical or applied. For full consideration, please send an extended abstract with the title, research question, or questions, and findings to Stephanie Southworth at ssouthwor@coastal.edu by October 20th, 2024. Submissions should include your contact information and affiliation.

7. Climate Crisis and Our Future

The impacts of the climate crisis are already here and they promise to redefine our future in complicated ways. Social science brings a critical perspective which can help us understand, among other things, denialism, inaction, and differential vulnerabilities/resiliencies to the climate crisis. This session is seeking papers which deal with questions of how social science can tackle the escalating climate crisis. Submissions may cover any aspect of the climate crisis, from analysis of climate-related impacts to solutions ranging from mitigation to adaptation. Submissions related to climate activism are also welcome, including papers about resistance to the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, including coal mining, fracking, pipelines, etc. Submissions which are future-oriented, or deal directly with questions of the future, are encouraged, but please do consider submitting even if your paper is not specifically “future-oriented”. If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit your information in a Word document to Cameron Baller (crballer1@vt.edu) by November 1st. You should include (1) the title of the paper, (2) each author’s name, affiliation, position, and email address, and (3) an extended abstract (max. 450 words).

8. Creative Sociology as a Tool for Exploring Modern Masculinities

There is growing recognition that creative writing in all forms serves as a medium through which sociologists can effectively demonstrate the sociological imagination. In this session, we will explore the marriage between sociology and creative writing to highlight the importance of a more personal and nuanced understanding of masculinity. As such, we welcome proposals from sociologists who embrace creative writing as a tool for exploring masculine identities and the evolution of masculinity over time.

Submissions may include a wide range of existing or original works, such as short fiction, poetry, music, or creative non-fiction; however, all works should be framed using sociological theory and research regarding the socialization into and performance of gender. Subtopics related to masculinity may include (but are certainly not limited to) mental and physical health, parent-child relationships, family and work dynamics, spirituality, or leisure time. In line with this year’s SSS theme regarding the future of our discipline, we strongly encourage proposals that highlight the importance of creative scholarship or other activities for reaching audiences outside of the academy.

If you are interested in participating in this paper session, please submit the following information to Lisa Winters (lwinters@coastal.edu) by October 28th, 2024: 1) the submission title, 2) a 300-400 word abstract, and 3) the names, affiliations, and contact information for all authors.

9. Race and Romantic Relationships

How do our social hierarchies, and in particular race and racism, impact the lived experiences of people navigating romantic relationships? Intimate relationships can serve as a microcosm to the larger social world. How does systemic oppression impact romantic relationship formation and experiences, and what is the role of intersecting social identities in navigating these dynamics?

If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit your information by October 18th to Vanessa Gonlin (vgonlin@uga.edu).

10. Zionism as a Global Project of White Supremacy: A Call for a Race-centered Approach

In light of the current genocidal context in Rafah and beyond, Zionism and Israel, the satellite state of the United States Empire, call into question the origins of Zionism and its relation to dehumanization. The international community has failed to address the ongoing genocide, which many sociological studies have highlighted in terms of its cultural marginalization (Lamont et al., 2016). In 2001, the UN organized a conference to address the racism embedded in Zionism. Fast forward 24 years, and the situation remains unaddressed, highlighting the urgency of centralizing race as an organizing principle in global and transnational racial dynamics, which is more pertinent than ever. This also calls into question the paradox of Theodor Herzl, who himself harbored antisemitic sentiments (Kamczycki, 2020).

This session invites submissions for the upcoming annual meeting of the SSS, dedicated to the critical study of Zionism. It seeks papers that analyze the ongoing genocide against Palestinians through the lenses of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Whiteness Studies, and Postcolonialism to understand a broad racial landscape and historical context. This session aims to explore the sociological intersections of race, colonialism, and national identity in the context of Zionism, with particular attention to how racial hierarchies, whiteness, and settler-colonial logic have shaped both historical and contemporary manifestations of Zionist ideology.

Contributions are encouraged to engage with questions such as: How do frameworks of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Whiteness Studies illuminate the racial dimensions of Zionism? In what ways have notions of whiteness, racialization, and ethnic identity played a role in constructing the modern racialized schema in the Middle East? How does Zionism interact with broader global histories of settler colonialism and racialization through comparative-historical approaches? What can be done to resist white dominance and U.S. imperialism in Palestine? How does Israel function as a satellite nation-state of the U.S. empire to subjugate, racialize, and brutalize Palestinians, Mizrahi Jews, Ethiopian Jews, and other marginalized groups within Israel/Palestine? How might race scholars critically interrogate Zionism using anti-racism and decolonial thought? I welcome pluralistic approaches—interdisciplinary framing is encouraged to enhance current theories of race in Sociology for understanding Zionism today. However, all theoretical, historical, and empirical research should engage with the following: CRT, assimilation studies, postcolonial studies, and comparative-historical studies.

If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit your information by October 25th to Joong Won Kim (jkim182@utk.edu).

11. Fulfilling the Promise of Sociology: Using Paradigms to Solve the World’s Threatening Problems

The purpose of this session is three-fold: 1) To define and operationalize paradigms; 2) To use paradigms to integrate sociology’s specialized knowledge sections in order to mitigate social problems; and 3) To use paradigms to help sociologists to achieve their professional and personal goals (which will help them to solve social problems).

If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit your information by October 28th to Andy Plotkin, Ph.D. (plotkina@westerntc.edu).

12. Racial Conceptualization, Appraisals, and Attitudes

This session examines how people think about race and racism. It includes papers on (a) racial conceptualization, appraisals, or categorization; and (b) public opinion and attitudes about race and racism. Papers may be primarily empirical, theoretical, or both; qualitative and quantitative approaches are both welcome.

To be considered, please submit a PDF or Word submission to Raj Ghoshal, rghoshal@elon.edu. Your submission should include name, title, department, university or institution, and email for all authors, and abstract or extended abstract (150-500 words). Additional information is welcome but not required. Please include “SSS” in the email subject line. Please share this session information with potentially interested colleagues. Submissions by Oct 30 will receive full consideration; submissions by November 1 will receive consideration if time permits.

13. Sociological Perspectives in Policy Work

The Committee on Sociological Practice is looking for sociologists or other social scientists who have used sociological perspectives or theories when doing policy work. Also known as policy sociology, we are seeking to understand how you apply sociological research to solve concrete social problems. We encourage presenters to share how they have applied sociological knowledge to solve problems defined by clients such as firms, local/state/national governments, or organizations (non or for profit). We would also encourage potential presenters to apply their expertise to garner discussion on issues of public policy.

If you are interested in presenting in this session, please submit the following information by Monday, October 21, 2024 to the session organizer, Jamekia Collins (jcollins@hsri.org) : (1) the title of the presentation; (2) contact information (name, affiliation, position, email address, phone number) for each presenter; and (3) an extended abstract of no more than 450 words.

14. Sociologists Practicing Activism (panel sponsored by the SSS Committee on Sociological Practice)

Share how you’re combining your social science expertise with social justice activism and practice. We solicit submissions from sociologists or kindred social scientists who have used their expertise – either broadly or as scholars of race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, social movements, politics, work, human rights, peace, violence, crime, globalization, or other specialties – as activists and social practitioners. Note that this panel is not for presentation of empirical research, unless that research was integral to the activism or to serve the activism’s purpose directly.

The individual’s activism may have been undertaken either explicitly in their role as a social scientist or simply informed by their social science expertise. The session’s focus is on progressive activism, broadly conceived. Relevant activities include what commonly would be labeled social movement activism; or running for and holding elected office; or anywhere in between or proximate to those examples. We anticipate panel participants will have participated in local community or campus efforts, or regional-, national-, or international-scale activism in the U.S. or elsewhere – i.e., a wide range of settings are appropriate for this panel.

Participants will share their experiences and how their expertise played a role in their activism/practice. Two or more participants engaged in directly related activism may submit a single proposal to co-present. Graduate and undergraduate students and social scientists in nonacademic positions are invited, as well as faculty, as long as they linked social science knowledge to activism.

If you are interested in presenting in this panel, please submit the following information by Monday, October 21 to Sociological Practice committee member Dale Wimberley (dale.wimberley@vt.edu): (1) the title of the presentation; (2) contact information (name, affiliation, email address, phone number) for each presenter; and (3) an extended abstract (no more than 450 words) describing the type of activism, group, or setting, and the presenter’s use of social scientific expertise in that context. Prior inquiries are welcome! Including “SSS” in the subject line of your email is helpful.