New article on collective action

Pascale Dufour. 2009. “From Protest to Partisan Politics:When and How Collective Actors Cross the Line? Sociological Perspective on Québec Solidaire.” Canadian Journal of Sociology 34, 2: 55-82

Abstract: This article presents an analytical framework tracing the birth of Québec Solidaire (QS), a self-proclaimed left political party founded in February 2006. We explore the issue by taking into account the internal dynamics of organizations as well as the global political dynamics that have coursed through Quebec in the last 10 years. We propose a sociological reading emphasizing the changes in the balance of power among the main political and social actors. At each of the poles of political representation (electoral democracy pole, participative democracy pole, social democracy pole and protest democracy pole), a disruption in the balance of power between the actors concerned is at the origin of the emergence of Québec Solidaire. Thus, the history of QS is a strong indicator of social and political transformations of Quebec society since the mid nineties.  

Full Text: PDF

New book reviews of interest to CNSIMC (some by members)

Peter Baehr, Caesarism, Charisma and Fate: Historical Sources and Modern Resonances in the Work of Max Weber reviewed by Jefferson D Pooley  PDF

Siniša Malešević and Mark Haugaard, eds. Ernest Gellner and Contemporary Social Thought reviewed by James Kennedy  PDF

Prem Kumar Rajaram and Carl Grundy-Warr, eds., Borderscapes: Hidden Geographies and Politics at Territory’s Edge reviewed by  Philippe Couton  PDF

Badie, Brauman, Decaux, Devin, and Wenden, eds., Pour un autre regard sur les migrations. Construire une gouvernance mondiale; Rea and Tripier, Sociologie de l'immigration reviewed by Stéphanie Garneau  PDF

Humanism and realism in International Humanitarian Law (Review Essay on Patricia Marchak, No Easy Fix: Global Responses to Internal Wars and Crimes Against Humanity, and Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, Global Justice: The Politics of War Crimes Trials by Augustine Brannigan  PDF

Fuyuki Kurasawa, The Work of Global Justice: Human Rights as Practices reviewed by Elizabeth M. Bruch  PDF

Jeffrey Juris, Networking Futures: The Movement Against Corporate Globalization reviewed by Lesley Wood  PDF

Jo Reger, Daniel J. Myers and Rachel Einwohner, eds. Identity Work In Social Movements reviewed by  Amy Lang  PDF

Ryan Edwardson, Canadian Content: Culture and the Quest for Nationhood reviewed by Jim Cosgrave  PDF

… and more besides. See the current issue’s table of contents: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/CJS/issue/current 

Call for Papers for the Comparative/Historical Mini-Conference

"Comparing Past and Present"
August 12th, 2009, Berkeley

In addition to our line-up of invited speakers (see
http://www2.asanet.org/sectionchs/chsprogram.pdf), we will accept open submissions for possible inclusion in the CHS Mini-conference. Papers should compare past and present in some way. We are particularly interested in papers that deal with the following topics: theory, methods, economy, immigration, collective action, religion, empires, gender, states, and class.

Papers will be selected for the conference on the basis of quality and fit with the agenda of the mini-conference.

Papers submitted by May 15th, 2009 to Rebecca Jean Emigh (emigh@soc.ucla.edu) will receive full consideration. Any questions, email emigh@soc.ucla.edu.

Call for Papers ISA World Congress 2010

Call for Papers: ISA World Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden, July 2010 (Futures Research)

The International Sociological Association is organizing its XVII World Congress of Sociology in Gothenburg, Sweden, July 11-17, 2010. The Research Committee Futures Research (RC 07) invites proposals for papers and sessions.
Deadline: October 15, 2009
Program Coordinator: Markus S. Schulz, ISA-RC07, email: isarc07@gmail.com

Planned Sessions

The Future of State and Insurgent Terrorism
Organizer: Jeff Goodwin (New York University, USA)

Political violence against "innocent" civilians has generated a great deal of discussion and debate in recent years. What explains past episodes of state and/or insurgent terrorism? Are the two linked? How has the rhetoric of "terrorism" been used by political actors? Will we see more or less--or different kinds of--terrorism in the future? Papers on any of these concerns are encouraged.

Social Movements and the Future
Joint Session of Research Committees on Future Research (RC07) and Social
Movements, Collective Action and Social Change (RC48)
Organizers: Markus S. Schulz (UIUC, USA) and Benjamin
Tejerina Montaña (Universidad del País Vasco, Spain)

The Research Committees on Future Research (RC07) and on Social Movements, Collective Action and Social Change (RC48) are planning one or more Joint Sessions on contentious politics and on how social movements shape futures. Questions may include (but are not limited to): How do social movements create, debate, disseminate, and attempt to implement projects and visions of the future? How do social movements invent new practices? How do social movements relate to old and new media? What factors influence the outcomes of social movement struggles?

Power, Politics, Publics: Sociological Experiences
Organizers: Raquel Sosa (UNAM, Mexico) and Markus
S. Schulz (UIUC, USA)

How does sociology relate to policy, power, and publics? How do sociologists contribute to social projects and alternative views? What is the experience of sociologists who engage in "critical" or "public" modes of doing sociology, including collaboration with social movements or public service? What can we learn from comparisons between different national experiences and different disciplines? What lessons can be learned from recent experiences in Latin America or other sites of the Global South? What is to be done to make sociology and the sociological imagination more relevant?

Open Themes
Organizer: tba (contact: )

Deadlines and Procedures:
If you wish to present a paper, please email by October 15, 2009 your proposal with a title and a concise description (150 to 200 words) to the organizer(s) of your session and to the repository at . A submission form is available for download at http://www.isa-sociology.org/congress2010/rc/rc07.htm. (The form is backwards compatible with the free Adobe Reader 7.0 or later.) Be sure to include in your proposal your name and contact information. Paper proposals that do not fit to the topic of any of the planned sessions may be submitted to the RC07 Program Coordinator for integration in additional sessions or alternative arrangements.

Some general hints: Please make your proposal as informative and specific as possible. Check whether your abstract provides the reviewers with answers to fundamental questions such as:
• What question or problem does your paper address?
• Why does this question or problem matter?
• How you do you approach this question or problem (theoretical perspective, method, data set, body of literature, and the like)?
• What are your findings/research/arguments results?
• What are the implications of these findings/research results/arguments?

Session proposals are welcome too and shall include a title, a brief description of the topic, chair's name and contact information, and a list of four to five speakers. Session proposals may be in any of the ISA's official languages, English, Spanish, or French.

Notifications of papers accepted for presentation instructions will be sent to participants by the end of January 2010 along with more detailed instructions and practical tips on travel and logistics. It is anticipated that online registration opens in early 2010. May 1, 2010 is the anticipated deadline for pre-registration and submission of accepted abstracts to Cambridge Sociological Abstracts (CSA) for inclusion in the congress catalogue.

Other Practical Information:
Travel: Gothenburg has two major airports, the Göteborg Landvetter Airport (GOT, 25km to the East) and Göteborg City Airport (GSE, 15km North-West from the centre). Both airports are well connected to the city by bus. There seems to be some competition, so you may wish to compare air fares for both.

Climate: Gothenburg has an Oceanic climate that is relatively mild when considering its Northern latitude. July is mostly sunny and dry with only moderate precipitation. July temperatures average with lows of 13 and highs of 20 degrees Celsius (55 to 68 Fahrenheit), though on some it could go up to 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).

Visas: Sweden is one of the twenty-five signatory countries of the Schengen agreement. Nationals from the Schengen zone do not need a visa; nationals from the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Israel and the United States can currently remain in Sweden as tourists for 90 days without a visa. Others may need a visa. Keep in mind that current regulations can change. You can obtain further information from the Swedish embassy and consulates in your country.

Further practical information: One useful multilingual website to search for travel-related information seems to be Gothenburg official tourism site at URL: < http://www.goteborg.com>.

Calls for Papers

Inequality, Inclusion and the Sense of Belonging
ISA Research Committee on Regional and Urban Development, RC21
Sao Paulo, Brazil
August 23-25, 2009
Abstracts: May 15, 2009

Identity and Lifestyles Transformations
Workshop at Congress of the Swiss Sociological Association
Geneva, Switzerland
September 7-9, 2009
Submissions: April 30, 2009

Contested identities, contested cultures and contested rights.
Change and challenges in the Northern European periphery
Conference and PhD Course
University of Tromsø, Norway
September 23-25, 2009
Abstracts: May 15, 2009