ISA World Congress 2023: Program

The full program of the ISA World Congress 2023 is now available.

RC09 facilitates 11 sessions and 4 joint sessions in ISA 2023. Check the RC09 sessions here.

The XX ISA World Congress of Sociology will be in a hybrid format: both in-person and virtual participation is possible.

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RC09 Newsletter issue 2021/2022(2)

We published the new issue of the RC09 Newsletter.

In this 2021/2022 RC09 Newsletter issue, you will find:

  • Remarks from RC09 Co-Chairs p. 2
  • New research project by Manoj Kumar Jena on Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and its Impact on Human Health in Delhi NCR pp. 3-6
  • New publications of RC09 members pp. 7-11
  • Announcements, including information about the updated Statutes of ISA RC09 pp. 12-14

We sincerely thank everyone who contributed to this issue!

RC09 Newsletter 2020-1: Pandemic Diaries is out now!

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to making this new issue possible!
From India to Brazil, we heartfully thank every academic that shared their experiences during this global health crisis.
“As we all suffer from the same pandemic, the suffering reminds us that we are members of a common humanity. All over the world, countries have been exposed to lockdown of their societies to protect their health with huge socio-economic consequences.
(…) We are living through one of the greatest challenges of history and are supposed to create the future in this unique world that for the first time unify us against a common enemy. People are looking to science for a possible solution to overcome the crisis. But in this world of uncertainty, many are also turning to faith and spirituality that may assist them to overcome the pains and trauma of the pandemic.”
From Remarks of the RC09 Co-Chairs: Ulrike Schuerkens and Habibul Khondker
Click here to read the full Newsletter.

 

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RC09 Newsletter 2020: Call for content!

cabecera rc09 special issue

For this Special Issue we invite you to write a brief (about 300-500 words) pandemic ‘diary’:

  • How did your teaching, research and life change during these turbulent times?
  • What are your thoughts about the prospects of online teaching and home office?
  • What are your reflections on the functioning of society and its institutions in your countries during the pandemic?

Share your short pandemic diaries with us, so that we can collect them in this Special Issue and bring closer the situation of academics across the globe.

Also, we invite you to send us information about your new publications, grants, awards, past and upcoming conferences, seminars and workshops.

We are also eager to publish your book reviews and interviews with scholars from the field of social transformations and sociology of development.

The deadline to send your content is Monday, June 15, 2020, to rc09editors@gmail.com.

We look forward to your contributions!

Ilona Wysmulek and
Almendra Orbegoso
on behalf of the RC09 Editorial Team

You may follow us on the RC09 Twitter and Facebook

Covid-19 and Africa

Written by Ulrike Schuerkens.

Let’s say: I’m not a doctor, but a university professor who is also interested in the socio-anthropology of health. I have been observing for weeks the development of COVID-19 around the world and particularly in Africa where the ManaGlobal project that I coordinate is taking place.

What I have noticed are border closures in the South and North which have prevented a certain number of contaminations triggered by travelers, especially in the countries of the South. Rapid political reactions in Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana and Morocco (where the ManaGlobal project is taking place), which I believe have largely prevented the spread of the disease. The treatments adopted, influenced by the proposals of the university professor and director of the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, Didier Raoult, have helped to keep the number of deaths relatively low compared to the many deaths in Western countries. Senegal and also Morocco have adopted the protocol suggested by this controversial doctor in France where his treatment is only allowed for serious cases in hospitals. These serious cases show in the West certain common characteristics: advanced age beyond 65 years or even more, co-morbidities such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems etc.

However, the populations in the four countries where the ManaGlobal project is taking place are characterized by their youth and thus often healthier – despite poverty – than the serious cases in the West with high morbidity rates. The research found that children and adolescents are affected by relatively few cases of COVID 19 or – in case of contamination – they develop benign forms. Can it be concluded that the pandemic will instead have severe effects and high mortality rates in Western countries with different consumption patterns from those in the South and organisms exposed to very different food? The health effects of the pandemic in the South should certainly not be underestimated but the exposure to other pandemics such as malaria appears to protect African populations. Moreover, it seems to me that the limited rate of COVID-19 cases in China – although they are certainly underestimated for political reasons – gives a small glimmer of hope for the health consequences in the South, at least in Africa. The good choices made by doctors in several African countries in the face of the pandemic are compounded by the fact that the drugs proposed by Professor D. Raoult can be administered without the side effects expected in severely affected elderly patients in the West. Moreover, these are the medicines available in Africa (Sanofi Maroc) and known to the populations.

There remain the socio-economic consequences in countries characterized by populations often working in precarious and informal conditions. International and regional solidarity is beginning to be activated in the face of this situation, which exposes populations to famine and subsequently to hunger revolts that will not be long in coming if governments do not react. Confinement has not been applied in Cameroon but in Morocco; in Senegal, a curfew reigns at night in the face of populations who work during the day to meet their immediate needs. Wearing masks has been demanded in Cameroon, Morocco and Senegal and is being suggested in Ghana.

In conclusion, I would say that there is hope in the face of the health consequences of the pandemic in the countries of the South, at least in Africa. The socio-economic consequences are likely to be enormous in the face of countries of the North whose economies are at a standstill and whose importance for the socio-economic systems of African countries is well known.

ISA Forum in Brazil POSTPONED until Feb 2021

ISA Executive Committee decided to postpone the IV ISA Forum of Sociology until February 23-27, 2021. Registration deadline for presenters has been extended to December 15, 2020.

Message from the ISA President Prof. Sari Hanafi:

We cannot stress enough that you are all in our thoughts in this extraordinary period – across so many domains of crisis. Please stay safe and care for your families and friends so that we all make it through in good health and strong of spirit.

Sari Hanafi
President, International Sociological Association
Professor of Sociology, American University of Beirut

 

 

RC09 Newsletter: NEW ISSUE is out!

The NEW RC09 Newsletter issue N° 02-2019/2020 is freshly published!

We sincerely thank everyone who contributed to this issue!

“This Newsletter testifies for the large variety of interests of the members of the RC on Social Transformations and the Sociology of Development.
You can find new publications on health care access and global health; inequality and social differentiation in Africa; ethnicity and social movements; management in Africa and the Arab world; digital transformations and big data; democratization; and austerity.
Moreover, information is given on the Global Center of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability in Berlin, Germany. A new project Transformative Education for Climate Action is described as well as some short information is included on two PhD projects at the University of Rennes 2, France.
After the session update of the Brazil Forum, a description of a mini conference on “Decolonizing Development: Theories, Methods and Research” in Amsterdam in July 2020 is made.
At the end of the Newsletter, you can find an overview of Sam Cohn’s new website and twitter account on development issues.”
From Remarks of the RC09 Co-Chairs: Ulrike Schuerkens and Habibul Khondker