Category Archives: Announcements

Job Posting: Political Sociology at Florida State University

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The Department of Sociology (http://coss.fsu.edu/sociology) invites applications for a tenure track assistant professor position, effective August 2018. We are looking for a scholar with expertise in political sociology and/or social policy who will build on our department’s strengths in inequalities and social justice, health and aging, and demography. Those who study the US or international contexts are equally encouraged to apply. Applicants should submit a letter of application indicating their relevant research and teaching interests, a curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information for three references. Materials should be sent in PDF format to sociology@fsu.edu by September 30, 2017. Questions may be directed to the department chair (jrreynolds@fsu.edu).

Florida State University is a Carnegie Foundation-classified Research I institution. Among its 42,000 students are 8,500 graduate students pursuing over 200 programs of study. Tallahassee is Florida’s capital city, with a metropolitan population of over 375,000. Its principal employers are state government and three higher education institutions, including an HBCU. Florida State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, and we strongly encourage racial/ethnic minority applicants to apply.

Call for a New ASA Section: Sociology of Reproduction

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Are you interested in forming an ASA Section on the Sociology of Reproduction? An increasing number of sociologists are studying reproduction by conducting research on topics such as pregnancy, labor, birth, abortion, contraception, prenatal testing, assisted reproductive technologies, and infertility. Further, the sociological study of reproduction is a critical place of feminist research. Here are a few reasons why an ASA Section on the Sociology of Reproduction is a good idea:

  • According to ASA, “Sections are great for networking with your colleagues and keeping up to date with new developments in your field. Sections write newsletters, conduct panels, receptions and sessions at the Annual Meeting, and connect their members daily through listservs, websites and social media outlets.”
  • ASA sections have official recognition as legitimate areas of sociological inquiry, which helps individuals pitch new courses to teach, request new faculty positions, and legitimate their own research agenda within the area.
  • There is a proposal before the ASA Council to increase the number of sessions controlled by the sections. Such a shift, which appears to have the support of ASA staff, would make it increasingly unlikely that we would be able to continue getting 4-5 regular ASA sessions (as we did in 2017), but also more likely that small sections, such as a section on the Sociology of Reproduction, would be able to get more than the 2 ASA sessions currently promised.

To form a new section, we need to collect 200 signatures of current ASA members on a petition in which the signer agrees, if the section is formed, to pay dues to the section for two years. Dues are typically $5-$10/year.

You can sign the petition with this link: https://tamu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abjSjMaV21ppG17.

Please encourage other interested ASA members, including graduate students, to sign, too!

For questions, please feel free to email any of the organizers:

Danielle Bessett: danielle.bessett@uc.edu
Shannon Carter: skcarter@ucf.edu
Theresa Morris: theresa.morris@tamu.edu
Louise Roth: lroth@email.arizona.edu
Carrie Lee Smith: Carrie.Smith@millersville.edu

Grant Opportunity: Negotiating Agreement in Congress

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The Negotiating Agreement in Congress Research Grants are aimed at scholars who seek to understand the conditions under which political negotiation can be achieved (or not achieved) in Congress and other legislative arenas. The grants provide up to $10,000 of funding for each awardee, to be used for up to one year of research and writing. Applicants must have a PhD in hand by the application deadline and must hold an affiliation with a college or university based in the United States. For more information, please visit www.ssrc.org/nacg or contact democracy@ssrc.org.

Deadline: Sept 15

Eligibility: Applicants must have a PhD in hand by the application deadline and must hold an affiliation with a college or university based in the United States. Additional criteria can be found on our website.

Call for Papers: Non-union class struggles from below

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ISA session being organized — “Non-union class struggles from below” — Session of the ISA World Congress of Sociology, July 2018, Toronto. Organized by Marcel Paret (University of Utah and University of Johannesburg)

While many observers lament the declining significance and political power of organized labor, unions were never the only protagonists of resistance from below. Historical accounts include numerous examples of struggles by working classes and other economically marginalized groups. Similar examples of non-union resistance from below are rampant in the contemporary period of widespread economic insecurity. Groups that scholars consider to be especially “precarious” or even “surplus” to global capitalism – the unemployed, part-time and temporary workers, those eking out a living through “informal” activities, etc. – are prominent within these struggles. These struggles from below often connect economic demands to issues of citizenship, nationalism, and community.

This session will focus on class struggles from below, broadly defined but excluding struggles by capitalists and elites, that are taking place outside of formal union organizations. While maintaining emphasis on class-related demands and issues such as wages, land, and basic livelihood, relevant struggles may include significant or even dominant non-class dimensions (e.g. citizenship). Informal social networks, community-based organizations, political parties, or other non-union entities are also relevant. The goal is to highlight and contrast non-union class struggles in different parts of the globe, with attention to the influence of varying local, national, and regional contexts.

Relevant themes may include, but are not limited to:

  • protests and riots by the urban poor;
  • mobilization by, for, and against migrants;
  • struggles by indigenous groups;
  • class dimensions of nationalist movements;
  • Occupy-type movements against austerity and economic inequality;
  • middle class movements;
  • peasant movements and/or struggles against land dispossession;
  • organization by self-employed workers or independent contractors;
  • political party mobilization;
  • workplace resistance by non-unionized workers;
  • worker centers and other community-based worker organizations.

To submit a paper to this session, please go to the following link: https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2018/webprogrampreliminary/Session10931.html. Click the “Submit an Abstract to this Session” button to upload your submission. You will need to create an account with ISA if you do not have one already.

This session will be organized as a roundtable, and is listed in the program under “RC44 Roundtable”. Please direct any questions to Marcel Paret at marcelparet@gmail.com.

New Job Posting – Boston College

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The Department of Sociology and the International Studies Program at Boston College invite applications for a tenure track assistant professor position. A successful candidate is one whose research, teaching, and advising are relevant to the consideration of global history, culture, and social structure, as well as to the social justice mission of the sociology department’s PhD program.  Scholars with expertise in any geographic area, or those who do transnational or international sociology, are invited to apply.  The tenure line will be located in the sociology department. The position, which begins in Fall 2018, entails half-time undergraduate teaching in International Studies and half-time graduate and undergraduate teaching in the Department of Sociology.  Preference will be given to entry-level applicants, but excellent candidates at the advanced Assistant Professor level will also be considered.

Applicants should apply at https://apply.interfolio.com/42892.  Required documents include a cover letter describing relevant research, teaching accomplishments, and plans; a current CV; two pieces of recent scholarship; and a list of three references that will provide letters of recommendation for applicants that are shortlisted. The screening committee will begin reviewing applications on September 1, 2017, and will continue to review them until the position is filled.

All inquiries should be sent to Andrew Jorgenson, Chair of the Department of Sociology and Chair of the Search Committee, at jorgenan@bc.edu.

Boston College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other legally protected status. To learn more about how BC supports diversity and inclusion throughout the university please visit the Office for Institutional Diversity at http://www.bc.edu/offices/diversity.