Conference Sessions

This is an open session on gender. It invited papers that make theoretical and/or empirical contributions to the sociological study of gender

This is an open session on gender. It invites papers that make theoretical and/or empirical contributions to the sociological study of gender

This session responds to Michael Burawoy’s (2005) call for a public sociology that engages audiences outside academia in conversations about gender and sexuality. The sociology of gender and sexuality has long participated in publicly-engaged scholarship informed by and contributing to feminist, queer, and transgender social movements. Drawing on these rich intellectual traditions this session explores how the empirical and theoretical tools of sociological inquiry can be used to make power relations visible, address issues of public concern, and contribute to social change. We encourage submissions that engage conceptually with public sociology and examine the ways that publics and counter-publics are constituted in sociological research, along with presentations of empirical research that propose novel strategies for engaging diverse publics in knowledge production and dissemination. What opportunities do new digital technologies, artistic and cultural productions, and emerging social movements present for sharing sociological knowledge about gender and sexuality with multiple publics? We are particularly interested in papers which consider how sociology might respond to social issues such as rising transgender hate and anti-LGBTQ2S+ social movements, the ascent of far-right and white nationalist ideologies, and global struggles against colonization and imperialism. What is the place of the sociology of gender and sexuality in responding to the social issues of our time and how can we effectively engage multiple publics in this work?

This session presents empirical research involving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and third gender people and empirical studies of the social relations that regulate sexuality and gender. These papers employ a wide range of methodological approaches and draw from perspectives in queer and transgender studies to pose novel questions about the social and historical contexts in which queer and trans lives are lived. The papers also take inspiration from public sociology and scholarship informed by LGBTQ2S+ social movements to consider how sociological research can contribute to the projects of sexual and gendered liberation. The session offers critically engaged and empirically grounded insights from the expansive fields of queer and trans studies.

This session intends to spotlight sociological research on contemporary forms of intimate relationships, with regard to their multiple dimensions (love feelings, sexuality, conjugality, domesticity). Its general purpose is to promote the study of intimacy as a specific field of research independent from - and yet connected to - the fields of family sociology and sexualities studies. To document and analyze the plurality of intimacy forms and create a space for debates dealing with this sociological object: the presentations will address conceptions, representations, and practices of intimacy, both empirically and theoretically.