Conference Sessions

What cultural logics underlie contemporary social movements? How do movements draw on and modify cultural frames to mobilize support? And what is the role of political context in shaping how these dynamics unfold? The presentations in this session will broadly explore these questions by covering a range of substantive topics including conflict over gender and sexuality issues in Canada and in Taiwan, cultural framing of the global solidarity movement for East Timor, of BLM by right-wing conservative movements in America, and grassroots mobilization of the Trump movement.

While the rise of the populist radical right around the world is reminiscent of the 1930s, today’s actors and organizations have adapted their discourses and styles to fit the 21st Century (Rydgren, 2018). Marked by what Mudde (2019) terms an increasing meanstreamization of radical right ideas that blurs the lines between rightwing and radical right politics, this adaptation has been helped by the radical right’s ability to seize current issues and impose its narratives, sometimes even hijacking and distorting certain causes long championed by liberal and left-wing forces. In recent years, scholars have pointed out the way large parts of the radical right have wielded women or LGBT+ rights against minorities through femonationalism (Farris, 2017) and homonationalism (Puar, 2007); implemented robust yet exclusionary social welfare policies (Scheppele, 2022); embraced a secularised Christianity and a common ‘European identity’ (Brubaker, 2017); or instrumentalized “anti-antisemitism” against Muslims (Kalmar, 2020). Scrutinizing the ways various forms of racisms, such as anti-migrant politics, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and antitziganism, interplay with discourses of national and civilizational belonging, welfare and class, and gender and sexuality, this panel seeks to provide an intersectional and comparative analysis of contemporary populist radical right politics, movements, parties, and organizations.

While the rise of the populist radical right around the world is reminiscent of the 1930s, today’s actors and organizations have adapted their discourses and styles to fit the 21st Century (Rydgren, 2018). Marked by what Mudde (2019) terms an increasing meanstreamization of radical right ideas that blurs the lines between rightwing and radical right politics, this adaptation has been helped by the radical right’s ability to seize current issues and impose its narratives, sometimes even hijacking and distorting certain causes long championed by liberal and left-wing forces. In recent years, scholars have pointed out the way large parts of the radical right have wielded women or LGBT+ rights against minorities through femonationalism (Farris, 2017) and homonationalism (Puar, 2007); implemented robust yet exclusionary social welfare policies (Scheppele, 2022); embraced a secularised Christianity and a common ‘European identity’ (Brubaker, 2017); or instrumentalized “anti-antisemitism” against Muslims (Kalmar, 2020). Scrutinizing the ways various forms of racisms, such as anti-migrant politics, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and antitziganism, interplay with discourses of national and civilizational belonging, welfare and class, and gender and sexuality, this panel seeks to provide an intersectional and comparative analysis of contemporary populist radical right politics, movements, parties, and organizations.

Almost five decades, or two generations, after its historical 1979 revolution, the Iranian society seems to be witnessing another major socio-political transformation. The signs of this transformation were most evident through the 2022 massive protests (known as the Mahsa Movement) that swept across the country. What are the characteristics of this newly emerging society? In what ways is today's Iran different from, or similar to, the society that produced the 1979 revolution? What types of future can be imagined and/or expected for the country? How can sociology contribute to a deeper understanding of this transformation, beyond what mainstream journalism or social media can offer? These are the broad questions that this session aims to address.

Artistic expression has been often used to challenge the dominant narrative and, as such, there is an impetus in social movements to conflate art with activism. In recent times, art has been an important tool in many social movements with protestors using memes, poetry, and even visual art as forms of protest. This session aims to explore the different ways in which hegemonic narratives are challenged through performative art. This includes, but is not limited to, poetry, storytelling, plays, humour, songs and dance. The session seeks to ask how resistance is ultimately a performative political project and wishes to establish the importance — and perhaps need — of art in activism. More broadly, it tries to understand what the relationship between performance and agency could entail in these difficult times. We are in the midst of massive political, social and environmental churnings in different parts of the world, the implications of which are being felt all across. It thus becomes crucial to explore how performative art affords possibilities for envisioning resistance to the dominant ideologies that drive these developments. In saying this, the session in no way presupposes that performative art is organically tied to resistance but is instead interested in discovering the tensions and connections between art and the political. It would be remiss to not consider the scope creative performance provides for collective solidarity and the relief of pent-up nervous energy. Thus, this session welcomes submissions that look at performative art as solidarity building exercises across lines of race, gender, class and geographical positionalities. In alignment with Congress’s theme for 2024, this session aims to underscore the interconnectedness of human existence by looking at performative resistance. It provides space for scholars to reflect on the scope of collective creative action to resist hegemonic narratives.